Kerchunk! That was the sound of my mouth hitting the floor! $130! That is awfully expensive unless it is a large/old Limelight specimen. Speaking about hydrangea trees in general, I have seen advertisements somewhere around the 30-50 zone. If it is shipped by mail and it contains a lot of soil, maybe you end up paying that much due to the soil weight. Since hydrangeas -most- tend to grow quickly, I would not mind getting a smaller tree and saving some dollars in the process. I would shop elsewhere for a Limelight tree. Or better, see if someone posts a current price for one that they have seen locally.

Lots of nurseries charge that for most trees in the 5-6' tall range in #5-7 pots. And this usually means that the smaller stuff is uniformly expensive, and that's a point where I turn around and leave. If they think they can get people's business, that's great for them.

It's hard to find cheap Proven Winners trees to begin with.

Phantom should be fine, especially for the price. I got a regular old Grandiflora tree for $20 and it's already 5' tall with a 3x3' bush up top. I bought it in August and it flowered profusely right after I put it in the ground!

Nurseries seem to love to get people trouble who are in a hurry to buy nice stuff.

In just a few years, you can get plenty of things cheap by being a patient shopper, or by taking divisions/donations from friends, neighbors and family, or by pitching in with people's yard work, etc.

Thanks for the responses. In the 30-50 price range I have bought regular Limelight shrubs but if I want to get an actual Limelight that has been trained into a 4-5ft standard, I will be paying $120 minimum around here and that's if I can find it. Last summer I bought a regular PeeGee standard at Twombly's nursery and paid $115. It's beautiful and I like the look of the big floppy flowers on a standard. I think I'll try the Phantom. You guys are right. At that price, why not? I live in Fairfield County in CT and seems like EVERYTHING is overpriced around here but sadly, the closer we get to NYC it actually gets WORSE. Not much I can do about it bc my husband works in NY. Thanks again.

Guess I am lucky. Our local Nursery in the Fall always puts 5-7 Gallon Hydrangeas on sale for $20 in tree or shrub form and have hundreds to pick from. I see many Limelights in tree form in my area. They are always flopping or staked if not. I bought many years ago a Pink Diamond that has done great. Also I have heard good things about QuickFires in tree form. I am just not big on having stakes in my yard to hold things up. Maybe something to think about if you dont like stakes. If I remember correctly Phantom has bigger blooms than a Limelight and just dont go thru that lime/green stage that a Limelight does.

I have both but my Limelight plants are in too shady an area to grow big blooms. My Phantom is in full sun and is huge but the blooms are not as dense as Limelight but still big.

This is Phantom. The right side is obscured by the Okame cherry in front. It is about 12 feet tall and a very large spread.

My mother's Limelight is cut hard every year to keep it in bounds. It actually is holding up better this summer than past ones where it was too heavy with blooms. Late July this year.

What it looked like in 2016 (end of August)