I bought mine at Publix last year too. Shooting Star aka Fuji Waterfall was absolutely gorgeous in my yard this year. Knowing that this was a florist grown (forced)hydrangea (any you buy in the supermarket will be) and not necessarily garden worthy, I'll tell you what I did. Immediately, after I brought it home, I took it out of it's pot and put it into a larger container with the best soil I could find. (Miracle Grow w/Moisture retainers). I left it there (protected from too much sun) in hopes that it would receive maximum nutrition, adapt to my outdoor climate and develope a healthy root system. It did wonderfully, putting out one new shoot after another, so in Fall, I planted it in my garden in a relatively shadey spot. It came through winter (only a few days below freezing mind you) without one bud lost and bloomed it's head off this year. I was expecting much smaller blooms than were on the plant when I bought it but to my surprise, they were equally beautiful this year. I am very happy with this plant to say the least.
The dark glossy emerald green leaves stay in perfect condition and although I just deadheaded it a few days ago, I am looking forward to a possible re-bloom.

Now as far as how winter hardy it will be in your zone 7...

Both Wilkerson Mills (in GA) and Hydrangea Plus (in OR) list it as hardy from zones 6 - 9 and neither site recommends winter protection or mentions tenderness, so I don't see why it would need extra protection in 7b GA.

The worst that could happen if you don't winter protect it, is that you will sacrifice some blooming for one season and then you will know to start protecting it, but I wouldn't go through that hassle without knowing for sure that the plant needed it. Why look for more work? Maybe someone from 7b will chime in.

Good luck...you will really enjoy this hydrangea that's like no other.....yg

Has anyone grown this outdoors north of zone 6--like my zone 5? I fell in love with this at the nursery but it looks tender.

Zone 5 is hostile territory for almost any hydrangea that blooms on old wood. Serious winter protection would be necessary in order to enjoy blooms the following spring/summer. Check out Hayseedman's "overwintering hydrangeas" thread and then you can decide if you still want it badly enough to do what it takes....yg

Ginny, honestly I don't think it have a chance to bloom in z5 outdoors, IN GROUND. Just to live...maybe.
However, as a potted plant, with overwintering in garage (being protected from the wild temp swings and windchil factor) it probably have a chances. Keep in mind that in order to protect z6 root hardy plant IN POT in z5, you need to insulate pot itself, though this would be a relatively easy task. I know one lady who has a nice collection of potted hydrangeas and all she does she put her pots (7-10G) in a large cardboxes and fills them with shreaded oak leaves and/or old clothes/blankets/etc.
Winter watering is still mandatory.
Shooting Star/Fuji Waterfall is a great hydrangea to have if you want to go extra mile. In your case it could be extra few miles with unknown result. Unfortunetely.

George, that is great advice. Thank you, as always. I am going to give the garage a try. My garage has no windows. I assume this is ok since the plant is deciduous and will be dormant?? What do you think?

No light in a dormant stage is OK, but reacclimatization to outdoor lighting conditions in a Spring could be somewhat challenging. If you could bring plant close to the garage door and keep it(door) open during the day starting from early spring it will help. Don't be surprised and alarmed, though, if it start growng leaves in garage and then drops them outdoor, they'll regrow fast.

Thanks again, George. I will give this a try--that's what gardening is all about.

Also known as Hydr mac. 'Hanabi' or, more accurately, 'Sumida no Hanabi'. I have 7 of these international award winning Hydrangea. Love them because they often bloom again in the fall, though NOT remontant. Waxy leaves seem to take heat better and appear to be more disease resistant (esp. Cornespera).

Here we are almost a year later from the last post.

I bought my shooting star at Publix just the other day,(Christmas Eve as a matter of fact) in full bloom. It was a present to myself !! The tag on it says hardy from zone 7 to 9, with morning sun. Cover in zone 7 when potted in garden container.

Since it has been a while since this topic was discussed, and if you have had a track record with this variety, would you update the thread? Especially if you live in my zone. I would love to pot it, but need to know a rule of thumb as to when to re-pot it into a larger container. TY and Happy 2008 !!

I've had Hanabi in the ground here in zone 5/6 for three years. It has survived and leafed out nicely, but never bloomed after that first year.
Just a heads up. If is survives this winter I'm moving it next to the brick house to see if that helps.

What is the proper way to deadhead these shooting stars. Do I just pinch off the large white flowers when they die or do I need to take the whole part of the stem and blooms off together?

Cut above first viable bud.
IME, all japanese type hydrangeas have a smaller buds than a conventional macs, so I don't cut previous year dry flowers(anyway they are not realy visible/distracting in a fall/winter) untill spring when I start seeing the life in a buds. I let them elongate and fatten for a week or so and then cut anything above.

From today's Newsday..thought some might be interested..

Here is a link that might be useful: Shooting Star

I am north west of Atlanta - I put my shoting star - plop in the ground - on the East side of my house. I haven't done a thing to baby it - in fact, it is at times, neglected! And that is sad, because it is gorgeous! Guess what? It is doing great and has been there for 4 or 5 years. Even in this awful drought.... it must just be happy there!
Hope this helps!

Hi I have had a shooting star in the ground for 2 years now, bought at the grocery store. It blooms but not heavily and is slow growing but happy it is in almost complete shade some dappled morning light. The flowers have a slight blue cast this year(my acidic soil)and are lovely. I do not do anything protective to it but all hydrangeas love my acid soil.

Glad to have found all this info on the Shooting Star.
I planted mine in a fairly large planter lined with bubble wrap,drilled holes 1" up from base,covered these with pieces of nylon stockings,put peanut packing foam (approx. 3")then added soil. This was reccomended by Gardening with Ciscoe to keep plants cooler in summer & warmer in winter.
Placed my plant in garage for overwintering,brought it out last month and it is covered with buds now.

To cece: I can second bagsmom on this one. We've got several 'Hanabi' in the ground just south of Atlanta, and they're happy as can be, even when neglected. In a year like this one, in which we've had no late winter frost, they do magnificently, but even late cold snaps down here don't kill the plants, just the buds.

So I caught the fever of this plant as well. I went to the grocery store and they had several of these. I wasn't going to buy one since the last store bought Hydrangea I've had so much problems with. I couldn't resist. It's a great looking plant.
So it seems everyone has had success planting in the ground. My question is should I pot it until fall and then plant in ground or would it be OK to plant in the ground now?

I just received a shooting star as a Christmas gift. I live in western New York state, so I realize it probably wouldn't bloom again outdoors again if it even survives the winter. My garage is heated, and I have an area of plants, a tropical Hibiscus, which is going crazy blooming and a dwarf lemon tree growing under fluorescent lights. Could I successfully grow the shooting star under the lights during the winter, and then bring the plant outdoors in the spring? It's about 65 degrees in my garage.

Good luck with your Shooting Star Karl.
Brought mine out of garage last spring and it did bloom late summer. We had a very early deep freeze this last fall and mine now appears to be dead...didn't move it indoors in time. Time will tell but I'm pretty sure I've lost it.:(

jackiege, let it be until late May and water it if temps are above freezing and your winter is dry. Make sure you get 3-4" of mulch. All my hydrangeas have that look now but always leaf out in March. My winter is not too cold but it tends to have a lot of temperature swings and ice. S/S is supposed to be hardy in Zones 6-9. I have seen it advertised as hardy in Zone 5 but I have seen people in Z5 posting that they have trouble getting blooms.

I live in the foothills of northern CA in zone 7, and I have had my shooting star in the ground on the east side of the house,for 3 years now. It drops everything in the winter, like the other hydrangeas do, but always comes back. Better in the ground than the pots for me.!!!