My first Hydrangea is now in the ground for more than 25 years. At this point, I keep it for sentimental reasons only. It's gotten so THICK with canes that if I wrap it in my usual cage, I have to get everything so tight in there that I think I may actually be suffocating the plant. I've not had good luck overwintering it in recent years. This past winter I didn't even bother with it. If I were you, I'd consider taking a cutting or digging out a portion of your sentimental one and essentially start over. It would indeed be the same plant, so you could keep your sentiment. But I can understand sentiment. I should get rid of my first Hydrangea, but I'm not. For a long time I would cut back the old canes completely to the ground in the Fall. I'd only leave canes that had shot up from low points on the canes or from the crown. They would have grown all summer and would end up giving me great flowering the next year. I'd have very long stemmed flowers, too, that I had cut. The big problem with this technique is that you end up with weaker stems than you would otherwise and next summer they'd be weighted down to the ground with their flowers. I've found that, for my zone, I can usually prune as hard as I want up until about Fourth of July, just to be easy to remember, and not hurt the flowering potential for next year. After that, the buds start setting for next year and you start running into that problem. (But then I've cut some "nikkos" back to the crown in the Fall and on some I'd get great flowering and on some I'd get none. Do I really understand this? NO.) So, here is another method for you to consider to keep it smaller, at least in height. Another thing I've experimented with is to prune all the wimpy growth completely out and just end up with a few stout canes over time. This was interesting, but you end up with an artifical looking Hydrangea and the few stout canes start looking rather strange. But with this technique, more or less, you could develop a plant that wasn't so crowded. I don't know though. I wish I could help you more. I'd like an answer to the question you have, too! Hay

When the flower buds open, they look like little broccoli heads. Since this is a newly planted hydrangea whose root system is not established yet and it was planted in the middle of the summer, it is hard to predict. Keep the soil as evenly moist as you can to a depth of 8". Water early in the mornings (6-8am) from the base outwards in all directions. Insert a finger in several watered spots after a while. If the soil feels dry, use more water. A staring amount might be 1.5 to 2 gallons per plant per watering. Maintain mulch 2-4" (but no rocks) in order to limit soil moisture loss. I would expect to see some wilting episodes but as long as the soil is evenly moist, they should appear perky in the morning. If not, there was not enough water so water them right away. If the broccoli heads or flowers begin to brown out, the plant is aborting the flower for lack of enough water, excessive temperatures, too much sunlight, very windy conditions, etc. If that happens, make sure you are watering enough, the plant has enough mulch and water when the soil feels dry at a depth of 4" (that is where hydrangea roots usually are). I use outside chairs, umbrellas, cardboard, etc to provide temporary respite from afternoon/evening sun in Year 1.

Kyla, I don’t cover any of the types of plants you mention, and I rarely cover anything. When we talk about ‘tender’ plants, it would be things that are very sensitive to frost. So think annuals, not usually shrubs and perennials. If they are hardy here, they are used to this weather, which is typical for this time of year. The one exception on your list might be hydrangeas, but not Bobo. It is Hydrangea paniculata and perfectly hardy here. If you have other hydrangeas of the macrophylla type, you might cover those to protect flower buds. And when you cover things, you can use any of those things you listed. Cover at night, and remove first thing in the morning.

Yes the first photo is definitely a Japanese beetle. Go out first thing in the morning and/or just before dark with a can of soapy water. Hold the can under the beetles and knock them in. You can also spread milky spore disease on your lawn according to direction. It will infect the grub stage of Japanese beetle in your lawn and prevent them from maturing into the adults. This has to be timed right so read the directions, but in your zone it shouldn’t need repeating in fututre years. you will likely still get some flying in from neighboring yards, so you will still want to do the can of soapy water as needed.