I am so envious of Rouge's Bobo's! How do they get to be so big and beautiful? I bet you it really needs just the right climate for it, and we do not have it in Alberta... sigh!

I was just about to replace the 5 Bobo's that I have with these Little Quick Fire's which I bought at a huge sale yesterday - so beautifiul and yet the price was amazing! Anyway, just as I was doing it, I noted that some of the Bobo's are now forming buds.... but as you see, it is just not vigorous in my yard, even after 2 years in the ground:

They are barely over one foot tall. Really, I am kind of tempted to give them some fertilizers and see what happens, or should I just replace them with the LQF now? Life is too short to just wait and wait, just to hope that they will do well, right????

Decisions, decisions.... what would you do?

Honestly, I'd replace them with LQF, it's a beauty, very hardy and EARLY flowering and just the right size of plant that seldom requires much pruning, and NO it does not sulk like 'Bobo' does!

I like what you're doing there with those sharp clean lines!! :)

FrozeBudd, thank you! You will be so proud of me as I dug up all 5 Bobo's today and replaced them with LQF!!! What an instant upgrade:

The whole bed is looking so much better already! THANK YOU! Now I should find some other space for the Bobo's....:-)

I've never planted Bobo, for the simple reason that i don't like the name! Does that make sense? LOL I have Little Quickfire but it hasn't done that well. Mother Nature has been completely off her meds the past couple of years and we've had awful springs, and LQF has suffered. So has Lava Rose. Fire and Ice, on the other hand (the one i've had the longest) is doing okay. Its buds froze last spring but it did come back and produce a few flowers.

Hydrangea paniculata Fire And Ice had flower buds in spring that froze??? Gosh, I did not think it was such a very early producer of flower buds.

Those are really nice LQF specimens that likely are to give you some blooms already this summer, I hope we enjoy some heat before too long here to really kick things into gear!

Marcia, you're not alone, I don't care for the 'Bobo' name and neither does it have what it takes to thrive in my northern climate. Another that has under performed is 'Fire Light', it has taken some good years to bulk up and finally when it has, this year several of the larger branches have died. I've read glorious reviews from folks in milder climates, but I found the blooms tend to get all splotted up and brown out more readily than others, apparently again doing much better for others.

Ostrich, in another thread you had enquired about 'Flare', I haven't grown that one, though I do have 'Moonrock', the attractive blooms have petals of great substance and plants are hardier and earlier flowering than 'Limelight'. While at Spruce Grove Home Depot, I chatted with an elderly lady with a large specimen 'Moonrock' in her hand, I said to her "That's a good variety!!", she enthusiastically replied "Oh, I know, I have an entire hedge of them and people are always asking me what they are!!"

Luis, we had a very warm March and April so everything came up early, but then very late heavy frosts. Most of the lilac buds froze too, and many of the lilies did as well. There were frosts in May here this year, but there was still a couple of feet of snow on the ground at the beginning of May so nothing came up early!

Oh! FrozeBudd, tell me more about MoonRock please!!! Is it as early flowering as QF? How big does it get and does it turn pink in the end?

I gather that Flare is like a smaller version of Moonrock, as they are all in the Lavalamp series of hydrangeas by Bloomin' Easy. I really am curious how they do in our crazy northern weather??? So please tell me more about your Moonrock! Thanks.

"Moonrock' is not of extra early flowering as is 'QF', though weeks ahead of 'Limelight' and hardier as well. As I previously mentioned, it has quite the amazing thick petal substance and a nice refreshing limey and white color that in warmer drier conditions later gives away to really nice warm rosy antique shades. Mine is yet just over 3 ft tall, though I guess will come to grow 4 to 6 ft.

Ostrich, here's a comparison of bloom development on some of my paniculatas, we certainly have had a cool and soggy growing season thus far! ...

'Little Lamb' is gearing up, always very reliable, I guess no longer much circulating in the nursery trade though.

'Moonrock', just a tad earlier, receives additional heat being along the south veranda, though is shaded for several hours during the afternoon, it has especially very good foliage!

