Hayes Starburst doesn't really fit in to the equation at all as it is a totally different species, an arborescens as opposed to a macrophylla/serrata (again, depending on who you believe, I agree with the macrophylla designation). While HS has double star florets and is very beautiful in it's own right, I don't think I would confuse it with FW/Hanabi/SS in looks or habit. According to Wilkerson Mills, it can be very tricky to grow. Dirr's book 'Hydrangeas for American Gardens' shows Hanabi that looks nothing like my plant nor does his description fit. Check out the American Hydrangea Society site below. The plant that AHS is calling Fuji Waterfall (pic on left side of screen) looks like mine only not as full. Mine looks half lacecap and half mophead and the double sterile flowers hang very far away from the double fertile flowers (like a waterfall?) as opposed to shooting out in a sparce sphere or ring . Hydrangea Plus is calling theirs Fuji Waterfall as well. Esveld has pictures of two different plants, calling them both Hanabi. It seems that whether you do a search for FW or Hanabi, you come up with almost the same pics, with a few exceptions. Something else to note is that pictures taken at different stages of bloom can look like different plants. If my plant is now Hanabi, then I wonder what is the name of the plant shown as Hanabi (deep pink/blue, shorter pedicles) in Dirr's book and elsewhere?...It's anybody's guess. At the end of the day, a rose by any other name.... But not knowing will still drive you crazy!!.....yg Here is a link that might be useful: American Hydrangea Society

It's more hardy in my zone, thus less "fragile", than the Nikko Blue. But, hydrangeas grown in pots at the nursery often shows signs of distress the first year in your home garden. Try cutting off the damaged leaves, keep well watered, and it should be fine next year.

Tina, all the ones you mentioned except Nikko Blue bloom on new wood, that's why you can prune them in Spring. The ones that bloom on old wood should be pruned right after they're done blooming. As far as I know of, Nikko Blue blooms mostly on old wood. In the colder zones it should be protected like mentioned before. If it dies down to the ground during the winter, or you prune it sharply in the Spring, it will most likely not have any blooms. Pee Gee in the northern states can take full sun. I moved mine from a shady area to a sunny area that gets sun from around 7am to 3pm. It's doing much better there. My Endless Summer gets sun from 8am until around 1:30pm. The 1st summer the leaves looked a little sunburn, but it it looking just great now. With new shrubs I do deadhead, but don't prune for the 1st three years unless it's to get rid of dead or damaged branches in the spring. Kat

The concern in zone 5 is normally that of getting reliable bloomage. From the sound of your experience with the other mophead, there is a chance that the rebloomers ES and NB may perform as those rebloomers are intended to do. I doubt the shrubs may get 10' in places where winter kill dries out all the stems but, if the stems were not to die and the plant gets more than 6', you could do rejuvenation pruning and cut down 1/3 of the stems in three consecutive years. One concern is that some people in zones 4-5 have had issues with ES not blooming during their whole growing season. The landscaper's phrase 'will not survive winter' actually refers to the fact that in some cold zones like yours, the stems above the ground may dry out and die during winter (unless you winter protect). The roots should stay alive. The dead stems contain invisible flower buds developed on the prior August-September and the buds should usually open in the early Spring. But Winter in your zone will usually kill these stems & buds (unless you winter protect them). On the other hand, since ES and NB are considered rebloomers. They should still develop new growth (stems) from the base in Spring. And when the new stems get tall/old enough, the stems should develop flower buds and these flower buds should open... in mid to late summer. Other hydrangeas that bloom reliably and are not affected by winter kill in Z5 are the hydrangea paniculatas (white blooms that turn shades of pink) and the Annabelle-like hydrangeas. No blues or purples with those though. If you want to try ES & NB, try "baby steps" first to see what happens. I would then buy a Nantucket Blue and observe how it performs. Fertilize once in Spring and do not prune it after the month of June. The next year, buy more NB if all goes well...