Hydrangea Showdown! 💥 Rating Our Garden Favorites and Flops with the Hydrangea Queen 👑

We’re back with another round of brutally honest garden ratings—and this time, it’s all about hydrangeas. We grow almost 200 of them here in our Zone 6A garden in Upstate New York… and yes, we counted!!!

But this time, we’re not doing it alone! We’re joined by the one and only Skye Hamilton, aka the Hydrangea Queen of @hamiltonhousedesigns for an epic collaboration across climate zones. She gardens in the high desert of Idaho and her insights are amazing!

Together, we’re rating:

The smooth hydrangeas that can handle anything 🌿
The panicles that bring the drama 💥
The macrophyllas that make us melt 💙
And the flops that are getting ripped out this fall 👋
Some scored a perfect 10/10, a few got even higher… and others barely made the list. We’re talking performance, bloom time, structure, color, and all the shady opinions in between.

💬 Let us know in the comments:
Which hydrangea would YOU rate 10/10? And which one are you secretly ripping out?

Thanks again to Skye for joining us—don’t forget to follow her on Instagram & YouTube at Hamilton House Designs!

Thanks for growing with us!

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Hydrangeas are the backbone of our garden and we love them. But not all of them. Today we have a very special guest and we’re going to walk through the garden and show you which hydrangeas are flourishing and which ones are a flop. Welcome to our garden here in zone 6A upstate New York. Today we are raiding our hydrangeas. We’re going to take you through the garden, share all the various types of hydrangeas we are growing and give you our completely unscientific, somewhat unhinged opinions on each one. And we’re going to score them on a scale from 1 to 10. 10 is like musthave. We can’t resist it. We absolutely love it. We’ll grow it in our garden for as long as we can. Five pretty neutral one. Like it’s a total flop. We’re probably going to pull it out. How’s that sound, Christopher? I think that sounds great. And I do think we should back you up a little bit through the arch because we have a very special guest here. Come through the arch with me through the hydranger room to meet our special guest because what better person to help us rate our hydrangeas than the hydrangeanger queen herself, Miss Sky Hamilton. Tada. So excited to be here. Love talking hydrangeas. Can’t wait to get a little shady and tell you exactly what I think of all of them. My favorites and flops. So Sky, you are visiting us all the way from Boise, Idaho. Yes. So, you come from a high desert. Yes. Very dry. We get 10 in of rain a year. Totally different climate, but I still love growing hydrangeas. I even though they grow very different for me than they do for you, I’m super excited to see kind of what the similarities, what we like, what we don’t like, where that all ends up. So, I can’t wait to hear your opinion and then I can’t wait to give my opinion because it’s basically one of my favorite things to do. Sky, what is your growing zone? So I am right on the border of 6B7A but it’s high desert climate. So even though I’m the same as like Cape Cod, it’s just a completely different growing experience. Okay, cool. So today we get to cover a whole big swath of gardeners across the whole country. Yes. Yes. And Sky and Christopher and I all talk very regularly about hydrangeas, about gardening. Like that’s basically what brought us together. I feel like hydrangeas were the common denominator of our friendship and we grow a lot of the same varieties. really do, but they look so different. Do you grow in Vincel Sublime? I do not. I do not have Sublime. It’s so beautiful, but it’s just one that I haven’t really put in. So, I don’t have a lot of opinions, but I can’t wait to see what I can try that you guys have that I don’t. All right. Well, let’s back up so Christopher can get a full view of the hedge. This is our Invincel Sublime hedge. For me, it is a 10 out of 10 hydrangeanger. It’s a smooth leaf hydrangeanger that blooms on new wood so that you don’t have to worry about deer. You don’t have to worry about frost. These are pretty young. They were planted in 2022, but they are now full size. They’re doing amazing. And I love a smooth hydrangeanger because they definitely are one of the best to grow in my climate. It gets very cold in the winter. These I don’t have to worry about the old wood not blooming. These are any smooth hydrangeanger is definitely going to be higher up for me. So, even though I don’t actually grow these, just looking at them and knowing that they are smooth and the color, I’d say at least an eight and a half. All right. And what do you think of the green? I love the green cuz they come out fresh green like this. Yeah. And then they age to a richer green. That’s so pretty. I mean, I love that like my Incredibles turn this color green. So, I think it’s really cool that it starts out this and it has that slight variegation in the blooms. I think that’s really pretty. And the other thing I have to mention to everybody as we’re filming this, we just had a torrential storm this morning. You can see the pavement and stuff is still wet. So, the fact that these are still standing very tall. Incredible. Speaks very well. 10 out of 10. 