Oh geez! Now I have to make a decision lol! I hate making decisions. Blue Billow is my first love. But saw that Tuff Stuff in Thyme's garden and was smitten. Hey, maybe I'll just get both. Haha. Beautiful, hyed, just beautiful. Thanks (I think :) .....)

:)
Dee

Thank you

Wonderful photos hyed!

Dee,Blue Billow has been a stellar performer here in my curb garden where it grows in crappy soil with no supplemental water. I just planted another one in my north facing foundation garden.

My vote is to get both!

Does anyone have an update for how their plats fared through the winter?

I only have Tuff Stuff A-Ha and it is blooming for the second year in a row here in MN Zone 4b. No winter protection provided.

Thank you for such a prompt reply! I am going to give both TS A-Ha and Tiny Tough Stuff a try this year then.

This is my Tuff Stuff Ah Ha this year. Has quite a few buds. It only had 2 flowers last year (after first winter in the ground) so I’m pretty pleased with the number of buds this year. I’m in MI zone 6ish

Well, I can't comment because I never did get any of the four hydrangeas in this conversation! Garden plans were put on hold after a job loss due to covid, but hopefully I'll be starting to get back on track this fall. Not that I'm any closer to making a decision lol.

:)

Dee

My three of my various Tuff Stuffs are budding up and getting ready to bloom even Tuff Stuff AHA which dies back to the ground over the winter likely due to my very late planting. I'll try to remember to snap some pictures tomorrow.

Thank you all! Also, thank you cab84 for adding the sweet alyssum in the picture -- it adds scale! It doesn't look as tall as I was thinking it would be -- that will affect where I place it.

Hah you’re welcome! It’s there to hid the fabric pot the hydrangea is in. It’s about 20 inches tall so on the shorter side for me.

I just picked up a TS Ah ha. Can this TS take more sun than one might expect from a "generic" Mountain Hydrangea?

Rouge21, I planted TS Ah Ha in a fair amount of afternoon sun. Due to a late fall planting it died back to the ground but is coming back and has a flower bud.

Tiny TS has really taken off here. I moved it last spring into a good half day of morning sun. Look at those flowers ooh la la!

The original TS is languishing but I dont think it's getting enough sun and is being encroached on by an exhuberent variegated Leucosceptrum. Maybe I should move it...

Sue, that Tiny TS looks like you found its happy spot -- thank you for posting the comparison photos!

(Which of "Summer Crush" or Ah ha would be more shade tolerant?)

Sue, thanks for the pics. From them, I'm leaning toward Tiny TS, although maybe it's not fair to judge since as you say the TS is being a bit overshadowed lol.

Well, there's room in the budget for one hydrangea this fall (trying to get some other shrubs as well) so I think I'll play it safe and go with Blue Billow lol! I'll put off my "tuff" decision another season!

Thanks everyone!

:)

Dee

UPDATE (May 2022):

I overwintered TS Ah-ha in a container in our unheated garage. I brought it out about 5 weeks ago. I am pleased with the growth showing on old wood.

My Tuff Stuff Aha have been disappointing- laggy growers and slow to bloom.

Same with the Tuff Stuff- it's green and healthy enough looking but rarely ever blooms.

My Tiny Tuff Stuff are in a great location, are now three years old, and have never bloomed, not even once.

I keep thinking "I'll move them" but never seem to prioritize it, although all of them get more than enough sun.

My best blooming serrata is Tuff Stuff Whirligig.

My Tuff Stuff Aha have been disappointing- laggy growers and slow to bloom.

Thanks for your feedback @cearbhaill (zone 6b Eastern Kentucky) but damn that is disappointing. I really like the idea of having hydrangeas in planters as it gives us lots of flexibility as to placement. This has worked well with paniculatas but I was hoping I could get a nice year after year bloomer for a macrophylla or a serrata. (I was hoping that bringing them into shelter over the winter would ensure blooms for the following season.)

My best blooming serrata is Tuff Stuff Whirligig.

There is ANOTHER variety of TS?!?!

I haven't seen Whirligigs for sale recently- seems a lot of hydrangea varieties get released then soon forgotten.

If you come to Kentucky I'm going to cut them back after they bloom this year, I'll give you all the starts you want.

Haha, rouge! That was my reaction exactly - "ANOTHER Tuff Stuff??!!" LOL, that means another decision!

Thanks for your input, guys. My hydrangea purchase was put off again, although it's still on the wish list. Long list, short budget lol. I decided last year to focus on some evergreen and winter-interest shrubs, but actually just last week was perusing hydrangea choices again.

:)

Dee

Of the three tough stuff varieties planted last year, Tiny TS wins the prize for overwintering well here. We will see how they look in July; I'll update!

