From Marie Iannotti (see link): Hydrangea macrophylla ÂLady in Red Hardiness: USDA Zone 6-9 Mature Size: 2' H x 3' W Exposure: Partial Shade Period of Bloom: Early spring into summer Bonus: High Mildew Resistance H. macrophylla ÂLady in Red offers more than exceptional blooms. This lady provides three seasons of interest. The red stems and red veined leaves are the first indication that this is no ordinary hydrangea. The lacecap blooms open in late spring as either a whitewashed pink or blue, depending on the soilÂs pH. Either way they will slowly mature to a lush burgundy rose, echoing the colors of the stems and veins. Come fall even the leaves change to a rich purple. Here is a link that might be useful: About-dot-com site

Well, I called another couple of nurseries including Habershams, and managed to find several 3gal there. Meanwhile, I've been trying to cobble together a landscape album to share which covers the last 3-4 years of changes in our yard, including the msot recent stuff like the absolutely amazing new retention wall that Brad Longanecker (aka 'vroomp' here @ Gardenweb, I highly, highly recommend him!) built for us this past couple of weeks. Found some pictures of my last grass-removal experience from last spring and the end results, thought I would share. I am sure people in my neighborhood probably think I'm completely nuts for happily cutting out a good 60% of the grass in my yard and replacing it with veggie gardens and plants, but ... oh well :)

I got one of the very first LIRs back when they were just selling cuttings of it at the Atlanta Flower Show before it was introduced. I've been real hot and cold on it. I don't think it ever really lived up to all the hype that was built up around it. Now that I've had it for a few years now though, it's actually growing on me a bit more. It is a nice plant, a good strong grower, blooms very reliably. has nice big flowers (deep blue here in GA). I have found over the years as I've done branch propagation and now have more, that the color and performance is VERY dependent on sighting and exposure. The best performing one I have is on the sidewalk off my side yard. It gets a northern exposure on a fence with no real direct sun, but high shade in a overall very bright area.

LOL, I am researching other red stemmed hydrangeas because I like the lady in red look but I am not a fan of lace caps. A non-blooming LiR would be fine by me.