Hi Lauren, I have a Bobo and it's never looked like the images I see online, which are all covered in blooms. Mine is in full sun and right near a sprinkler head, so I know it's getting enough sunlight and water. I'll take a picture tomorrow and post it so you can compare. I think mine is 4 years old, planted from a 3 gallon..

Here's a picture of my Bobo...it has always looked like this, never like the beauties others seem to have! (forgive the weeds..this bed is in my backyard, so it doesn't get the attention it deserves.). I also have a Limelight in this bed, which always looks great, despite my overall lack of care.

Sorry to dump water on Bobo lovers, but I was never impressed when I had them at my other house -- they were just "eh" and certainly not lush and bloom-covered. Funny you mentioned Limelight -- I had a tree form at my other house and it always looked great, as done the one I bought for this house.

Mannnn, yours looks a lot like mine! I'm going to move them to a sunnier spot and see what happens, not going to expect miracles here but we'll see. Thanks all!

I think more sun is key.

I like Bobos and can only hope mine look like rouges someday...

Here’s my best looking/happiest one out of 6.... purchased this one as a pitiful clearance plant two years ago.

Two are in less sun and are just starting to form buds.

Also three starts in another bed that have barely done anything since planted (3 yrs ago). I should have known better as they are in my sloped bed under the maple. I will be moving these this fall.

Here is one of the starts that’s surprisingly blooming this year!

Baby Bobo lol...

Being right next to a sprinkler head may be an issue for Pride, especially in more moisture retentive soils, since my panicled hydrangeas are in sandy loam soil and literally never get water beyond what comes from the sky beyond the first year or two. They have survived 6 week long droughts without any supplemental water.

GardenHo, now you're just showing off! :-)

So how can those of us with less experience get ours to look like yours and those you posted above? Is there a type of fertilizer we should use? How should we prune? I've just pruned off the old blooms in early spring...should I be making an effort to shape the shrub to get a more compact form?

Lol pride I wish mine looked like above pics.

I don’t do anything to mine...not even water(other than initially). Just from my experience and placement of mine, I’d say the more sun the happier they are.

How much sun do yours get?

I think you're right babs, I'm getting the impression these like drier conditions. I have mine in clay soil so it stays reasonably saturated. The yellowing leaves at the bottom (of mine) lead me to believe they like more well draining soil than I have.

ps: I never water mine either, I presume if I did they'd look even worse!

Sorry to dump water on Bobo lovers

I admit it, I am a Bobo lover! It is just the right size and so far it is fool proof for blooms.

By coincidence I was out in the garden this morning in a light rain and took a pic of the "Bobo Border" out front. Not in full bloom yet but soon:

Lauren, one option for plants that like well drained condition is to plant them on a low mound; even 6” high and 3’ across may help.

I went to the nursery this morning and saw these Bobos, mocking me with their perfection. I think next spring I will give my Bobo a hard prune and see what happens. Otherwise, maybe it's just getting too much sun or water and needs to be moved.

Did any of these examples of perfection follow you home? Hee, hee, hee. I would have had trouble leaving empty handed. By the way, wow, that is a lot of them!!!!

Ha ha, no, I left these perfect specimens at the nursery....no point buying another just to have it end up looking like the one I already have (due to my lack of green thumbs, I'm starting to think.). I did, however, purchase an Invincibelle Ruby, so I didn't leave empty handed! :-)

Mature one at work starting to show its beauty...

How long does the bloom usually last?

Anna, in my neck of the woods these hydrangea start to bloom in late July and if there is sufficient moisture they look fine into October (turning a light pink the later one gets in the season).

GH, that specimen looks quite large, quite tall! And the blooms, right now at least, look lots more green than the Bobo beside it.

It is large and old. The smaller ones were newly planted...

It has been a cold wet spring in much of the country this year and that did not help. Make sure you are not over watering. Hydrangea paniculata does not need as much water as Japanese mophead hydrangeas. They also like more sun. Also - Bobo is a very early blooming variety so I recommend that you prune it in the winter. Just give it a light shear to remove the old blooms, nothing more. Lastly, be patient. This is a slower growing dwarf variety. Give it a few years to bulk up and mature.

I see someone already mentioned this but I’ll add this anyway. This spring when pruning Bobo, I noticed a lot of dark colored pith in the centers. Several needed cut all of the way down. Since I needed all of them to be close in size I cut all of them down. It worked out very well.

Not positive what caused all of those problems. Borers were partly responsible because I found them. Bees had also used some stems to place their bee babies. Some was winter damage. I’m just happy that these can be cut back all of the way and come back fine.

Not sure if this was mentioned above. Don’t forget when buying potted plants to really loosen those roots so they can grow out into the surrounding soil faster. Other wise your soil could moist and the bush itself could be dry. Sorry I know most people on here are expert gardeners and know this. My first few years I didn’t have a clue.