What a beautiful kitty. He's lucky he found you. I am a fan of Honeybells. It's one of the first I bought and it did take me quite a while to appreciate it. At that time I thought all hostas should look like fortunei ones. Round, even and mounded. The wavy droopy look didn't excite me. I moved it around two or three times and ignored it. Eventually it ended up where it is shown in the first two pictures. I has room to kind of flow downhill and it suites it perfectly. It is sort of the king of this whole area of the garden. The third picture is of a honeybells I've been growing in a pot on the west side balcony - hot. As long as it sits in a dish of water it does just fine. This picture was taken on August 30 last year. Notice there is no damage to the leaves at all. As far as the flowers grow - it has nice ones. They may smell but I don't grow hostas for the flowers. The idea that they or guacamole and that family smell like gardenias makes me think that someone has never actually smelled a gardenia.

Hello, Operaghost. A small/limited amount of wilting has happened to me before and I never found an obvious cause. I first looked for borer insects but found no evidence so I finally assumed it was caused by a windy day. The problem "went away" on its own after a few days or so. Wilting/drooping of leaves indicates that the leaves are loosing moisture faster than the roots can absorb them. So lack of moisture, a windy day or placing the shrub in a windy location will cause this wilted look. It is very common during summer time on many hydrangeas. But most wilting episodes involve almost the whole shrub, not just 2-3 leaves. If the wilting episode looks extreme, water � gallon of water immediately and ask questions later. Otherwise, insert a finger into the soil to a depth of 4" and if it feels almost dry or dry then water 1/2 gallon. If the soil feels moist or wet, do not water ..... instead, check the hydrangea again in the morning. If still wilted in the morning, water 1/2 gallon. You can use the finger method in order to determine when to water. Check the moisture daily for two weeks. For a "new" hydrangea, water 1 gallon of water if it feels dry or almost dry. Each time that you water, make an entry in a wall calendar. After two weeks, review your calendar notes and determine how often you are watering (once every two/three/four/etc days for example). Then set your sprinkler to water 1 gallon of water on the same frequency. If temperatures change 10-15 degrees and stay there, re-check using the finger method for another two weeks. Wilting can also be a sign that the roots are rotting. When the roots rot, the part of the shrub above ground does not get enough moisture and you get wilting of the leaves. It is hard to differentiate by wilting from lack of moisture or wilting due to root rot. That is why it is important not to water too much. Root rot normally affects the whole shrub or almost the whole thing. Since your problem appears to be limited to just a few leaves, I would monitor the hydrangea and its soil moisture closely. For now, assume it is either too windy or that it needs more moisture; water according to the finger method. Regarding your other questions/observations, when hydrangeas get insufficient moisture, the leaves brown out starting at the edges of the leaves so again, keep an eye on soil moisture. Too much sun shows up as complete yellowing of the leaves. They turn all yellow or white-ish. To prevent this, I plant hydrangeas here such that they get shade starting at 11am-12pm. Hydrangeas are not bothered by too many pests but there will be some that take a bite and move on. As long as the issue is small and limited as you see, I would take no action. But you could release some beneficial organisms like Lady Beetles, etc Does that help you, Operaghost? Luis

A plant in regular 5g black pastic pot should do well with 1g of water, dmama386. To determine when to water, insert a finger into the soil somewhat near the root ball to a depth of 4". If the soil feels almost dry or dry then water and mark it on the calendar. Do this for 1-2 weeks. Then review the information on the calendar and see how often you are watering. Then set the sprinkler or drip irrigation to water 1g on that same frequency (every 2,3,4,5,etc days). If the temperatures change around 10 degrees and stay there, use the finger method again. If your soil is sandy, add 50% more water than normal. If tomorrow's weather calls for wind advisories, consider watering the night before as windy days can cause hydrangeas to wilt. Because your plant is new and is not established in your garden, it will have a tendency to wilt that will be more pronounced on years 1-2. When this happens, follow this approach... If the wilting episode looks really bad, water immediately 1g of water. Otherwise, test the soil moisture with your finger. If it feels dry or almost dry then water 1g. Otherwise, wait until next morning and water 1/2g if still wilted. Most hydrangeas will recover on their own by night time. Maintain 3-4 inches of mulch past the canopy at all times. This conserves soil moisture so you do not have to water often. Hydrangeas usually do not need pruning provided your location allows them to grow to their full mature size. With mopheads, their mature size can be around 5-6' (HxW); I am assuming some of widest ones since you do not know the variety. After 3-4 years of growth, you may start getting a better feel. Of course, for safety and aesthetic reason, you may need to prune sometimes. Since you do not know the variety, I recommend pruning after blooming (so you enjoy the blooms) and before the start of July. My shrubs in Texas begin to produce new flower buds in mid July so pruning by the end of June will make sure that you do not prune next year's flower buds. Further up north, bud production will start a little later. Stems can be pruned about 1" from the brown whereas dried flower buds can be deaheaded. Aluminum sulfate is used to change the color of the blooms to blue when your soil is alkaline. You need to determine if your soil is acidic or alkaline. To determine your soil pH, send a sample to the University of Florida Extension Soil Testing Laboratory (http://soilslab.ifas.ufl.edu ). An alternative is to ask neighbors who have hydrangeas, ask a plant nursery near your home or purchase a cheap soil pH measuring kit at a nursery, Lowe's, etc. If you have to add aluminum phosphate then follow the directions on the package for as long as you have the hydrangea. Then use the pH measuring kit to see how your soil is changing from alkaline to acidic. A kit that measures using the pH scale makes the process easier. Then again, growing the hydrangea in a pot instead would make this even easier to do, of course. Hydrangeas do not require much fertilizer on normal soils. Sandy soils may require application of amendments (such as magnesium) and a soil test every 3-5 years is recommended. An application 1 cup of compost, manure or cottonseed meal in April-May and June should be enough but a soil test can tell you what else is needed. You can also add coffee grounds, liquid seaweed or liquid fish. Stop all fertilizers in July to help the plant go into dormancy after the fall. If your hydrangeas are like mine, they will go dormant between November-December. Use that time to remove plant debris. Below is a website with lots of hydrangea information. Does that help you? Luis Here is a link that might be useful: More Hydrangea Information

