I picked up the Forever and Ever hydrangea at Lowes last year by chance. Saw the tag advertise that it could bloom on old and new wood AND be hardy to zone 4 so I thought I'd give it a try. Just went outside and saw that it is leafing out. There are more leafs at the base, but the buds at the tips are fattening up! I definitely would like to get more F&Es. I did not know there are others in the series. Gardengal -- do you know if Lowes will be carrying them this season?

I don't know about Royal Red, but F & E Red supposedly blooms on both old and new wood and would be the hardiest for your zone. Keep in mind that there are no 'red' hydrangeas. The term 'red' is used to describe a heavily pigmented pink which can be many shades between dark pink, hot pink and wine purple depending on your soil ph. Some photos of 'reds' can be very deceiving....yg

Al, love your pun "Forever & Ever to bloom"! Imagine that's no fun for you, but thanks for the chuckle. F & E's new for me this year. After last Winter's dieback to roots of existing plants, hydrangeas with new & old wood blooming potential caught my attention in a Big Way. Not yet a fair trial as all still in pots (some graduated to larger ones) & only here since May, so preliminary reports from central Virginia in order of heaviest bloom: Pistachio - bought as 3-gallons in bud & bloom with many wooded stems - very high flower count, cranking out new blooms continually while still holding the originals (no deadheading) on lengthening old & new growth branches at every node. Heat didn't slow it down, another crop of blooms opened a few days ago & more new buds swelling. Looks like a child's drawing of a flowering bush, covered in flowers. Fantasia - bought as 1-gallon & soon after two more 3-gallons all in bud & bloom.- not as loaded nor consistent as Pistachio, but regularly cycling out new blooms on new growth while keeping the originals. Even the younger plant keeps opening new blooms reliably. Together - bought as 3-gallon in bud & bloom, kept its original flowers for 3 months till clipped all but one to dry & preserve & to see if doing so would prompt new flowers. One left still fresh & pretty & new buds appearing now 3 weeks later. This plant appears to have put most of its energy into growing considerably larger. Originally 18" high & wide, it's now 3'x4', close to its projected mature size. Hoping next year it will concentrate on blooming as abundantly as it's grown! Like it so much, picked up 2 more gallons recently in bud & bloom before this one started showing new flower buds. Blue Heaven - bought as 1-gallon in bud & bloom, this caught my eye for the various individual colors of each bloom - some pink, some blue, some lavender - in contrast to other examples with monotone blooms. Have wondered if it may have been mislabeled - time will tell. It grew quickly, soon potted up to 3-gallon where it's continued to grow luxuriantly. Like Together, its mature size is given as 3'x4' or larger, and this one seems in an equal hurry to get there. It's proven the most sun-sensitive, as others have noted. Clipped its blooms same time as Together's, to see if that would stimulate new blooms & since they were at a beautiful turquoise & slate blues stage that happily dried perfectly in a basket. Just this week showing new buds, so the potential for further bloom is there even in a young & rapidly growing example. Again, hoping it will settle down next season in the growth department & direct its focus into more abundant blooms. (Keeping an eye out for Peace, originally bypassed as white for more colorful examples. Springwood & others report it pinks up nicely, which would be welcome here.) Please strongly consider protecting the perimeter against future weed-whacker incidents! Roots of your previously mown hydrangeas should eventually put out new growth. This post was edited by vasue on Mon, Aug 25, 14 at 19:43

What sun exposure are your F&E's planted in? I have F&E, Peppermint and Together that I planted last summer and mine look nothing like yours. I only got 2 blooms off of my F&E and none off of the other 2. Peppermint formed buds, but the flowers never had any petals after they opened. It looked very strange. My plants are also much smaller. They are in full sun until 2:00 p.m. and I am wondering if I need to move them to more shade. Like yours, mine died to the ground this winter. I have a Let's Dance planted in the same sun exposure and it has been wonderful. It was loaded with flowers most of the summer and is 3 times the size of my F&E's. Your pictures look great. Thanks for sharing.