HerabalBetty, Thanks for chiming in. Wow, that is amazing growth in a few years time, even with the deer browsing it. Is it as full at the bottom as it is at the top? Does it spread by runners like a lilac does? What I read says it blooms only on new wood, does that mean that the majority of the blooms are on the top of the shrb and the lower portion is fairly free of blooms? I don't want the base of a shrub that large to look like a vase of flowers if you know what I mean. I appreciate your input. Thanks Thyme2dig, I believe at full size the Pink Diamond is supposed to be about 6x10, a 4-5' x 8-10' shrub would be perfect. The continuous perimeter length (circumference?) of the garden is some thing like 200 ft., this is for sure a case where size matters! It will take a lot of them to form a hedge that long and the cost, depending, could be phenomenal! Pink Diamond is a bit taller than I'd like But I thought that I could probably trim it in late winter while it's dormant since it buds on new growth only. I think that should work. Someone tell me if I'm thiking this all out wrong, please! I have grown Spirea "Gold Mound" when I lived in zone 5 and it was a fabulous shrub. I had around 25 of them encircling my pergola/patio. They looked so smashing with the deep red climbing roses that grew on the pergola. "At this house I have Spirea Jap. "Magic Carpet". They are hardy enough to hang on every year but they have not grown more than 6" in over four years now. If I knew I was getting on that had some growing power and would be zone 3 hardy I buy it in a heart beat. I'll go search the Spireas some more. I'm sure that many more have come out since I last took a look at them! Oh, BTW, the Blue Muffin was long coveted by me. I got one little panicale of Blue seeds before it to croaked. The seeds on that are a LOT darker than they've colorized them in the catalogs. MeMo

It's never too late to add data and experiences. Every hydrangea plant is different in one way or another, and there is generally a terrible lack of user experience and feedback with these plants! To make matters more confusing, hydrangeas are like cell phones - new ones come out when people aren't even done testing out the existing releases! Out of curiosity, what's your hardiness zone in MD? Parts like around Deep Creek go all the way down to 5a... Also word is from PW that Moonlight is going to be dropped entirely (an official rep posted that in THIS forum). They claim to favor Big Easy instead, which is a fine plant but nothing spectacular. I'd actually recommend Rhythmic Blue, but you'll only get deep colors (not like anyone's complaining). Blue Jangles and Rave are a bit newer and largely untested. As for the other older Cityline cousins Berlin, Venice, Vienna, etc. not a whole lot has been posted about them. I have Venice and it didn't do squat after '13 and '14 winters so it's been in a pot awaiting its ultimate fate. Just gave five "axes" (Charm/Compacta, Merritt's Supreme, Mariesii Variegata/Tricolor, Snow Storm (White King), and F&E Original (Early Sensation) to my neighbor the other day. :) I'm almost inclined to recommend people try Pink Shira in lieu of Moonlight. I'm not sure what my one neighbor has, but it's been covered in 4-5" pink blooms yearly for four straight years, so I have a distinct feeling it is Shira. I found myself one this year so we'll see how it does in the Great Outdoors!

Looks and sounds good to me ,i doubled down on Freebird looks like it will do as advertised. With the Nantucket Blue & Pauls Glory hosta should look nice if NB stays at 4.5 ish feet if not i have a spare Dave Ramsey or i can find that Ld Rave. Plants sales are everywhere right now, still some good looking stuff out there Home depot near Ross park mall has just about everything 75 percent off. Hydrangea zebra,zorro, nikko,penny,LA dreamin, various randoms,a lace cap from gardeners confidence and Cherry dazzle myrtle (twiggy). Midnight Dutchess from that line is now cancelled, not sure which one was there. If its the cancelled one i may pick it up, it's dirt cheap and i have no lace caps. For full price they had Forever and ever gallons really wanted FE Together but, the pot was cracked and it looked dead. They actually got in a fresh shipment of hydrangea during this heat a whole rack of glowing embers wilting in the sun. Those will be on clearance along with the other 6 to 8 skids of hydrangea. While these sales are happening might pick some hydrangea i wouldn't normally. Springwood you have been extremely helpful, you have high degree of knowledge on the topic i find it very refreshing. Hopefully these sales yeild some showpiece cultivars like a Lady in red or Plum passion hydrangea. Thanks again Springwood much appreciated.

Yes, B Magic, Ontario z6 shows up after your name now. Thanks. In Ontario you will want to winter protect if you want to increase the likelihood of getting spring blooms, regardless of pot or growing in he ground. If you have a chilly but protected area to overwinter pots, one that won’t get very much below freezing, you can overwinter in a pot, but in a pot without extra protection, the roots get much colder than in the ground since the ground is a huge mass and is insulated by anything that covers the soil such as other plants or snow. So roots in the ground are unlikely to be cold damaged in your zone, though the buds and branches if not winter protected can be killed back and have to regrow from the roots. In pots, both the roots and the tops will need insulation or protection in a space such as a building that stays between something like 25F and 35F all winter, cold enough to keep the plant dormant, but not so cold as to create cold damage.