Don't worry, just go ahead and plant it...

a couple of things -

1) Trophy shouldn't get that big - a 4-5 feet high vs 4-5 feet wide..

2) sand soil - no problem with drainage...get some spaghum peat moss and mix that with the soil - I am afriad if the soil is too sandy, it may not retain as well..hyrangeas LOVE water//

3) sun - a lot of people have problems with hydrangeas because they put the plant under a full day of hot sun...if you have a spot with only morning sun (none of those mid-day, early afternoon blazers) - perfect...I have hydrangeas blooming like crazy with only 2-3 hrs of morning sun or 2-3 hrs of late evening sunshine///

4) winter - trophy has a hardiness tolerance down to zone 6...so you need to winter protect the plant...

btw -what size of trophy you have now - an one-gallon, three-gallon size...i wonder if you should start to see flower buds or not..all my mop-head hydrangeas are setting flower buds now - my endless summer, blushing bride...so just wonder out loud...maybe your plant will set buds later...but if it is a small plant - say from a 6-8 inch pot - you may have to wait..

as for getting blue blooms...try to goto your garden supply store and get the pellets the Endless Summer people selling this yr...they have one for blue, one for red blooms...it is better than messing around with aluminum sulfate...Al-sulphate does work...but you have to be careful during the application.

so..

get the plant out of the pot, if the roots are pot bound (completely fill up the pot and circling around...get a small blade, do a few vertical slits along the side, tease out the roots a bit)..then plant that into the hole...backfilled that with the soil from the hole, maybe add some peat moss in that - water that - you are done..

it is really easy..

there are many many many other plants so much more easier to kill than Hydrangeas..

ask me how many Gardenias or Daphnes I have killed or so fuzzy orchid I butchered all these yrs...hehe..

compare to these plants, Hydrangeas are like weeds..
...

If You were able to return it for a reblooming one like and Endless Summer or one for the Forever and Ever series. You would not have to worry about winter protecting it.

agree with hydrangeasohio...I would take an Endless Summer anyday over any varities...never have problems with ES not blooming...F&E series is ok, definitely reblooms - F&E blue heaven gives me the most consistent blue blooms even in not so acidic soils (places where ES could get washout pinks or blues)...but I have a lot of problems with powdery mildew with the F&E series...the ESs right around them never have a spot of the mildew stuff...

Great advice so far- just one more tip:
As with anything else you plant, be careful to seat your hydrangea at the same level in the ground as it was in the pot. Most importantly, make sure not to put it in too deep a hole. Some people recommend planting things high, or in a small mound- which is not my habit, but definitely preferable to planting low. Err toward having your shrub seated higher if in doubt.