Have dog, maybe? Bet those dark spots, some with a burnt out center, are pee spots. I don't know what kind of grass you have, so can't comment on the fertilizer schedule. But the watering is lacking. First, minutes of irrigation doesn't mean much. Every hose and sprinkler setup or inground system is different in terms of "time" watered. That said, 6 minutes probably isn't enough. You probably aren't wetting the soil even an 1/8" deep. 1 inch once per week is the guideline. It's a good starting point. Depending on your soil, and it's ability to retain water, that may work, or it may not. I would start there. Get some tuna cans, rain gauges, or any other straight sided container, and place them all over the area to be irrigated. Run your sprinklers until every spot in the lawn has received 1" of water. Note the time it took. Then watch the lawn for drought stress. The leaf blades will start to roll up lengthwise, and the lawn will take on a bluish-gray look. I've heard people say that if you walk across the lawn and it "feels" dry and doesn't spring back from your foot steps, it is dry. Let us know if you you need help spotting drought stress. Others will have better tips I'm sure. It's easy to see once you know what it is. If you can go 7 days on 1" of irrigation, GREAT!!! You win the blue ribbon. But in the real world, this doesn't always happen. If the lawn stresses sooner, you might try a 1/2" of irrigation spread out twice a week instead. You will just have to experiment and see what works for your particular turf and soil. But 6 minutes isn't working.

I wouldn't necessarily say its supposed to flower in 3 years, perhaps likely to is a better statement. I also know someone with their tree about 6 or 7' and hasn't held fruit. There's quite a bit of variation to it. Some keylime trees need a longer period before they're mature enough to hold fruit. Next spring you could try a fert with a higher middle number, but chances are it'll just happen when the tree is ready. Some trees don't start producing until their lives are threatened by some sort of stress, but maturity is the greater factor. Gary

Now is not an ideal time to prune. Colder weather later in the season could very well damage wood exposed by this late pruning and increase winter dieback. I'd wait until late winter/early spring after the worst weather has passed and examine for truly deadwood then and remove. Nikko Blue behaves rather idiosyncratically compared to most macs and will often produce blooms despite rather severe pruning. Regular fertilizing, as is necessary for any containerized plants, may encourage more flowers. As to the look of the plant from the photos, if these were taken any time recently, I am confused as to what you are worrying about. It looks great, all things considered. It is the first of November afterall and even here in the rather mild PNW, most hydrangeas are looking pretty crappy - even more so now that we have just experienced our first hard frost. The only ones that look the slightest bit decent are the oakleafs which are in full fall color and hold their leaves well in cold.

Hello, Kate. You actually have two different questions. Where to plant and which variety to plant. I saw an ES and a NB somewhat close on a trip to Mass several years ago. The NB was planted close to a wall while the ES was planted near other trees/shrubs. Both shrubs had similar height/width but the ES was older (NB was > 3 years old). I am not sure how old the bldg was; it was one of several in a retirement community. The blooms were similar but I liked the shade of blue of the NB more. It seemed more vibrant. NB also seemed to have more blooms than the ES. Several people have written posts regarding lack of blooms with ES, mostly those in Zones 4 and 5. Winter protection is now auggested with ES in the coldest zones (4 and maybe 5). On the other hand, I read where ES has increased mildew resistance than NB. Should you decide based on that? No. I suggest you get both if you want to compare and see for yourself as there are many variables that can affect what I saw in Mass and what you will see in Kansas. Only by planting them side by side you get the necessary conditions to compare them correctly. Other good blues worth checking are Blaumaise, Blue Bird & Blue Deckle, Miranda and Nighingale (all lacecaps) or you can check Blue Prince, Enziandom, Hamburg, Gen. Vicomtesse de Vibraye and Marechal Foch (all mopheads). The location of the new plant should be treated as a separate question. If you can determine that the NB's old location can be a problem because you will not be able to water it correctly then select another location regardless of which variety you end up selecting. While you now have more shade in the old location, you need to make sure that the old moisture problem will not cause problems again. The other place near the birch tree where you already have some hydrangeas sounds ok too. Lastly, some people have had experiences that make them label NB as hardier or tougher. You could try searching for some of these posts by keying on nikko blue or something like that; probably pay special attention to posts of people with the same type (or similar) of weather as you do. Luis