'Fire Light', has been with me now a good five years, it's a bit of a slowpoke bloom and plants have always looked somewhat pale even with being fertilized, this one is situated in the most prime of locations with excellent soil and drainage, I'm eyeing it for possible replacement with Sambucus 'Sunrise Surprise'.

Thanks, FrozeBudd! This is such useful information that we don't get elsewhere, for those of use who live way up north and in such extreme climate!!! I am now having second thoughts about getting Firelight for my future flower bed... :-)

BTW, my Sambucus "Sunrise Surprise" continues to surprise me as it is growing so vigorously and so beautifully that it has to be my absolute new favourite plant now!!! :-) I wonder who else carries it in the Edmonton area? I saw several earlier in the season at Lowe's but now they are gone. I don't see them elsewhere though? Have you seen them anywhere around here at all?

Just a quick update for everyone - the Bobo hydrangeas that I relocated to a less conspicuous spot are actually doing quite well there! They are now full of buds and are looking good. I am curious as to how they will do long term there but I was impressed that I could move them so easily. Let's see how they turn out in the end! Thanks everyone!

Very pretty, chrysalids! Thanks!!! What zone are you in please?

ostrich, I am in zone 6a. Here is a photo of two more Bobos looking gorgeous.

I say not enough love for BOBOs!

Our very established BOBOs are doing well but not as floriferous as I have seen in previous years and not nearly as 'blossomy' as I see with @chrysalids...well done. (I am attributing the less flowers to this much drier summer).

Here are ours today:

@rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a), Bobos are fantastic! Your garden is beautiful. I love all the different colors.

A Bobo today:

@rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a): You're Bobo's are magazine worthy! You were the reason I bought this plant and now I'm working on getting more!

Annual UPDATE: July 28/23: (2 of our 4 remaining Bobos).

Gorgeous, @rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)!!!

But what do you mean, ”4 remaining Bobos”? Did you lose some?

2 very established Bobos died over this past winter. They were part of the border having the two you see above. I replaced them this past May with Little Hotties that have grown quiet well so far.

Any clues why the Bobos died? Quite rare but not impossible I guess.

.A relative who resides in chilly Saskatoon Saskatchewan (Hardiness zone of 3b) sent me a picture, taken today, of this singleton BOBO, planted outside of her condo complex.

(Sorry @luis_pr for taking so long to reply to your inquiry and to be honest I do not know why I lost them as they were very established plants.)

Sure is strange of the hit and miss of 'Bobo', I could not get them to establish despite several rather mild winters in a row and other varieties flourishing! Am surprised of the success in Saskatchewan!

Yes, this Bobo is confusing the heck out of me! Despite our weird spring and summer, and how most of my hydrangeas (even Quick Fire and Little Quick Fire were very late this year!) my Bobo's actually did fairly well this year! Here they are from this morning:

So they are not fully in bloom yet, but they are certainly not looking too bad at all! As you may remember, I moved my Bobo's from a conspicuous area to this area just to let them prove themselves, and guess what? They are somehow doing it this year :-)

It looks like they are here to stay for now... hee hee...

Oh wow - many of you have such nice Bobos. I'm ready to dig mine out. The branches grow horizontally at the bottom, then there is a gap, and then the branches grow upward. These are under my large front window, where I want nicely shaped shrubs. The flowers do not make up for the ugly shrub. I need the smaller size of Bobo and now I don't know what to get instead.

vina538, how long have you had your Bobo for??? I have kept mine for several years before they really start to grow more nicely. I almost threw mine out too! OK, I did give away 2 of them and kept 3 only LOL! So now they are finally growing well and behaving... maybe try to prune it into a nice shape and then see how it goes?

ostrich, my Bobos are 4 years old. I pruned them down to about 6" but they grew up ugly once again. How many years before the shape of the shrubs was nice? They are in a prominent spot and I want nicely shaped shrubs. Did you replace yours? With what?

vina538, so sorry to hear about your Bobos!!! That is indeed very painful to have 4 year old plants that just keep growing like that... OUCH! If I were you, life is too short to fight with these things.... just replace them with something that you really like!

