That is unusual to hear, mzdee. Pinky Winky? Wow. What causes the stems to bend all the way down? The only way I can dream of that scenario is if one partially prunes a hydrangea stem several times, such that the stem produces more than one bloom. Under those conditions, the extra blooms will increase the weight on the stem. At some point, the stem will not be able to handle a lot of blooms, especially if they get wet or it is windy.

You may want to rejuvenate the shrub then by cutting to the ground the longest 1/3 branches on Year 1; the next 1/3 longest branches on Year 2 and the rest in Year 3.

I find that if I feed too much nitrogen it causes excessive, lanky growth that is more prone to drooping.

I am puzzled as well. My PW doesn't ever droop at all, but it grows in good soil without extra fertilizer, just compost as an occasional top dressing. Even the branches that grow near the ground hold their flowers upright and off the ground. How much sun does yours get? Sometimes a plant that likes a good amount of sun will flop when it grows with too little sun.

Thanks guys. And thanks NHBabs for the pic. My Pinky Winky looks a lot like yours. It has taken off since I put it in a couple of years ago. It gets sun and I use Milorganite as the occasional fertilizer. I think that I am accustomed to more compact varieties and did not expect Pinky Winky to grow so large. Yes, I should read the labels :)

I had no idea how huge it would get when I put it in, though I did give it a good amount of space. Mine is ~8' tall and something like 12' wide, so quite large, but it works well where it is and serves the function I was looking for, to help block/distract from a work area behind it. The nursery where I got it says 6'-8' tall and 8'-10' wide, so mine has exceeded expectations as to size.

For me one of the pleasures of this plant is that I do virtually nothing with it and it blooms its heart out for 3 months. It may get a deep watering if we go a month without appreciable rain, and some years I remove the spent flowers in early spring, but otherwise it is on its own. Some of the other varieties of H. paniculata with huge bloom panicles and lest robust stems tend to flop some, but PW has never done that in my garden, even when small. It's a gem of a plant if you have room for it.