SO, is it the shade or the hitting of i.e. another tree that makes it grow upward? The tree is going to reach toward the light, wherever the light is. Dense trees will inhibit it, yes. Id like to see pics of the over 40 year Dogwoods kept in check, foxearth. You can see that the foliage on the left side of the tree is wider than the right, which is inhibited by a large juniper (Eastern Red Cedar) to the south of it. The dogwood that I haven't a photo of was inhibited by the presence of a nearby pecan and an evergreen oak and nibbled by cattle on the fence side, so it is not a specimen tree, misshapen and spindly. Limbs reach out to the light, and little sassafrases have come up around it. What if I surround the Dogwood on only TWO out of all four sides with trees - will it grow in very wide as a wedge filling in the two open sides, or will the tree remain uniformly in check keeping only as wide as the two obstructed sides (as per trees) keep it? It will grow toward the light. The sides that are not obstructed reach to the light, is my observation here. Trees on two sides generally result in more vigorous growth on the open sides. Growth will also vary with the position of the sun and the density of the trees. If there are trees on two sides and a tall building shading a third side, that will affect growth as well. The size of my trees is irrelevant because of the difference in climate, soil and growing conditions. My young dogwoods of the same age vary in height by several feet, given different siting conditions. Think about the natural growth of a forest. Dogwoods are lovely understory trees, growing with layered limbs in light high shade and adapting to the site. Planted out in the open, they grow more upright and symmetrical. Nell

I think that some people have suggested that if you prune off the flower heads throughout the summer then you will be encouraging more flowers for that summer. I haven't done this for the two summers that I've had mine in the ground, and I don't seem to have gotten a lot of new flowers after the early flush. I can see some new flowers coming along at this point but not a lot. Last season, by the time the later flowers came along, the frost got them before they really got to a bloom state. It's an interesting question about whether the deadheading will encourage new flowers this season. Was your previous garden in zone 5? I'd be curious to know which hydrangeas you had that bloomed on old wood that you were able to get to flowrer. I've had luck with Blue Billow and Endless Summer, but that's about it for me in my zone 5. But I don't see any reason that you wouldn't prune Endless Summer in the Spring and Fall just like you would have with your previous garden. For me it's a really easy. The winters have taken mine back to the ground for me. Good luck. Hay.

Its sad how Home Depot just lets all those plants die. The reason they don't offer them at reduced prices is the vendor takes everything back so there is no loss to HD. I figure the vendor just nurses them back for sale next spring, by then the roots are completely bound. Our Lowe's does actually reduce prices, especially on perrineals. I just bought almost 20 plants (russian sage, miscanthus graziella, bearded red tongue, solidago, coreopsis to name a few) for a dollar a piece. All in excellent condition. However, I found a 2 gallon container with a leafless stick coming out of the middle which was labled "Assorted Hydrangea" that was only 1/2 price of $29.99. I offered them a dollar for it, but of course they said no. As for the OP, I usually wait until spring to prune off the spent flowers. I like to crumble them up around the plant, as I've read they are a good source of Aluminume Sulfate.

I have found it very difficult to keep large shrubs going in large planters over the drought we are currently experiencing across southern Australia. The combination of heat and transpiration very quickly dries out the soil and the plant can suddenly droop from water stress even though it is a very drought tolerant species. Part of the drought tolerance of many native shrubs and tree comes from their deep root systems that can reach water sources deep in the soil profile. Obviously this is impossible in a planter and so highly drought tolerant species can be susceptible to fatal water stress. I would suggest cutting off the bottom of your planters and allow the root system to grow into the sub-soil while maintaining the illusion of the planters. And please be aware that Australian native plants can be highly invasive environmental weeds when grown outside Australia.