I have a 7 gallon tuff stuff and a 3 gallon TS AHA I will be planting next week. Will let ya'll know how they compare.

Boy is Juana lost.

Our potted TS Ah-Ha in May:

And here it is today:

Nice. Can you post a picture again when the double/tripe sepals are more visible? Thanks! Looks like they are going to be light pink for you.

so far A-ha had been a reliable bloomer for me in zone 4 MN

This is my regular Tuff Stuff. The picture doesn't do it justice, but it's a vibrant blue-purple. We had a late freeze this year and my nikko blue and endless summer mopheads were basically bloomless, but the Tuff Stuff was totally unaffected! I even see some bees on it...didn't think bees liked Hydrangeas at all, so that's a nice bonus!

I just looked at the label of the hydrangea I bought last year…it is an Ah Ha. it has just started blooming. I had gone to a very nice nursery on the Cape and asked them to pick one out, and that was it. Ill take a pic later.

A-ha just starting to bloom

Thank you all for your continued comments and photos. Loving it! You all have been very helpful! Well, then again after all these beautiful pictures it's still hard to make a decision....

:)

Dee

@luis_pr, I am really pleased with Ah-ha in my container, now in its second season. Here it is today:

Very nice!

rouge 21: How did you overwinter the plant & pot? In garage, in garden covered...? It is beautifully healthy!

Thanks @Sunny Michigan.

Yup. I kept it in the pot and moved it into an unheated garage come... November (I do similarly for a few other hydrangeas).

UPDATE: May 2023

Again I placed this Ah-ha in the garage back in November 2022 as I did in the previous year BUT unlike last time all the old growth died :(.

All evidence of life is coming only from the base (May 9)

So given this plant will only be growing from the base, do you think there will be time for this serrata to flower in my location?

Is it not kind of early to assume that for you? I would wait until end of June in the northern half of the US or even in July near/for Canada? The American Hydrangea Society recomnends end of May in the south and those dates ”above”. They break dormancy like macros do, in two stages: first the new stems grow; then leaf out starts considerably much later (maybe about a month later here?). Over here, I only expect macros/serratas to start leaf out when the new stems get 1/2 to 2/3 of the way up in height of the old stems. Just water, mulch and protect from frost until your av date of last frost. I have one macro still sleeping in TX. Another awoke a week ago. But most macros have started new stem growth and some leaf out.

Is it not kind of early to assume that? I would wait until end of June or even in July in Canada?

Not really @luis_pr. Last year, more than a week earlier, this same hydrangea showed obvious signs of life in last years growth (remember this plant was in the garage all winter so less subject to the possible extremes of the outdoor weather. And in fact this past winter was moderate.)

Whatever happens I still wonder if such a serrata has time to give good flowers *if* all the growth comes only from the base i.e. all new growth?

My A-Ha dies to the crown every year and it blooms in July here in MN.

Thanks for that @pennlake. (I am betting your Ah-Ha is in the ground outdoors. I am still surprised that my protected potted plant lost all old growth during this past winter...its buggin' me a little.)

My A-Ha dies to the crown every year and it blooms in July here in MN.

Right on the schedule you described @pennlake. Dead to the crown at the start of the season and here it is today (there is a pot underneath):

I'm pretty sure I have either Tuff Stuff or Tuff Stuff Aha (maybe someone here can make an educated guess as to which?). I hired someone to clear out out all the weeds and weed trees and do an initial planting but he did not give me all the tags!

Here are pics.

I have three. One of them is blooming fairly well, lots of new growth. The one is the center has lots of foliage, looks healthy, no blooms. The one on the left needs to be moved, that will happen inn the fall.

I have only seen one Ah Ha and its double florets looked very blue and the fertile flowers when fully opened were not so sparsely separated. Maybe your bloom is/are in neutral soil and is too young. But enjoy anyways!!!

@luis_pr I think you're right and it is an Aha. It was planted late in the season 2021 and last uear it got ignored, so this is the first year I gave it Hollytone. So that could be why.

@rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a) same

Such a superb hydrangea this Ah-Ha:

May 7

2.5 months later:

Wow rouge, that's amazing. To have such little growth in May I would have thought it was a goner!

I still haven't gotten either hydrangea! I think I have one or the other sitting in a cart somewhere but have yet to click the "place order" button lol. Other garden priorities keep knocking back the hydrangea purchase.

But again, a continued THANK YOU to everyone keeping this thread going and adding more info. So very much appreciated!

:)

Dee

Excellent documentation Rouge! Those before/after pictures will give other gardeners hope too!

Thank you both Dee and @rosesmi5a. This is now the third summer we have had Ah-Ha (all in a container)...definitely does seems like a keeper.