10 out of 10. Good start. Let’s keep going. Right behind us, guy. We’d love to say this was named after you. I’m taking I’m taking a little credit. I’m just This is Sky View continuous blooming uh big leaf hydrangeanger. Absolutely beautiful. One of my all-time favorites. Honestly, I would I would give this a 10 because this is the best blooming hydrangeanger in uh for a big leaf in my zone. I planted these last year for the first time. They died all the way to the ground because I didn’t give them any protection and they are fully bloomed out. They were the first hydrangeanger in my yard to come back and bloom. Huge, huge fan. Cannot be h I mean, I honestly couldn’t be happier with these ones. I agree. I agree. They’re a 10 out of 10. Now, what’s interesting, Christopher, is you look here. We’ve got our first set of flower here. So, this is bloom number one. You can tell because it’s starting to age a little bit. Then, we’ve got another newer flower, and you can tell it’s brand new. We got us. It has the pistachio center in the eye. And then we’ve got more flowers here starting to open up. And then we’ve got fresh buds. It really is a continuous bloomer. It’s a big leaf serada hybrid. So it’s really extra cold hearty. The buds are extra hearty. It gets a nice 3×3, maybe 4×4 in a zone where it wouldn’t die back to the ground. I think Les Sky View is a 10 out of 10. Christopher, what do you think? I go 10 out of 10. Everything they said. And it’s funny how we had similar experiences with very different winters, very different conditions, but this this is this is like the hero of the macroofila big leaf hydrangeanger. Absolutely. It’s really stunning. Now, another big leaf hydrangeanger, macrofila, and serata hybrid is right here. It’s called Let’s Dance Lovable. Now, I don’t know how fair this assessment will be because this is brand newly planted probably last month, and we did have a small drift of them that died over the winter. So, I think we should put a question mark out of 10 and reassess this next summer at this exact time. So, I would like to weigh in on this one. Uh oh. Okay. So, if you had asked me at the beginning of the summer, early spring, what I thought about the lovable, I’d have said zero out of 10. I thought they were all dead. They I just was like, “These are dead. They didn’t do anything.” So, I I actually dug them out of the ground. And I was like, I’m going to stick these in a container and just see what they do, see if they survive. And actually, all but one came back, are blooming in my container. So, I think maybe I just didn’t give them a fair shake or put them in the wrong thing. So, I will say if it was a zero out of 10 at the beginning, I’d say maybe a five. And I am cautiously optimistic to see how it establishes. So, let’s head to the hydrangeanger room area. Okay. But on our way, we will stop and talk about Tough Stop. Now, this is the original Tough Stop hydrangeanger. OG there. Yes, the OG. There have been many improvements since then. It is a mountain hydrangeanger or a sera variety that has a lace cap flower which you cannot see a single sign of, right? which is kind of ironic since they use hydrangeanger serata and mix it as a hybrid with the big leaf to make them bloom. And so the fact that this one is not blooming is kind of suspect. It’s on drip irrigation. It’s been fertilized. It has appropriate lighting conditions and it has not put out a single flower. So let me explain why. So tough stuff has is a mountain hydrangeanger. So, it has stronger bud hardiness, right? But it doesn’t necessarily have stronger hardiness when it comes to the actual stems surviving over the winter. Interesting. So, we had a very harsh winter with very dry desicating winds which killed all the stems back to the ground. So, all of this is actually fresh growth from the ground this year, which is impressive for foliage. Yeah. And the tough stuff doesn’t necessarily have relooming or remodency bred into it. Since then, there are newer varieties like tough stuff top fun that we will get to shortly that do have that. So for me, original tough stuff is like because it died to the ground and we have no flowers, it would need to be protected. And that’s a lot of work in a garden our size. I’m going to give it like a three or four out of 10. Okay. I don’t even think that it would do this in my climate. So, I’m just going to give it a one because it is very beautiful foliage and I’m impressed that it grew back this much over from dying to the ground. I’m going to go with the three out of 10. And sadly, because the lace cap blooms on Tough Stuff are so beautiful and I’m so thankful for new additions of the hydrangeas in Tough Stuff, the improvements. Yeah. Christopher, come back here. I’m going to step in here. We have a gorgeous drift. Beautiful drift. You can’t tell of more foliage. And this is Seaside Serenade Cape Lookout. This is a Monrovia hydrangeanger that has again big white mop head flowers. It’s a big leaf hydrangeanger. It is supposed to have some sort of relooming bred into it. This has absolutely no flowers on it. No buds on it. Again, they died to the ground in our cold winter. So, for me, seaside serenade, this is a zero out of 10. We’ve had it here for three seasons. We’ve never gotten a flower on them. They are getting pulled this fall and replaced with a better hydrangeanger with more romanty, more relooming or continuous blooming. Yes. Like let’s dance sky view. Zero out of 10. Zero out of 10. Zero out of 10. All right. Oh, right behind Sky. Whoa. I mean, gorgeous. Chef’s kiss. Beautiful. This is quickfire. This is quickfire. I love this hydrangeanger. This is a very special hydrangeanger. We have four of them on this row that were all planted in 20ome year. What year, Eric? This probably 2019. 