Yeah, paniculatas like PW typically do very well. It is a good choice so check: (a) that you are not feeding it too much fertilizer - a single application of a general purpose, slow release fertilizer in the Spring should do well for the whole year (assuming your soil has no mineral deficiencies); (b) paniculatas need more sun but do not go overboard with sun exposure or the leaves may complain; (c) watch out for deer/squirrels/etc, pests that like to eat the flower buds and which would prevent you from getting bloomage; (d) do not prune them once they leaf out (just in case you are pruning when the shrubs are developing the flower buds). They bloom quite early here too so it is best to not prune once they leaf out. Instead, prune when they have lost their foliage or better yet, do not prune at all. If planted where they can attain their estimated size at maturity, hydrangeas should need minimal pruning. Maybe only pruning of any stems that died out during winter. Some shrubs may need 2-3 years to develop a good root system so they shrubs may delay blooming *or may delay good blooming) until then. Also, maintain the soil as evenly moist as you can so the plant does not abort the flower buds during a dry spell in late Spring or Summer... 3-4" of mulch helps with watering issues... Water when soil feels dry to a depth of 4". A 1g to 2g watering is sufficient (depends on how to tall the plants are) per watering when the soil feels dry or almost dry.

I planted one early last fall. It was started just that year, so very small - only 2 branches. This winter my dog stepped on it and took it down to one branch. I would say it was the latest of my hydrangeas this year to leaf out (I also have 3 Little Lambs & 1 Burgundy Lace - they were also planted last year but probably 2nd or 3rd year plants). But overall I have been pleased...it has at least tripled in size with at around 8 striking red branches loaded with clean foliage at about 2' high. No signs of buds yet - 2 of my LL's do, one does not & the Burgundy Lace does not yet either. It is young though so my comments are limited, so far everything seems healthy but I may have to wait another year before I see blooms and some size to it. Compared to my LL's, I also think its less vigourous - but then those little guys are awesome.

ditas, it's great to "see" you again! My Limelight is indeed early this year, with the warm temperature and plentiful rain fall earlier on (and now we have a drought! Sigh...). It's been a very strange spring!!! hydrangeasnohio, you noticed my Weigela My Monet too? I love that little shrub! it's so colorful and well-behaved, I got another one for another location last year too! It really brightens up any semi-shade spot. Yours is looking so healthy and lovely too! Regarding my Limelight, I pruned it very, very hard last year. It resulted in a less full shrub with lots of new canes and big blooms which flopped over a little bit after a rainstorm. This year, I decided to just selectively prune it, taking off some branches that were a bit unruly and crossing over other canes, and then just trimmed off the other ones. So far, I like the results - the shrub appears to be fuller and more uniform. Let's see how it will look when it blooms. I expect the blooms to be smaller, but that's OK because I think that when the blooms were too huge last year, they did look a little gawdy.... LOL. We shall see! :-)

mjsavage, you are very welcome! I really am not sure if my Zone 3 garden will ever look as nice as my Zone 5 garden... but we shall see! :-) Let me see if I have photos to share. I just switched PC so I need to find those photos again! Ha! luis_pr, oh my goodness.... the challenges of Zone 3 gardening are multiple. First, you have such a small variety of plants, so you are very limited as to what you can choose to create that "palette" of colours and textures.... then the growing season is so short (late May through September and that's it!!! Yikes....) that many plants just do not have enough time to mature during that season to bloom well, especially those late bloomers. For instance, by early September, we get pretty cool here already, and then by late September, there may be frost! So those late blooming perennials or flowering shrubs will never reach the point that they will be seen blooming, even though they may officially survive the Zone 3 temperature! Anyway, as a result of all of these challenges, most of the plants and trees are much smaller here. For instance, the Limelight in my Zone 5 yard grew to 6 feet tall in just a few years, but I doubt that I would ever see a Limelight that size here! Probably just 4 feet or so, I guess.... BTW, that's why Quick Fire is good here as it blooms earlier than the other paniculatas but even the other paniculatas may bloom a bit too late here.... SIGH! BTW, we don't really have any spring here - it kinda just went straight from a mild winter to summer in late June! So none of the spectacular blooms here. Probably the best colours are provided by the bulbs and that's about it. And then we need to stop fertilizing roses by late August, in order to avoid much growth in September just to let the poor thing harden up for winter!!! Isn't that just so different!? Oh, and forget about tea roses here.... another big SIGH! Oh, and one other thing that I have already learned just after being here for 4 years - even though these "Zone 3 plants" may survive one winter, it does not guarantee that they may survive the next one! It is always exciting and sad to see which plants make it through and which ones did not make it through winter. Oh dear, the more I talk about this, the more I miss my Zone 5 garden! Yup, luis, NO macrophyllas here! Even though Endless Summer has been shown to survive here (most of it probably dies back to the ground) but then it takes so much time and energy to grow that it will probably not bloom until August, by then you are almost preparing for winter.... SEE WHAT I MEAN!? Mind you, they do sell lots of Zone 4 and 5 plants here though. I miss my macrophyllas that I decided to grow one in a big pot last year! It overwintered quite well in the insulated but unheated garage, and it's already sending up shoots with new leaves now! I am now allowing it to sit outside during the day, and then put it back into the garage overnight. Hopefully, this will do well! I am so excited!!! :-) OK, I have been rambling.... LOL! KarenPA - as for the size of this bed, it was a pretty decent size but not big enough! LOL! Anyway, just so that you can make sense of it, the Limelight in 2009 was probably about 5 feet tall and wide. So that should give you some idea as to how big the overall bed is. Alright, before I go to bed, I forgot to tell you guys that I have the following hydrangeas in my Zone 3 backyard now: 1. Quick Fire 2. Pinky Winky 3. Vanilla Strawberry 4. Little Lime 5. Pee Gee (OK, these are really in my front yard LOL) I had a paniculata that did not make it here so I had to yank it out!!! YIKES! Oh my, what was its name??? I am having a little confusion moment here so I will let you know once I remember what it's called! LOL! Good night, everyone!