Hello, Just to let you know, I am in zone 7 as you are and I took cuttings from a number of mophead type hydrangeas in approximately early April ( I was moving from a house and took some cuttings to the new house..). These rooted in just a few weeks and have been planted in a flower bed since about mid May. They are now about 1 1/2 feet tall and branched (I did pinch the central leaves two weeks ago to encourage branching). There is no doubt that they will be big enough to bloom next year. I suspect if I had gotten the cuttings sooner, they might have even bloomed this year. Not sure of the variety--they just came with the house. You can't go wrong--I would just keep them in pots until early fall when it cools down a bit, but put them out in your bed in time for them to grow and establish roots this year. They will bloom for you next year, I'm pretty certain. Cheers!

The one thing to check, I think, is if the GC was trying to warn you off. Does he really want to work over the holidays? Do his subs? Are they taking their kids on vacation just when you thought they'd be working? The GC might want the job too much to tell you no-can-do, and figure he can probably make it work out, rather than being eager for your start date. If you're sure he and the subs are on board, go for it! And maybe add an incentive bonus for them to be done, cleaned up and signed off by January 25 (sooner if that's the quote), which gives you a week to get your act together before your party. Plus a penalty if it's not done by February 1. It can be done if everyone's on board. I only worry that less than 2 months over the holidays is awfully tight, if you really want them done in time for the party.

That's really cool that your roses are coming back. I'm sooo glad I live in a place where I don't have to worry about that! Altho, we have had some hairy winters in the past. We normally get a day or so of snow every winter, but it's been a long time. Right now it's in the 40's with rain, rain, rain! I can't complain too much tho, because we need it badly. I just hate when we get so much in one shot or so. The local creeks and waterways are almost about to overflow, even after several yrs of going nearly dry! It's crazy. They said it was going to take like 3yrs to get our lakes and reservoirs back to normal. But they were wrong! I think I read the other day that Oroville Lake rose something like 20" in less than a week, and that was before this storm hit! All my roses have been coming back with a vengeance. The weather was warm two weeks or so ago. We always get a Feb or Jan spring teaser, but this last one was like almost 2weeks of 60-70degree days. I got a lot of yardwork done. But I knew it would get cold again. Winter ain't over yet!! Oh but I noticed my neighbor's forsythia started blooming a couple days ago, despite the cold temps! I'm ready for spring!! Ya gotta post some pics of those babies when they bloom again!! We wanna see 'em!!

Hi! First of all, make sure you didn't give it too much sun. If you bought it at a dim store, it might not be super good to give it all that light at once. Try to give it light slowly; maybe a couple hours a day, and slowly bump it up, so it can acclimate, and not burn. It is pretty hard for me to tell if you have overwatered or not. Usually the first thing I do after I buy a new plant, is get it out of the old soil! A lot of times, the soil is caked on there really good. When you watered, did a lot come out of the drainage hole? If you are in need of a better soil, but you can't get the ingredients, you could use a wick. You can have a wick (maybe yarn would do?) inserted into a few of the drainage holes, and a couple inches (depends on the pot) into the soil. You would have a larger pot underneath with some soil in it, and the excess water drains from the plant, through the wick (the wick extends into the big pot's soil), and into the large pot, where it can do no harm. I think a wick is a good temporary solution, but it is better to use a good mix (I trust you know what I am talking about from previous threads??) Good luck! ~palmsandsnow Post script: It is okay to leave a plant in the old soil for a couple of days, but after that, you might want to start thinking of a repot!