Sunlight - In the South, the leaves will sun scorch if exposed to too much sun so give them sun in the mornings and shade in the afternoons. In the northern states, they can be exposed to more sunlight. Near the border with Canada, you can probably get away with full sun. Always observe how others near your home have planted their hydrangeas. The chosen location should allow the plant to grow as wide and tall as shown in the plant label. Allow for good air flow between plants by not crowding the hydrangea near other plants. Moisture - they need a constant supply of moisture or as constant as one can practically do. To begin with, check them daily by inserting a finger into the soil to a depth of 4". If it feels almost dry or dry then water it. If it feels wet, try to determine why and take appropriate action if any is needed. Wet soil can cause fungal issues. Every time that you water, mark it in a wall calendar. After 1-2 weeks of doing this every day, review how often you had to water. Then set your sprinkler or drip irrigation to water 1g of water on the same frequency (every 2/3/4/5/etc days). Do this again when the temps change 10-15 and stay there. Apply 3-4" of mulch thru the drip line or a little beyond. Water the soil (not the leaves) early in the morning. Fertilizer - fertilize with 1/2 cup to 1 cup of cottonseed meal, compost, manure or a general purpose slow-release fertilizer in May and late June only. It is ok to add weak fertilizers like coffee grounds, liquid seaweed or liquid fish to the soil but stop all fertilizer by July/August. This prepares the plant for dormancy and helps minimize the chance of flower buds getting zapped by early frosts in the Fall. The plant in the pot will require monthly feedings during the growing season. Soil - acidic, well draining (but will tolerate some small amount of alkalinity). Neighbors or a nearby local nursery can tell you about this if you do not already know. Nurseries also sell kits for measuring alkalinity/acidity (called pH Kits, etc). If your soil is alkaline, amend the soil at least once in Spring using products that will acidify the soil (such as, garden sulphur, iron chelated liquids, green sand, etc) Pruning - if you have allowed for the size shown in the plant label, you may have to prune very little. The plant label may give exact instructions depending on whether the hydrangea blooms on new wood like the ES or not. Generally, you will do fine if you prune after the plants blooms but before the month of July/August. Wilting - will be common during the first year, especially during the summer or during windy days. If the wilting episode looks extreme, water it immediately (1/2 to 1g). Otherwise, check the soil for moisture first. If the soil is dry then water 1/2 to 1g of water. If it feels moist then wait until the next morning. If still wilted then water it. You will notice that these wilting episodes self correct after the sun goes down and will be reduced as the plant gets established in 1-2 years. Winterizing - You basically take care of this issue when you select plants that are hardy in your zone. Kentucky has USDA Zones 5 and 6. Determine in which zone you live (ask neighbors or local close-by plant nurseries, ck in the Internet) and try to purchase plants hardy on that zone or one zone less. This way, you do not have to winter protect the shrub that is planted in the ground at all (snow and the mulch takes care of protecting during the worst of winter). For hydrangeas that are planted out of zone outdoors, you will have to winter protect them. Once technique used encloses them in chicken wire that extends several inches away from the plant (width and height wise). Make sure that the ends of the stems are always protected since this is where tender flower buds reside. When the plant starts going dormant, fill the chicken wire enclosure with dried out leaves or mulch. Lots of leaves. A lot. Keep extra leaves handy in a plastic bag so you can add more when settling occurs in the middle of winter. Another winter protection technique involves slowly pressing downwards the stems with a cardboard until they are flat down. Then add leaves/mulch on top to act as insulation. A few well placed rocks can help keep the cardboard in place. See the link below for a post dealing with this topic. The potted hydrangea can be kept outside until you see that it is going dormant. Then move it into a garage like setting and water it once a week or once every two weeks. The hydrangea will be dormant but it is not dead so continue this (no fertilizers) until 1-2 weeks after the last average date of last frost for your area. Wait until late May or early June before deciding to prune any dead looking dried-out stems. Before winterizing, add more mulch to maintain 3-4". Remove plant debris under the shrubs. The spent blooms can be left over winter or they can be deadheaded. The leaves will "disintegrate" slowly as well. More Info? Go to http://www.hydrangeashydrangeas.com/ Does this help you, Jenwr? Luis Here is a link that might be useful: Overwintering Hydrangea macrophylla