I did not replace mine and they are doing OK. But I also planted something else that have shown to be a bit of a winner in terms of vigour, compact shape and early-ish blooms: Strawberry Sundae hydrangea. Here's the two of them in their second season:

They are about to bloom soon! I love the dark red stems and the compact shape!

Just for comparison, the Bobos which have been in the ground for several years now, they remain to be tiny but at least full of buds after all these years of waiting:

This was from one year ago:

This is from this evening:

vina538, have you considered other shrubs? Some other ones in that sort of size and are very well-behaved and also very much maintenance-free for me are:

1. Spiraea "Tor" - the foliage is so clean and lovely! I really have grown to like these. The shape is beautiful too.

2. OK this may not be a shrub but if you the right spot with just partial shade and that you love that delicate Japanese look, this guy may just be a very unique choice for you: Japanese Spikenard, "Sun King". OK, you grow this for the foliage but not for flowers! So it depends on whether you like this look or not....

Anyway, I am brutal with my gardening as I have no hesitation in removing plants or shrubs if I want something well intead - life is to short and the gardening season is even shorter here in Alberta! We need to make the best of the short growing season :-) Take care!

Bobo must be really sensitive to weather, placement, and soil. I got lucky with mine. This one only gets morning sunlight for few hours and dappled in late afternoon.

I do agree with replacing things that don't do well. Life is too short!

Gawdinfever, I live just a short distance from Ostrich, though I'm located on an acreage (with good forest tree protection) rather than the city. I had planted three 'Bobo' when it was first released onto the market. Those three were situated about the property all in good siting and well prepared soil, but they were pokey growers and each spring had significant dieback despite good and consistent snow cover and at the time experiencing a stretch of milder winters, but they just refused to perform when others such as 'Little Lamb', 'Quickfire' and 'Little Quickfire' were excelling, soooo out 'Bobo' went, wasn't meant to be I guess.

Interesting read. Last year, I planted 6 Bobos in our backyard. I didn't do anything to them as I'm a lazy gardener! LOL. They are planted in full sun. Guess what? They are blooming and although not as full and lush as the pics in this thread, I think that with time, they will get there.

I have 3 Bobos planted in our front yard, and nothing. No blooms. They have leafed out and are planted in full sun. I'll probably move them around to another part of the yard. I have a few Firelight Tidbit that didn't bloom because they needed more sun, so I'll just add them in Bobo's spot.

Right plant in the right spot, I guess.

Bellarosa, yes, it's strange how the same plant will perform differently about one's yard. I have zones where the soil is deep, light and fluffy, hydrangeas just love the stuff, unfortunately the best of best location I had removed the bed for needing to reduce my ginormous workload.

Oddly enough, 'Firelight' refused to color up nicely for me and quickly the blooms would become all spotted and speckled and not looking so great, where as others rave about this one!

Thank you to the ruthless gardeners, who don't hesitate to delete plants, for your opinions and suggestions! Life's too short and I'm too old for sulking plants. I'm considering Hydrangea Tiny Quickfire or just giving up on any hydrangea and plant Spirea Double Play Candy Corn. (Tor sounds nice, too). Do you really need to replant these Spirea every 3 to 5 years? - I don't like the sound of that.

Below is a photo of one of my awkward looking plants. Easy to see why I don't like this look at my front door.

LOL vina538, I just move them around, and also find the plants a new home with my trusted friends! I don't give them away to anyone, but to those whom I trust will give them a nicer home than what I have! Sometimes, it is just a matter of having the right spot, as you have read.... like the Bobo's that I gave to my neighbour, they are now thriving and blooming their head off, while they were struggling in my yard!!! Ouch... but I am glad that they are happier in their new location now! :-) So nothing gets discarded really....

vina538, I don't think that your plant is bad looking at all! It is just a bit leggy for the look that you want? Perhaps you can underplant with other perennials around it so that you will then have the fuller look that perhaps you were looking for? I think that it is looking quite nice really... ha ha ha

I have never heard about having to replant spiraeas! I thought that they were long-lasting shrubby things???

