The estimate is for a shrub at 10-years of maturity; since most specimens are not that old, it is hard to tell if it will be a slow grower that exceeds those numbers or what. You may want to take that estimate with a grain of salt. Most estimates are taken in northern gardens so when I plant hydrangeas here in the South, I notice that my longer growing season makes them grow more than estimated.

May I ask where you found them? I can't find Little Lime anywhere and I haven't seen Bombshell.

Are you in Maryland? I found them on clearance for $6 at a Lowes near me (regular price was $24.99). The independent nursery around the corner from me is asking $36...so $6 seemed like a real bargain.

Thanks Dayscape. I am in MD near Bowie. Haven't seen any in the Lowes near me. I'll keep my fingers crossed. You're right about local nursery prices. I have mine on my watch list and waiting for them to mark the hydrangeas down later this season...hopefully.

mzdee...I got mine at the Lowes in Cockeysville in Balto County. I got the last four and they were all on clearance. I saw a bunch of Bombshells at the Lowes in Whitemarsh the other day that looked like new arrivals. They looked really good...but weren't on clearance.

Keep us up to date on how they do please :) Mine was a "bustshell". But for $6, wow! Mine was $29.99. I dug it up and it was more rootbound than I remembered when I planted it :-( So hopefully pruning + container+ sulfur + helping the roots = happy plant! Best of luck. I may have given mine the death sentence, but if so it was a mercy killing. It was kind of living a miserable life.

I just remember that when I planted my 'Limelights' way back when, the tag said that they would mature to a height of 6 feet. They have probably gotten to be almost double that height at their tallest. This year with heavy pruning in early spring and a secondary pruning later in the season, I've managed to reduce the height to about 5 1/2 to 6 feet tall...but this is too much work. I'd rather have a shrub that fits the space better without so much maintenance. My experience with 'Limelight' is why I wonder if Bombshell really stays around 3 feet....or if it too will surpass its advertised height.

Bombshell is a very weak grower from what I can tell. I doubt if this dud will surpass 4' at most.

Agreed- 'Bombshell' is a bomb. Poor grower.Poor flowering. Droopy branches so the previous post is correct it will probably never exceed 3'.'Little Lime' is much prettier.

Bombshell is no dud in my garden! Looks just like a scaled down version of any other paniculata - smaller leaves, smaller flowers and an overall compact plant. But flowers just as well as the bigger cousins I grow. And stems no floppier than any other paniculata.

I guess everybody has their own opinion :-)

Is there such a thing as a dud in the PNW?lol?

If I don't see a marked improvement in my plants next year, it will be tagged as the worst H. paniculata intro ever.

1 more year!

You may be right :-) I just realized I purchased 4 hydrangeas this season! That may not sound like a lot but I do the majority of my gardening in containers so it is a bit of big deal. The latest purchase - 'Ruby Slippers' oakleaf - may just have to go in the ground......somewhere. Very limited outdoor real estate as I live on a bit of a cliff.

FWIW, I was very non-biased in my acquisitions - an angustifolia, a macrophylla, a paniculata and a quercifolia. Never really met a hydrangea I didn't like :-))

I'm falling in love with oakleafs. I have three and I'm waiting to see what they do. So far they are giving a nice long lasting burgundy fall color. That with the leaf texture is keeping me happy for now!

Ruby Slippers and Muchkin are on deck for next year.

Bobo is a paniculata that looks promising. I'll get a few of those next year.