2019. And they were $5. End of clearance sale. Incredible. Incredible. And I love the sterile and the the just these amazing buds inside. A lot of people send me pictures of quickfire and say like, “It hasn’t fully bloomed.” And I’m like, “No, that’s actually how it’s supposed to look. It has this lace cap um panacle and it’s just beautiful. I think it has such a cool different look to it.” And so these sterile florettes are what attract all of the pollinators to these actual flowers right here. And you can see it’s covered in pollinator covered in pollinators. And it’s a paniculata variety, which I believe you mentioned, right, Sky? Which means it flowers on new wood and it’s going to have a panacle-shaped bloom. And they’re kind of foolproof, these paniculata varieties. They really are. In my zone, you can do them. They’re the only hydrangeanger that you can grow in full sun in zone 7A for the for the high desert. It’s that’s hysterical. These are my go-to full sun cuz we want to grow all in our zone. We want full sun for all our varieties of hydrangeanger. Yeah. Nope. These are the only ones that can take full sun. So basically any panacle hydrangeanger is going to be high on my list. This is a very highscoring hydrangeanger. I will go with an 8 and a half out of 10. I think for me quickfire is like just a gorgeous landscape plant. It’s perfect for color and texture in the garden. I think it’s like an eight and a half out of 10 as well. I’m going to go with an eight only because I love I love I think it’s very cool, but my personal preference is a full bloom with not quite so lacy. I think it’s so interesting and cool. Just personal opinion, I’m going to go with an A. I love it, but it’s just not quite not quite there for me. Right. Sky right next to you is the next panacle hydrangeanger on our panacle hedge. This is Pinky Winky. These are smaller specimens. These will ultimately get quite a bit bigger than the quickfires. Talk about it. I mean, gorgeous. Do you grow Pinky Winky? I have Pinky Winky Prime, which I know we’re going to talk about later. So, I don’t have the OG Pinky Winky. I think it’s got a very cool structure to it, and I love the dark stems underneath. So, I for me, I would say a nine. Wow. Okay. Yeah, I’m really really liking this. I would subtract some points personally for Pinky Winky because it is the latest blooming panacle hydrangeanger for us. Okay, it blooms last. It is the slowest growing panacle hydrangeanger for us and that’s probably why I’d subtract most points and there is a newer, better version of it available. So, I think I’d give Pinky Winky a seven out of 10. Okay, I’m 9 and a half only because the new version is my 10 and I just think Pinky Winky’s always been my favorite hydrangeanger. It’s been replaced by something, but I do think uh Pinky Wink is still such a favorite. We said there was an improvement on Tough Stuff and here it is. This is Tough Stuff Top Fun, which yes, when they were naming it, they said that the Top Gun Maverick movie had just come out, right? So that’s where the Top Fun comes from. I was. It’s such a tongue twister. It is such a tongue twister. Say it five times fast. Tough stuff. Top fun. Tough stuff. Tough tip tip pep. There we go. So, this one, it has the Ramontency. These did very well. They didn’t die fully to the ground. Okay. But they’re doing so nicely. We had these covered over the winter. Oh, okay. And the color is gorgeous. They’ve been blooming nearly constantly. They’re starting to push a whole other Yeah. Got a lot of new growth here and some really nice size heads. Yeah, like a nice disc of that lace cap. It’s a very cool look. It’s a I’m not a huge fan of lace cap. I just always prefer a mop head, but if it is a lace cap, I like there to be a really significant bloom. And these ones do have really pretty significant blooms and somehow tidy, right? Like sometimes they get a little messy. There’s one that is one of my favorite hydrangeas that we’ll be talking about that gets very messy unfortunately a little earlier. Yeah. So, I will go with a nice 7 and 1 half out of 10. And my only reason for that is the dieback and they get if they stayed like this over the winter and then started from here. Yeah. I think I absolutely adore them. But and I know it sounds a little harsh, seven and a half, but I I I love them. I would say six. Okay. Now, I love Tough Stuff Top Fun. For me, it’s a 10 out of 10 because it blooms on old and new wood. It has strong relooming skills. You can change the color of the flower based on your soil pH. It’s either going to be a rich, intense pink or it’s going to be a rich, intense purpley blue. and I think it’s super fun to use as a hedge along the edge of a patio and I just have such high hopes for it. I’m so excited for them and I love them and it’s a 10 out of 10. Well, I will say what I think is very cool is when you look I don’t know if you can see any from over here but over here you have pink sterile blooms around the outside and then purple on the inside. Yeah, that is a really cool flower. That’s a really interesting look. We have added aluminum sulfate and we have acidified which of course will take a cycle to move into the soil. But these new buds up there, we’ll see. These might start pushing into the purple area, but I think the purple is getting into those um sterile fluores. I think that’s fun. I think it is. It’s a top fun. I would say it’s top fun. Funny story. I think we’re also next to your favorite hydrangeanger. 