I have 'Blue Shadow', 'Mt Airy' and 'Jane Platt'. Honestly the leaves all look pretty much the same color to me - all very blue-green. I don't seem to recall any of them turning bluer once they leafed out. Not very helpful, I know. I was hoping someone would respond with more concrete info.

I was also watching this thread, hoping someone had good info. I purchased Blue Shadow this spring as well, and noticed it doesn't present as very blue. I'm keeping it anyway and I suppose time will tell.

So I was doing a little more research on this one, while I decide where to place it. Here's what Mobot has to say about the blue color:

‘Blue Shadow’ was introduced by Handy Nursery in Oregon. It is a branch sport of F. ‘Mount Airy’, and is very similar to ‘Mount Airy’ in most characteristics except for its leaves which emerge green in spring but quickly mature to an intense, striking powder blue. Leaves retain good blue color throughout summer, eventually changing to often brilliant shades of red, orange and yellow in fall.

i have no experience with this plant.. BUT THAT WONT STOP ME .. LOL...

most blue things.. are blue.. due to a wax on the leaf surface... which actually is just reflecting the sky .. so the blue varies across the daylight hours ... and over the season ...

but the blue wax does NOT grow on after the leaf emerges ...

that said.. here in MI ... not many things are leafed out yet.. let alone fully leafed out ... so it might be hard to see the wax ...

in other words.. a lot of my blue hosta ... do not look fully blue.. until they are fully leafed out ...

ken

ps: dont forget.. you have acreage now ... you have space for this... even if it doenst end up exactly as you like it ... its not like you have one small spot.. for one specimen ... eh???? .. oh.,.. and btw.. never look at a blue plant when the sun is high in the sky ... they wash out.. look at down or dusk.. for its deepest blue color ... e.g. look at the link .... and figure out which pix are in blinding sun.. and the others that arent.. that look the bluest ...

https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Blue+Shadow%22+fothergilla&FORM=HDRSC2

Just because I have acreage doesn't mean I don't mind paying $$$ for a "special" plant that is mis-labelled. I love regular 'ol fothergilla, but it is easily available for much less money than what I paid for these hard-to-find blue jobbies.

You should pick up a couple fothergilla, Ken -- the brilliant orange fall color is a knockout, and I love the honey-scented spring blooms. Overall, fothergilla are top-notch shrubs.

The leaves still look green, but I'll give them a few more weeks to fully leaf out. Thanks for the info, everybody!

My two "Blue Shadows" are just opening flowers & my memory hasn't gotten better since last year, but I recollect the blue is more evident after leaves unfurl to their full size. As for mislabeling, I get it. When I first got both, one was def. not blue. Side by side couldn't have been more obvious. I asked the landscaper to replace the one 'green' one and she did. Still, shadows isn't as blue as a good blue hosta at the beginning of the season. We shrub lovers would notice and appreciate, but the average gardener, probably not