Natsu, Thank you so much for your post on diamont rouge! Although I'm in zone 5,(5b) per the new zone map, I love hydrangeas and am not adverse to taking risks putting something in that won't come back. So I will be on a HUNT for this new hydrangea in the US. If it shows up in MO I can probably get one as my son is in school there. L. Ann, I bought 1 vs from my nursery and loved the pink paniculata bloooms so much, I moved things around in my yard to accommodate a 2nd. I'm not sure anything will ever get large in my yard as I keep moving things around til I find a good spot that it likes or so I can accommodate something else I just have to have. (It's easier bringing home plants than dogs - lol). Anyway, my vs seemed to bloom midsummer when I found them til mid fall. Only 1 or 2 blooms turned somewhat magenta, but the light pink colors were really worth it. Good luck! And Luis, thank you, thank you, thank you for all your knowledge and advise you give all us rookies!

I think it's the way some suppliers are pruning the Vanilla Strawberry plants. I saw one with branches all the way to the bottom and it flopped. However, the new ones I got at Lowes are pruned to make a more narrow shape with less branches at the bottom. This does seem to keep them from flopping. I was able to pick these out from many plants. The issue is this plant produces blooms on practically every single branch. I think that's great but it only causes problems if you leave too many young, thin branches on it. Knowing all of this, you can plan for it and prune it to allow the stems to mature more. I kept my Pinky Winky. I am planting a row of these. I put three Vanilla Strawberries on each side of my Pinky Winky. I don't love the blooms on it but I don't hate it. The blooms are less showy on Pinky Winky. I also got a Great Star to add in at the other set of 3 Vanilla Strawberries. I just wanted to mix it up a little. I just think Vanilla Strawberry is awesome. The photo shown is a comparison of Pinky Winky vs. Vanilla Strawberry blooms. The Vanilla Strawberry has more petals because it has many more sterile flowers. That's why the blooms are so full. This post was edited by echinaceamaniac on Tue, Jul 15, 14 at 21:14

The Pinky will get quite large and is a very upright grower. The Vanilla I just got this year in a 5 gallon pot and is supposed to be a couple feet smaller than the Limelight. One of the main reasons it appealed to me. The buds were very upright until lately in full bloom. Defentily flopped. I read a 5 year study on many Paniculuta Hydrangeas. Both of these were included in it. They tried many different pruning techniques to both across the years. The Pinky likes a medium to hard prune and the Vanilla likes only a light pruning or it will flop. I enjoy hard pruning my Limelights for the extra large blooms and did not learn this about the Vanilla Strawberry until after I purchased it. Here is a picture right after I bought the Vanilla. Here is a promo pic of the Vanilla. Notice you can not see their hands. Because they are holding up the blooms...LOL... Here is some pics of it recently Here is a pic of my Pinky Winky

In my opinion, it's would not be advisable to purchase bare-root Hydrangeas. I haven't had experience with paniculatas, but had a nursery ship three large bare-root Oakleaf's one time and could only coax one into surviving. It required three years for it to produce a single bloom. Reminded me of starting from scratch, with a cutting. 'Pinky Winky' should be available at a nursery in your trade area, as they are very popular in the lower Hardiness Zones. Vanilla Strawberry is a new release from Bailey Nurseries and probably is in limited production. Google Bailey Nurseries and enter your Zip Code in the "Where to buy" window and select a radius. Garden Centers that stock their products will be listed. If they have placed an order for spring delivery, they may be willing to add one for you, if they don't already have them on their list. If you are like me, there is a limit to how far you would drive to shop for plants. We often make short trips during major Holidays to visit relatives and friends and if a nursery along the way has something we want, we make arrangements to pick them up, assuming they are open. One nursery that we have patronized for almost 40 years, will leave the plants near the gate for pickup and we leave a check on a clipboard in the potting shed. Small town, nothing is locked!