20 out of 10. Wow. 20 out of 10. Yes. This is quickfire fab. It sure is. And it is a pinnacle hydrangeanger. I’m should I just say this is my very first YouTube video. So I’m trying to keep up with you guys and you’re just on it and I’m I’m doing my best. So you’re doing amazing. Okay. Thank you. I appreciate that. Quickfire fab 20 out of 10. 100 out of 10. Absolute favorite. I’m not sure if it’s my absolute favorite hydrangeanger. That would be incredibly hard, but it is definitely my favorite panacle and top three hydrangeas of all time. I agree. I think the fuettes on it are really beautiful with that star shape that they have. And it is really different from the original quickfire in the fact that the bloom is so much denser. Very dense. I think it’s a 10 out of 10 panacle hydrangeanger, too. I’m going with 10 out of 10. Yeah. It gives you everything you want. kind of gives you the size. It gives you the ease of care. It’s got beautiful flowers that can be dried. It’s It’s super simple, super easy, and gorgeous. Yeah. And now this is one of the biggest panacle hydrangeas. So, let’s go look at the tiniest panacle hydrangeanger. We have three tiny quickfire. I’m just going to swoop around this way, guys. We got a full on front look. It is the funniest little hydrangeanger. I think it’s adorable. It’s cute. I’m going to go with like an eight out of 10. It’s not like a showstopper for me personally, but I love that this is full size. Yeah. And they have actually pretty big blooms. They get a really intense pink, too, which is cute. Yeah. I love that. And honestly, it’s to the fact that it looks like a miniature version of the original. It’s very true to the name. It’s got the same type of blooms with more of the lace, and I think it’s just beautiful. I love any panacle hydrangeanger that you can put in the front of a bed. I think I love hydrangeas for that reason. The fact that you can use them as back anchor plants, something in the middle or using these dwarf varieties to to put something in the front. I think this is great, especially for pots. I love a dwarf hydrangeanger to put in a container. You know, if you don’t have the space for something that gets 8 ft by 8 ft, this is perfect for you. I love it. I love this Eric number. That one’s tough for me. I love I like it because it is easy. Yeah, it’s So to me it looks a little messy. Oh, and the blooms are big, but they come across a little out of balance with the size of the shrub. But some people might really like that. I think maybe mass they’re maybe better than just a single specimen. Yeah. Yeah, I think that they’re a landscape plant. I think they’re very good as a landscape plant, maybe not as a specimen. Yeah, I think I’d give it a seven out of 10. I think seven for me as well. Yeah, I think it’s a sevens all around. Yeah, little lime punch. Have you planted little lime punch, Sky? I do have little lime punch. Now, I will So, it came to me very late in the season, so I put it in quite a bit of shade because I was worried that it would fry. And I’m surprised that it’s actually done fairly well for a panacle hydrangeanger that prefers more sun. It hasn’t done it hasn’t done great. I think that I really need to move it into something with more sun, but I’m actually very surprised with how well it has done. Yours look absolutely amazing. This is exactly what I’m hoping for in the future, but I’ve I’ve been very happy with it. What’s really interesting about the breeding of Little Lime Punch is they’ve bred it to have stronger stems, fuller flowers, earlier blooms, and more intense color. But one of the things they had to sacrifice for that was the speed at which it grows and establishes itself. It’s one of the least quick or one of the slowest to get established in the ground as far as panacle hydrangeas go. So this is going to this is 3 years the I would say you know it’s like sleep creep leap. I would say this is sleep sleep creep creep leap leap. Okay. You know it just takes a little more time but super strong. Yeah. Really nice. How dense that is? Yes. I think this is great. I I So there’s if I’m remembering correctly I think that they end at like five to six at maturity. I kind of wish that it stayed a little bit small that there was that this stayed a little bit smaller that there was a little bit more of a medium size. It almost like if there was if it stayed here I think that would be amazing. Like if there was little lime punch and tiny tiny little lime punch. