Forget the clethra!!! It needs loose moist soil to really thrive & having gardened in the Denver area...you'd have to work hard to get enough compost worked in your soil plus you'd have to provide extra water, probably weekly, to get clethra anifolia to flurish. The red twig dogwood or the variegated one are both good choices. There's also a yellow twig that is beautiful in the winter against the snow. The stems are bright yellow and stand out quite dramatically. They are also inexpensive, readily available, and require little to no maintenance other than annual thinning of 1/3 of the oldest stems to keep the shrub growing new colorful shoots. The stems begin to darken and loose their bright red or yellow coloring as they age...hence, the need to prune annually. Just cut out, at ground level, 1/3 of the stems taking the oldest first. Very good choice for your area. A 3 plant grouping of one of each type would be stunning in the winter & attractive all summer. I find the yellow twig blooms heavier than the red or variegated. Mine blooms in June and sets nice dark berries that the birds love.

They may do ok. I would make sure they are well watered.

That's going to depend upon how many seedlings there are per pot and of what type. If you have three or four minis in a small pot like that and can both keep them from frying in too high heat and well watered, they could exist their first year or so in many instances. If you've raised seedlings of large climbers or shrubs, one would outgrow that size pot in a very short time. I created 2' X 4' x 8" deep wooden table planters with screen and wire bottoms which stand on saw horses. I plant all the seeds in them and leave them from planting (around Thanksgiving) until the following Thanksgiving when the temps are cool enough for transplanting and the rains SHOULD begin. I cover the tops of the tables with wooden lids which are 1" X 2" frames with hardware cloth stapled to them so air, light and water can easily get in, but rodents and birds are kept out. Once they are transplanted, they can go into anything from a four inch pot to a five gallon, depending upon the seedling. I had many fit the four inch pots this year with just as many demanding gallons, two and three gallons and several which required five gallon nursery cans. If the seedlings don't out grow the size pots you've used, they can remain in them until they do. Many seedlings won't generate vigorous root systems on their own and those are often not healthy nor vigorous enough to retain. Generally, mice, birds, rats and squirrels LOVE the seeds. Squirrels and other rodents will eat the hips and seeds like candy as they've very nutritious and require virtually no effort to "harvest". Seedlings are susceptible to rabbits, rats and squirrels. Keeping all of them out is a constant battle. For the smaller ones, I place them up in a raised terrace where the rabbits generally can't get in to. I have to use traps for the rats/mice. Squirrels are impossible as it's illegal here to do anything to them. For the larger cans, I put the gallons inside and surround them with the larger cans to create a barrier which works to a point. But, as with burglers, if one WANTS in, you can't stop them. Good luck! Kim

Doesn't it depend on the type of hydrangea (paniculata vs macrophylla vs aborescens, etc.)? Have to say I'm fairly new to hydrangeas with only a couple of years of experience but I have 2 different panicle hydrangeas which seem to need a lot of sun to bloom well. I just purchased a macrophylla, which needs protection in my climate but is meant to do well in shade. I'll have to see what happens next year. I am guessing that lady in red is a macrophylla so that makes me a bit nervous for my chances of blooms as the spot I chose is very shady!