We have very, very sandy soil in most parts of Long Island (including where I live). If I go past the 6-8 inches of top soil its a beach. If you fill a 2 foot hole with water its usually gone in about 2-3 hours (hence the need for lots of organic matter/peat to hold the moisture). I've got a good computer controlled irrigation system. There are four rose that are close to a walkway where I supplemented the hole with some TerraSorb because of the radiant heat effect. Most of them are mixed into a 125' long perennial bed (I didn't do that one myself) that was planted about a month ago, so I'm watering that zone every other day. I check the soil every few days to make sure its not too wet or dry (its very hard to overwater with my soil composition).

THANK YOU everyone for your all of your thoughtful insight. hcmcdole: I really like your idea of trying to grow them as a free form esapaillar. Or what if I just prune REALLY aggressively on the backside???... So here's what I'm thinking I'm going to do: I am going to prune REALLY aggressively on the backside of the plant to minimize it's growth and spread against the wall... Do you think this would work??? I don't mind how much if it wants to spread forward away from the wall or side ways in width. I would also like to minimize and maintain about a 5 foot height... That way it can overlap the bottom edge of my windows... And I can see the flowers even from the inside of the house. Is limelight the kind of hydrangea that will respond well to pruning and shaping during the growing season??? I know that I would probably make my life a whole lot easier if I just got the Little Lime variety... But it was nearly twice as much for a 2 gallon... Which isn't in my budget. What do you all think??? Am I going to be sorry years from now for even considering this idea and thinking I can keep Limelights growth maintained with pruning during the growing season??? I've never had much luck with hydrangeas in the past... So it's difficult for me to fathom a hydrangea that will grow 8 feet tall and grow so quickly.

hi all, just wanted to say thanks for all the posts here. i however planted my peonies last november, so i guess the additional posts will be helpful for anyone planting their peonies this year. my peonies are doing well, thanks to all the wonderful folks here. shrubs_n_bulbs, i think blueberries are the exception to "just about anything just about anywhere" rule. i planted some this spring and got explicit instructions to get my ph down to 4.8, 5.0 maximum. i amended at planting time, but i'm still not there and i'm planning to amend periodically. hopefully they'll do well eventually. they're not looking too bad right now though. stef blogging at: stefoodie.net Budding Horticulturist

Mostly all of that stuff is just organic material in various mixtures and stages of decomposition. It's a lot, so it might be a good idea to hold off on fertilizing for a while until your observations help you decide just what nutrient(s) might be missing. Fertilizer is an ongoing treatment based on prevention and troubleshooting, and it's very often overused and possibly destructive to the little beasties in the soil. My first last and only suggestion is just sit back and let things be for a while; even a year..