Wonderful paper! Dr. Dirr is great; I am looking forward to many more years of exciting new hydrangea introductions.

Speaking of new for 2012, there are a few new introductions that are being marketed, and it looks like Proven Winners is leading this year's pack with 2 selections...

"Bobo" Paniculata: dwarf 30" plant with highly concentrated branches and blooms that appear more fluffy than traditional PeeGee blooms.

"Tuff Stuff" Serrata: Supposedly the first remontant mountain hydrangea. Lacecap based.

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LA Dreamin' "Lindsey Ann" macrophylla: Supposed to bloom both bink and blue at the same time with no pH modification (?) - of course this will need a few years' growth and user submitted pictures for me to believe this. This will only be available from Shrub Source and Garden Crossings in 2012.

LA Dreamin' has a fitting name, I will just say that. Biology can be malleable to an extent, but chemistry? Not hardly....

I am looking forward to 'Tuff Stuff'!

Ha... well put! I've seen some bizarre marketing to get product out the door, but 20-25 bucks for a 5" pot of anything I will skip. Not like anything larger is available; I guess a 3gal Lindsey Ann would cost $100?? Besides if you pot a regular old ES in a decent mix you'll get blues and pinks at the same time. And at this point you can get 1-gal's of ES on July clearance at Walmart for as low as $5!

I've also found an additional list for 2012 introductions by BHG (see attached link). In summary we have:

H. mac. RIE 4 "You-Me Passion" - double petaled lacecap that blooms densely into mophead appearance 4-tall x 3-wide, early and repeat bloomer.

H. angustipetala MonLongShou "Golden Crane" - early to bloom, white lacecap with chartreuse middles, 5x5, jasmine-like fragrance.

Hydrangea729 you're 100% spot-on! Nobody, I mean NOBODY beats Home Depot's hydrangea clearance prices when it comes to size + selection. And it's not just for plants in trouble or those with spent blooms - they will discount by pot size simply because they don't want certain types of plants in the store anymore. I've said this before but Lowe's will let their hydrangeas wilt down to nothing before they discount the price, so go there only if they have something you've really been looking for.

Here is a link that might be useful: Better Homes and Gardens 2012 shrub list

There are quite a few new hydrangea out this year.

Hydrangea double delights Black Together Hydrangea

Past Black Stem Hydrangeas had either the black stems OR the flowers. But ingenious breeding now lets you enjoy BOTH the black stems and gorgeous double flowers � at the same time! That is because this new variety blooms on new growth, which is black, rather than on old growth, which is gray. Plus, these blooms are not the species� rather ho-hum pale mopheads, but big, double and rich pink or blue, depending on your soil, and you will enjoy them from summer through frost. For black canes, cut back to the ground in early spring. Bushes are dense and full, and only 3-4' high and 3' wide. Hydrangea Double Delights� hydrangea BTI

Avantgarde� Hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla �Hedi�)

This brand new Hydrangea�s blooms are amazingly large � 12" to as much as 15" as a potted plant, and 10-12" grown in the garden! Plus, it�s quite compact, with stems of steel that hold the blooms erect no matter what, and it also has the highly coveted ability to keep blooming non-stop year round! In the garden, you�ll enjoy the huge blooms for months over summer and fall, until cold weather forces a winter rest. Or grow it in a container outdoors in summer, and in a sunny spot indoors in winter, and it will keep blooming all year. Flowers start out white, mature to blush pink and then turn a gentle green at the end of their life cycle. Cut the bloom, and in 12 weeks another spectacular bloom will open! Large, dark green leaves cover the plant, which grows only 2 1/2' tall and wide in a pot, a bit bigger in the garden. With such big leaves and blooms, it needs to be well watered and fed. Hydrangea macrophylla �Hedi�.

Hydrangea Zebra (santarosagardens.com)
Want an interesting black and white plant in your garden? Try this new hydrangea that produces the traditional clusters of white flowers through the summer on unique black stems. 3'x4'

Hydrangea macrophylla 'Yofloma' (plant delights nursery)
Hydrangea 'Yofloma' is a plant that we first saw in Holland, and one that doesn't appear to be distributed widely either in the US or in the EU. Hydrangea 'Yofloma' makes a 3' tall x 4' wide clump, adorned during the growing season with golden yellow foliage and topped in summer with large mopheads of pure white flowers.

