thanks i'll share the information.

does anyone know if you can link one posting to another section of the garden forum?

You can add a link by copying the URL up at the top of your browser for your link, going to where you want the link to be, and below the text box use the right most icon, labeled "Link". I usually highlight a piece of text and then add the link to that by clicking the link button after highlighting.

If I may jump in, I'd jump on LOD with both feet. I haven't read a single post from people in zone 5 or 6 that got more than a few blooms from it. I found it very slow to start and very slow to grow. there are many variegated shrubs that are much better and earn their keep.

Were you thinking of growing a vine through LOD to justify the space it takes up in the garden?

Yes Marie, The two LOD are currently 2' x 2' with alot of variegation on the leaves, They are part of a small 10' x 3' island bed with a couple of perennials and annual flowers.

Just hoping to add a splash of color.

Are they at the vacation spot because then it won't matter that they are so late to leaf out? I think- and I someone will correct me if I'm wrong- that you'd need a pretty small clematis for LOD. They just are not that vigorous. Unless you are getting flowers from LOD I still think you can do better in the variegated shrub department.

I don't have much plant selection knowledge.

Do you have any variegated shrub selections you could recommend?

Variegated red-twigged dogwood shrubs (there are gold variegated and white variegated) are probably listed as either Cornus alba or C. stolonifera.

Daphne x transatlantica 'Summer Ice' is a favorite of mine, but there are other Daphne selections with variegation.

There are many of Weigela of various foliage color and variegation which can vary in height from about 18" to 5'-6'.

Shrubby Caryopteris with gold or gold variegated foliage is relatively common in the trade and there's one herbaceous Caryopteris that's small shrub sized, C. divericata 'Snow Fairy' that I love.

There are some beautifully variegated forsythia; Kumson and Fiesta are particularly appealing to me.

There are quite a number of other shrubs that I've not seen, or don't find particularly appealing (though you may - tastes differ). You might want to take a field trip to the Variegated Foliage Nursery in Eastford CT since my memory is that you are somewhere in central MA. Not everything they carry is variegated or hardy for you, but it might help you find what suits your needs better than the variegated hydrangea. Check hours before going. Their website has a lot of plants listed and you could just use a web search to find photos of ones they don't have pictures of.