And other new varieties you might see this 2023:

• Glacier Bay (a lace-cap with black stems!) https://www.monrovia.com/seaside-serenade-glacier-bay-hydrangea.html
• Pop Star (the latest in the endless 'Endless Summer' lineup ;)) https://shop.baileynurseries.com/Product/Detail/11981
• WorryFree Love-a-Lot Pink (another large fade to pink blooming panicle ;)) https://grownbyoverdevest.com/plant/worryfree-love-a-lot-pink-panicle-hydrangea/
• Puffer Fish (described as 'puffed up Bobo') https://www.provenwinners.com/plants/hydrangea/puffer-fish-panicle-hydrangea-hydrangea-paniculata (I did plant one last Fall)

Fairtytrail Bride has been out in Europe for a few years, known as Runaway Bride.

There's another in Europe called French Bolero that looks like it can do the blue/pink thing. We'll see if it crosses the ocean.

Fairtytrail Bride has been out in Europe for a few years, known as Runaway Bride.

Sure. But it is very new to NA and I don't recall seeing any posts about it from our European houzz members.

(It seems like many of the interesting hydrangeas are 'developed' in Europe and Japan.)

Put a deposit on a "Fairytrail Bride" for pickup this season.

Ooh i love that loose head on Puffer Fish. Will have to try it!

So I was in a grocery store today getting "supplies" for the family dinner with Easter Weekend approaching and this store has a very nice cut and potted flower section which I usually ignore but today I spied this 'mass' display of this very nice looking hydrangea.

I dug out a tag and lo and behold it was "Fairy"!

Clearly it has been forced flowered for Easter. So at some point pre summer it will be w/o flowers? :(

This hybrid looks good growing on a container or cascading down a wall but not as good cascading on the ground. The foliage is bound to pick up bacteria and fungal spores that way.

" So at some point pre summer it will be w/o flowers? :( "

Who knows! But since it is a hybrid with strong macrophylla parentage and blooms on old wood, I would expect so. Most forced, early to bloom or "florist hydrangeas" do take a breather after initial flowering that could be a few weeks to an entire growing season (depends on climate). It is also rated for only zone 7 so subject to cold winters and late spring freeze dieback.

" So at some point pre summer it will be w/o flowers? :( "

Who knows!

Yes @gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9), it will be interesting to see how the blooms last.

It is also rated for only zone 7

And yet mostly I see it listed as a zone 6 (to 9)

e.g. https://www.provenwinners.com/plants/hydrangea/fairytrail-bride-cascade-hydrangea-hydrangea-x

This hybrid looks good growing on a container

For sure that makes sense @luis_pr but with an advertised size of 4 feet by 4 feet it makes it almost for sure that it can't reach its growth potential in a container.

A broader hardiness range than is accurate is a common feature of vendor websites :-) They are trying to market the plant to as wide an audience as possible. The patent holder rates it only to zone 7 and other, non-vendor sources state "not as hardy as other types of hydrangea". I even found one vendor that reports it to be a paniculata species (it is not or only partly so as the full male parentage is not disclosed) and that it blooms on new wood rather than old. As it is still very new to the market and without much of a practical growing history or track record, I'd be inclined to take a more conservative view towards hardiness issues. We all know how reliably true to form Endless Summer The Original turned out to be........NOT!!

I will keep it in this room until.....May and then re-pot it permanently into a larger container. The hard part is deciding on the container. I want it large enough to be able to accommodate it for several years undisturbed but not too heavy that I couldn't move it each Fall (to the garage) and then bring it out the following Spring.

There is always room to squeeze in another container and this plant looks like an ideal container subject!

Spoken like a well "seasoned" and still rabid gardener :).

(Might you use the "Pistachio pot"? :( )

(Might you use the "Pistachio pot"? :( )

I think it is a bit too big.....it's about 30 gallons! And I really would like to resurrect and reuse the Pistachio in the same container, provided I can get it out intact and get the container functioning again as it should.

I have other containers that would work, however. No worries there :-))

('gg', as far as I have read, the advertised size of "Bride" i.e. 4 foot by 4 foot, is quite similar if not larger than "Pistachio"?)

That's probably in the ground :-) Container culture has a stunting effect as it limits root spread and development. Hydrangeas in my climate routinely exceed stated sizing in the ground and frequently in containers as well.

If I do decide to get one, I just don't want that it to get that big so I'd scale down the container size to accommodate.

If you remember 'gg', let us know when you acquire and pot up a "Fairy" :).

I saw Pop Star at Lowes yesterday. It was about $29 in a one gallon pot. I thought about buying one or two, but decided to hold off until I figure out where to put them. I think that I will put them in containers since they are small and it will allow me to move them until I find a spot where they will get ideal amount of sun. I will use a couple of the large concrete and resin pots that I bought from Costco.

Update: (July 18/2023)

So this is the same plant that I had bought back in the first week of April and was in full bloom at that point. When I finally put it outside, I potted it up and placed it in a full sun location. Even back in May I could see that the leaves were being scorched and it did much better when I moved it to a much less sunny locale.

I actually kind of forgot about it but today I moved it to a spot which receives more sun and we shall see how it does. The original flush of flowers have long since gone but it is for sure forming new flower buds. (Any flowers you see now are on new wood.)

@gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9), did you finally get one? Anyone else?

Waiting to hear when it blooms from new wood for you. May nix getting it now though. Sigh Sigh.

No, I haven't. I am still hoping to replace my Pistachio but it doesn't seem to be very available any more locally and I just won't do mail order. tbh, other than a couple of 'maters and a few annuals, I have not bought any plants this year. Space in my tiny garden is at a premium!!

I have not had much luck with hydrangeas, having tried several. The ones which did best for me also turned out to be rather (too) enormous...apart from my lovely Hayes Starburst (eaten by deer), which does look reminiscent of your plant, Rouge. It is certainly the one I miss most and would be persuaded to try again, maybe this time with Runaway Bride. At the very least, I will buy one for my D-i-L who is a keen hydrangea grower (and an excellent plantswoman)..

Plants blocking the drainage hole by growing through it down into the paving is something which happens to me a lot, GG. I have a ceramic drill bit to drill a new set of holes, an inch up from the bottom, all round the pot. To stabilise the glaze, drill though a layer of masking tape

I have a lilac and a couple of acers which were destined for certain waterlogging and a miserable death, in immoveable and vast heavy clay pots. Timely drilling saved their lives...although the lilac roots always look tortured. For sure, a testament to the resilience of plants.

The ones which did best for me also turned out to be rather (too) enormous

@rosaprimula UK (Cambridge) Z8/9, consider giving hydrangea Polestar a go. You wont be able to "complain" about its size :).

https://www.sarahraven.com/products/hydrangea-paniculata-polestar