Thank you being kind, ostrich, but I think they are gawky ugly. No underplanting! I'm at the age where I need to make things easier, less work. Oh good, not transplanting spiraeas! It has taken me too long to think about this already, and I need to ponder some more, but a couple of tough spiraeas sounds like the solution I need. l did want the big flowers but Oh Well! I have several happy hydrangeas in the backyard.

Vina, I actually quite like the look of your Bobo too! Haha. Most other ones I have seen (including mine) are very wide and almost cartoonish looking as they have so many flowerheads. But I love the airiness of your and was planning to try pruning in a different way to get this look - do you let the stems grow and only deadhead each season?

Susan, I just did the "standard"pruning - reduce height by about one third. Then they just do their own thing. So funny (I think) that you like their shape!! The flowers are amazing and that's why I still have them.

Vina, haha 🤣 it is so funny to me, too! I think because I am working with such a small garden (that I continue to overplant) I am always looking for ways to make things fit - even if it means going against their natural tendency. I know I shouldn’t do that but I can’t help it! 🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🌸🌼🌻🌷

Susan - That's me, too! I'm trying so hard not to plant more. I couldn't resist buying a Firelight Hydrangea this spring. So, to make it fit, I am going to try to train it into a little tree.

Frozebudd, sorry to hear that Firelight hasn't worked out for you. Maybe move it to another part of the yard? I think it's kinda fun to move stuff around and see what works. I've done that with our South bed and it looks beautiful!

Bellarosa, I had 'Firelight' in three different locations about the place, I guess it just did not like things here, so they were gifted to friends and have yet to follow up of their performance. 'Quick Fire Fab' so far has been doing decent well, though still yet to kick into gear after two full seasons in ground, it was a congested tiggy thing when purchased and just might require a bit of a hard pruning to encourage it along.

FrozeBudd, QFF is a wonderful hydrangea. I was able to snag a 2-gallon container for $15 a few years ago. You'll love it!

I've found Fire Light to be one of the most consistent for coloring to pink-red-burgundy around here (MN) as the season progresses. Probably second to Berry White. QFF is a nice plant, but nothing really new compared to what was already on the market at the time of it's release.

Bellarosa, yes, so far am liking the bit of bloom I've gotten from 'QFF', still hasn't grown much and think come next spring I'll carefully do some soil amending around it. The bloom quality holds better than 'Firelight' for those had rather quickly gone spotted and ugly and never did color up as I've seen in photos and videos, maybe it just does not like my far north location. I don't know if the low humidity here might also play a factor that the flowers just didn't age well, but I'll take low humidity any day, it makes being outside and working under the sun ever so much more enjoyable and comfortable! :) ... on the other hand, the arborescence types don't seem to have any bloom issues.

FrozeBudd, speaking of the arborescence types, have you (or anyone else on this thread) tried growing the First Editions FlowerFull Smooth Hydrangea? There's an area in our yard that's partly shaded and I'm thinking this would be a good spot for one.

Bellarosa, I planted 'Flowerfull' in early June, one thing I had observed and as well someone else had commented, it appears to be less prone to wilting. The blooms come out a very appealing limey white to turn into strikingly full dense packed heads of beautiful creamy white. These do appear to then transition from white to mature green rather a bit more quickly than I had expected, but then the florets twist themselves a bit to give yet more visual interest ... only problem with this plant is I wish I had purchased several more!

FrozeBudd, your "Flowerfull" hydrangeas look beautiful! Good to hear that they are less prone to wilting. I hope mine look just as beautiful next year. Hope you can find another one! I got lucky and was able to pick up one more in a 50% off pile of shrubs at our local Home Depot for $15 (regular price: $30) just last week.

Yikes @FrozeBudd_z3/4, I just saw your photos now. I planted 3 "Flowerfull" in August 2024 and none of them in 2025 looked like what you have...I am tres envious. Admitedly our summer was drier than usual but I saw no difference in terms of "wilting" (as @bellarosa mentioned) as compared to an "Annabelle".

(I planted a "Storm Proof" back in August and we shall see how it compares to my "Flowerfulls" come 2026).