I would wait until it's almost ready to bloom before removing any canes that look "dead". You may get some sprouts on a couple lower sets of nodes on those older canes and retaining at least those can help to build up a taller shrub. You may not really need to overtly fertilize your hydrangea outside of putting some compost around it and mulch to help retain moisture. Hollytone is a good "natural" fertilizer, but note that it has an acidifer in it, which would make ES more blue (assuming there's some natural aluminum in the soil) if that is what you want.

Hydrangeas do not grow as fast as roses. Pinching may force them to become bushier/thicker plants but I am not sure it would make them grow faster. I have not tried that with hydrangeas but if you do a Gardenweb Search on the word pinch or pinching, you will see some people who have tried it (you could send them a Gardenweb Mail to see how that worked for them). I agree they will concentrate on growth if you pinch them but, ES being a rebloomer, you may still get blooms later in the growing season.

Eyan/ostrich, the more sun a hydrangea gets, the more water it will need. After all, they are part sun plants. Full sun is usually defined as 6 hours of sun or more so I hope your plants are getting morning sun for less than 6 hours. Some hydrangeas like Oak Leaf and -I think- Pee Gees are more drought/sun tolerant once they are established, i.e., after their first year. The reason you two are seeing these problems with the ES is that the plant is losing water more quickly than it can absorb it. When that happens, you get wilting. The stems and the leaves look droopy, as eyan describes. It is a normal reaction on most plants. Then surprise! Once the sun goes down or if you water them, their watering needs are reduced so (some) plants recover. But wilting is a sign of stress and can result in dead plants; it is not a good idea to have a hydrangea wilted all the time. That is because, by their nature, hydrangeas are very thirsty plants. And recently planted hydrangeas will require even more watering attention because their root systems are not fully developed. After their first year though, their watering requirements will not be as bad as they are now. So how much watering? During the hot Texas Summer (like right now), I water my hydrangeas/azaleas/camellias between 1 to 1.5 hours using drip irrigation three times a week. Sounds like a lot but an hour of drip is about 1 gallon of water. Of course, I have to deal with 100-degree weather for several weeks/months and you do not. But, that will give you an idea. During the spring, I water twice a week for one hour. Less than that during the winter. I think that you should water the plants about 1-gallon of water AT LEAST weekly during this time of the year. You can talk about that with others who live nearby and already have established hydrangeas. Or better yet... you can measure/log the amount of water you provide and jot down when you notice wilting. If wilting continues to reoccur then take appropriate action. For example, the days when your sprinkler system goes off, make notes like 'watered for "X" minutes' in your calendar. If you detect wilting then put a note. If it keeps happening, increase the amount of water and note when you altered watering and for how many minutes. That is what I do on my annual calendar starting in mid-May. As soon as I notice wilting, that raises a yellow flag. If wilting continues then I tweak the amount of watering. Suggestion: either keep the calendar or transfer its info onto new calendars so that, next year, you know about what date the plants began to get stressed. If wilting becomes a big issue with the new ES, consider more drastic action: transplanting to a more shaded location and/or one that gets more water. Say, how about that mulch? Make sure you have mulch up to the drip line. 2-3 inches of shredded pine bark mulch works for my plants. Pine straw mulch will also work. Oh! Do not forget to reverse the process in the Fall when temps go down! For me that is around September! Make a note of that too on your calendar so next year you are prepared. Good luck, Luis

Hi Oakley - Several experts, have already chimed in & posted reassurances & advices, that I have learned & still learning from, in over the few years I have been reading & inquiring, in this truly great forums. Since you wish to know as well, what you might expect from your newly planted ES over the years. I planted 2 (2-gal) pots in '06, moved 3 times before presenting themselves as rewarding as the pics I'm posting. In my zone, like Alisande's ES & gg148's clarifications, my ES can be influenced dramatically by what 'Ma Nature' doles us. This past Winter was one of our worst one, killing even very established trees & shrubs ... Spring was absolutely crazy, 2 wks of heavy rains followed immediately by 2 weeks of sun/steamy heat of 100s (enough to steam cook many barely lushing/blooming perennials)! That said, both ES still budded & blossoms were huge, but significantly less than, what you'll see in the link. To date, a few more cluster buds are showing! However both bushes have grown tremendously, despite dying to the ground ... like Alisande's - not protected in Winter any longer, as they are now older (I did in their first season-using cardboard method). Best wishes to you & welcome to our fold!!! Â;) Here is a link that might be useful: 2 ESs in 2008