Sherry, We used to live in Gainesville and I've found that the climate there vs Jax is extremely different. So I would think that my advice for you would not be as helpful as from someone in Ocala. I know what you mean about the freezes. We get them here, too. Last winter was very mild, overall, and spring came early. But the people at our local nursery, Trads, kept warning everyone that it was too early to plant and trust the weather when we had warm beautiful days in Feb-Mar. Luckily, we only got one freeze during that time period. As for your transplant time... I'd time it to coincide with your coldest most dormant time, before it breaks bud. For me, that would be the middle of January. I water the plant well the day before I plan to transplant. I bought a long spade, something that Roger on This Old House calls a transplant shovel. I go all the way around the drip line of my small plants at least twice, vertically, to cleanly cut my roots. If your drip line is too large to dig out you'll just have to use good judgement. Then, I try to dig out about 8" or so of dirt outside of the drip line with a regular shovel. This allows me to get easier access to the root ball of my plant. Then, I take my long spade and cut obliquely (horizontally) into the rootball, itself. I point the spade tip slightly downward in order to get more dirt/roots. If your rootball is too small the plant won't survive. Too big and you won't be able to carry without damaging the plant out your back. With the spade you make sure that you've completely horizontally (obliquely) cut through everything attaching the rootball to the ground. Be careful not to pry up with the spade because it will bend the shovel head. The next part works much better with the help of a friend. Take two regular pointed tip shovels and use them to pry the rootball up from the ground. You will find that you've missed some roots, so now is the time to cut then with the spade.Then, find a way to either lift it by hand out of the hole or feed a tarp or other device under the ball. I usually get it lifted out of the whole and onto a tarp. I may mist the rootball lightly to keep the tender root hairs moist. Be extremely gentle. Just a vapor of mist. Then, we drag the tarp to the new location which is already dug out and waiting for the transplant. Adjust for height. Amend if necessary/recommended. Drop in. Backfill halfway. Water it in well. Allow the water to remove any hidden air pockets. Backfill some more. Repeat. I have sandy, loamy/sandy soil. So, I literally can't over water anything... For a winter transplant, I then will water it every day for a week. Then twice a week for a week and then once to twice a week until it warms up. If I'm really worried about survival at transplant I'll add a little SuperThrive. I personally don't believe the science behind SuperThrive. It literally looks like snake oil to me. That said and old master gardener told me to use it when I transplanted a 5 gallon camellia 3 months after originally planting it and it survived without any yellowing or leaf drop. It probably lived because it was a new containerized planting that hadn't, yet, established any new significant roots. Nevertheless... I definitely wouldn't go out of my way to find, buy or use SuperThrive because, again, it's probably snake oil. But if you have some it probably wouldn't hurt to use some. As for covering the plants... I've planted 17 hydrangeas (all types, macs, pan, arbor) this year and I have 16 more (all types including oakleafs) on order from Internet nurseries that should arrive in 1 week. I definitely plan on covering, intermittently as necessary this winter. I used sheets last year and had some branch loss at the edge of the sheets. I also tried the landscape freeze covers they sell at the big box stores. Same thing. Most of the plants thrived and the edges liquified. So this year I'm building frames to go over the plants and I'm going to cover with fabric. I have always wanted to try a lightbulb but I'm afraid of catching something on fire. I lived in Boston in the past and people used leaves and burlap, but it looks like a lot of work especially for us in Florida. Because, I would think with our warm temps followed by random brief cold snaps, we'd have to assemble, disassemble, reassemble etc. Good luck with your transplant and do get some help lifting so that you don't hurt yourself or the plant. Brad

Well, I can only speak from my experience. As you can see from my pictures, I did a really hard prune. I am shocked by how beautifully it has grown back and prolifically bloomed. I don’t think removing them will hurt the appearance of the trees. If you want them to maintain a tree structure I would recommend cutting those suckers off either late fall or early spring. Most people say to prune in early spring but it can also be done in fall. Basically, the suckers are taking energy away from the development of the main tree trunk. Removing them will let the energy go into producing the tree, branches and flowers. Also, downward branches, weak/thin branches and crossways branches should be removed. Hope this helps! debra

Some Hydrangea paniculata varieties can have problems with not enough winter chill ===>>> with that said.. if you gave up the cold north.. then give up the plants in the cold north ... probably time for you to go tropical... and learn about all the things in FL.. rather than trying to bring all or your grandmas plant down south ... i just dont get all the posts and peeps who move to warmer climes.. and then crave all the plants from where they left ... crikey.. ken

Luis, the flowers emerge greenish but with sun the flowers begin to turn white, then pink and by fall it turns a purple/pink color. It’s really beautiful spring through fall. I trim back the weak and downward branches almost to the main branches on the tree. One year I trimmed it back so hard I thought I had killed it! It came back better the following year! James, making sure you trim back very long and/or weak branches is the best way to prevent flopping. Although a heavy rain will cause the branches to flop a bit, but that is only temporary. Although, I have been known to go out after a hard rain and shake off the water on the blooms (hahaha). I also prune before any snowfall because a heavy wet snow can break branches if the blooms are left on. debra