Hydrangea, White King aka snow storm (BURPEE.COM)
A new, improved white hydrangea. Grow with other colorful hydrangeas for a showy display of this remarkable genus.
The floriferous snow storm of mopheads arrives early and sticks around, blooming and reblooming right up to the first frost. This sturdy bush resists mildew and tipburn. Well adapted to southern climes and high light areas. Product Details
lifecycle: Perennial
Zone: 5-9
Sun: Full Sun
Height: 3-4 feet
Spread: 3-5 feet
Uses:...

hydrangea729 wrote: I am looking forward to 'Tuff Stuff'!

Has anyone had this in their garden long enough to form an opinion?

I just saw some Hydrangea paniculata 'Bombshell' at my local Lowe's for around $17 to $20 or so, can't remember what exactly. They were in three gallon size pots and looked GOOD. What caught my eye was how fresh they looked (despite the heat wave of over 100F we had last week) and how full and big the individual florets were. Nice compact plant apparently, I will have to get one on my next trip. Also talked with one of the senior garden section staff, and she told me she is pushing the buyers at that store to bring in more hydrangea varieties. First time I noticed oakleaf hydrangeas there. They also always sell out on Limelight (why don't they order more if it sells that well????)They also had two PG standards in the nearly dead section for about $20 which had only a few branches broken, nothing major. I hesitated long, but finally passed them over... second thoughts starting to creep back in here...

Bombshell is currently being sold by both Lowe's and Home Depot in 2-gallon pots. I believe both have contracts with different growers. I would only personally recommend it for extremely small gardens, as it looks like it can get lost in large borders. But you're right, they are mostly healthy looking.

Home Depot is also carrying PHANTOM Hydrangea paniculata 7-gal TREES for $40 (even the ones NOT marked as such on the pot are PHANTOM). There were a few in bloom and these are awesome! The blooms get almost 18" long and a foot across at the base. As mentioned some time ago, they are great because they incorporate some of the best attributes of Limelight and Grandiflora. The best time to view them is right before all the florets are fully open, as they have the color of Limelight blooms but the conical shape of something like Tardiva, then mature to look like giant versions of PG blooms.

Haven't personally seen Tuff Stuff in anything but 1-gal "demo" pots. The plants haven't looked large/old enough to even bloom, so it might be a while til we find some worthwhile specimens.

Springwood_Gardens wrote:

Haven't personally seen Tuff Stuff in anything but 1-gal "demo" pots. The plants haven't looked large/old enough to even bloom, so it might be a while til we find some worthwhile specimens.

I 'need' just one dwarf hydrangea for a certain spot, and I want a interesting hydrangea, and by coincidence I found both "Bombshell" (on sale at $14.95) and "Tuff Stuff" ($26) at two different places today. I understand the high price of TS as it is very not readily available in Canada yet.

(BS is the one on the left and TS the other)

I bought both as I am not sure which I will plant. The safe choice is "Bombshell" but I would rather a non white dwarf. I just really wonder if it impressive description really is true i.e.:

"...we wanted a hydrangea with improved bud and stem hardiness in addition to the ability to flower on new wood..."

So which should I go with?

That Bombshell looks very different than mine. Mine have wider, brighter green leaves, the stems are grey, and it has more of bushy mounding habit vs. the upright habit shown there. Hmmmm....

I would try Bombshell. Tuff Stuff blooms have a lacecap-type center. If those centers behave like some of my mac lacecaps, the real flowers in the center may fade quite fast and the blooms may not be as pretty until a replacement bloom opens up.

