I'm curious: how big does the canopy get on a tree (I assume a standard) for a Quickfire or Limelight? How tall/wide does the tree get overall? I've been thinking of getting a Paniculata standard but whenever I see (younger I admit) standards at the nursery, they all have the dreaded lollipop look.

mjsavage, you are very welcome! I really am not sure if my Zone 3 garden will ever look as nice as my Zone 5 garden... but we shall see! :-) Let me see if I have photos to share. I just switched PC so I need to find those photos again! Ha! luis_pr, oh my goodness.... the challenges of Zone 3 gardening are multiple. First, you have such a small variety of plants, so you are very limited as to what you can choose to create that "palette" of colours and textures.... then the growing season is so short (late May through September and that's it!!! Yikes....) that many plants just do not have enough time to mature during that season to bloom well, especially those late bloomers. For instance, by early September, we get pretty cool here already, and then by late September, there may be frost! So those late blooming perennials or flowering shrubs will never reach the point that they will be seen blooming, even though they may officially survive the Zone 3 temperature! Anyway, as a result of all of these challenges, most of the plants and trees are much smaller here. For instance, the Limelight in my Zone 5 yard grew to 6 feet tall in just a few years, but I doubt that I would ever see a Limelight that size here! Probably just 4 feet or so, I guess.... BTW, that's why Quick Fire is good here as it blooms earlier than the other paniculatas but even the other paniculatas may bloom a bit too late here.... SIGH! BTW, we don't really have any spring here - it kinda just went straight from a mild winter to summer in late June! So none of the spectacular blooms here. Probably the best colours are provided by the bulbs and that's about it. And then we need to stop fertilizing roses by late August, in order to avoid much growth in September just to let the poor thing harden up for winter!!! Isn't that just so different!? Oh, and forget about tea roses here.... another big SIGH! Oh, and one other thing that I have already learned just after being here for 4 years - even though these "Zone 3 plants" may survive one winter, it does not guarantee that they may survive the next one! It is always exciting and sad to see which plants make it through and which ones did not make it through winter. Oh dear, the more I talk about this, the more I miss my Zone 5 garden! Yup, luis, NO macrophyllas here! Even though Endless Summer has been shown to survive here (most of it probably dies back to the ground) but then it takes so much time and energy to grow that it will probably not bloom until August, by then you are almost preparing for winter.... SEE WHAT I MEAN!? Mind you, they do sell lots of Zone 4 and 5 plants here though. I miss my macrophyllas that I decided to grow one in a big pot last year! It overwintered quite well in the insulated but unheated garage, and it's already sending up shoots with new leaves now! I am now allowing it to sit outside during the day, and then put it back into the garage overnight. Hopefully, this will do well! I am so excited!!! :-) OK, I have been rambling.... LOL! KarenPA - as for the size of this bed, it was a pretty decent size but not big enough! LOL! Anyway, just so that you can make sense of it, the Limelight in 2009 was probably about 5 feet tall and wide. So that should give you some idea as to how big the overall bed is. Alright, before I go to bed, I forgot to tell you guys that I have the following hydrangeas in my Zone 3 backyard now: 1. Quick Fire 2. Pinky Winky 3. Vanilla Strawberry 4. Little Lime 5. Pee Gee (OK, these are really in my front yard LOL) I had a paniculata that did not make it here so I had to yank it out!!! YIKES! Oh my, what was its name??? I am having a little confusion moment here so I will let you know once I remember what it's called! LOL! Good night, everyone!

They tend to shed some bottom foliage in the hot summer months, especially if bought now and planted in the hot summer months. Their root system is not that big so, monitor the soil by inserting a finger into the soil and watering -the soil, never the leaves so they do not get leaf spots- if the soil feels dry or almost dry. When watering, use enough water to get the soil moist at a depth of 8". It is quite rare for it to have small blooms as it normally blooms very early in the summer months so enjoy those few blooms. If they dry out and turn brown then so be it. Do not panic and let it simply use the nutrients to develop a larger root system instead. Make sure that the plant has 2-4" of organic mulch at all times, which will conserve soil moisture and provide future nutrients as the mulch decomposes. I would not fertilize it anymore and instead, wait until after all danger of late frosts has passed in spring 2022 to feed it again. All paniculatas are deciduous so it will eventually lose foliage in the fall 2021 but it will leaf out back in the spring 2022. Since the plant is not yet accustomed to getting this much direct hot sunlight (it was probably in part shade the plant nursery), consider providing some temporary shade in the afternoon and-or evening.

Sounds like it should've grown larger by now. Consider your soil conditions and any need to change them (richness, nutrients, mulch, etc). Otherwise it might need more time. Also, I've mentioned this many times on the forum specifically regarding QF: If you prune in August or any time after, you risk preventing next year's bloom depending on where you cut, so either prune immediately after the blooms turn dark pink - or - let it go all winter and cut off the spent blooms only (no other stems or nodes) AFTER new growth has begun. I think I pruned mine last july and it's completely loaded with buds right now.