Gonna add my two cents since I have eight Bombshells that I grabbed at Home Depot Clearance in 2011. Three were transplanted this spring well before the heat wave. Three curled up and died during the heat wave two that were transplanted this spring to full sun and one that was not moved. Ball Hort boasted Bombshell blooms as early as spring didn�t happen but I expected as much. I will say that the ones that croaked tried to push a lot of blooms before they died. As far as short stature goes when purchased they stood about two feet very floppy with blooms. Trimmed them by half; they leafed out nicely in the spring very healthy. When the blooms hit the broccoli stage in late June three went downhill fast. The other five are doing fine except for one that is confused and put out one bloom early. I will return the three that died soon and see what is new. Out of the two I transplanted into full sun only one died they both got the same amount of sun 6 hours. Quality is sporadic with these plants so far I advise cutting them back before planting to keep them upright.

This year�s heat wave has been great if you are a plant collector hydrangea are dirt cheap everywhere. I lost a tiny one gallon Blushing Bride over the winter. Wal-Mart supplied me with three new ones at $3.00 a peice.Home depot had twenty Blue Cassel for $9.00 each. Not to mention all the newer hydrangea were very easy to find this year Fantasia, Expression, Sweet Summer, blue Cassel, Sandy Summer, Midnight Salsa, peace etc.
If you have Aldi's near you they had a very nice one gallon assortment of liners this year. They carried healthy Japanese maples (Blood good & Red Select), Hosta (Great expectations), tiny series lilies, Hydrangea and more. All of their plants sold for around ten bucks or less and they even had a clearance rack the next week after the plants are advertised!

Two hydrangea I could not find this year White King and Black Together, maybe next year.

Here's a looker if you have not seen it yet Hydrangea Dark Angel just won best new plant in the UK.Leaves stay dark all year hope this trend sticks around.

Ive had Tuff Stuff in the ground since the spring and it has quickly become my favorite. The darker leaves are amazing. Mine is planted underneath a maple but not too far from a pine so its flowers come out purple. It is also the only hydrangea that has not wilted or looked miserable in the heat and drought we have had. It is truly some Tuff Stuff! I'll post a photo when I get home this weekend.

That Bombshell looks very different than mine

I am not sure what to say whaas. There were two BS available at the store in question and both looked the same and both were well labelled with proper detailed tags.

Karolina11, I really appreciate that recommendation. You have convinced me to go with it over BS (especially now when we aren't 100% convinced my "Bombshell" is really a BS).

I would love to see a picture or two.

(Btw, take a look at my potted TS above...does it look like it could really be a young TS?!)

I would say so. The leaves on mine rarely stay that green for long and quickly get darker but their shape is identical to mine. Mine is also only slightly bigger than that and has some gorgeous blooms! Have not been disappointed so far!

Dont forget to post a few pictures when you find time.

That TS you bought looks like a rooted cutting with about 1.5 seasons' growth on it. I'm not slamming it or anything, just observing. It can be fun watching things grow from a smaller size, especially if you've found the right conditions for it.

It's likely the ones available in the next few years will be bigger (and get slightly cheaper) because it takes time to grow them larger and increase quantities, especially with the widespread droughts out there.

Example: mac. Pistachio will likely not be available from F&E this year due to growing conditions.

Mine could be wrong too. They haven't bloomed yet and they have been crippled by the heat wave.

I also give my hydrangea a full year before making an opinon on them.

I planted a Sweet Summer paniculata (which is mid-sized, no dwarf) and it it LOADED with blooms as they advertised. Which is impressive since its the first year I've had it.

springwoodgardens wrote:

That TS you bought looks like a rooted cutting with about 1.5 seasons' growth on it. I'm not slamming it or anything, just observing. It can be fun watching things grow from a smaller size,

It is very difficult to find TS in Canada this growing season and given that this one is healthy and knowing that TS is a quite compact hydrangea I am not concerned at this initial size.

It can be fun watching things grow from a smaller size, especially if you've found the right conditions for it.

Is 3 hours of late afternoon sun + about 2 to 3 hours of filtered sunlight proper aspect for a serrata?

Sure. Up north you can throw all kinds of sun at it. That amount of time is fine, though.

Here is a photo of Tuff Stuff. Excuse the spent blooms, we are in a heat wave so I am not deadheading anything for the time being. Like I said - I absolutely love it! Love the darker leaves, the fact that it can bloom purple, and it is the least affected by the drought of any of my hydrangeas.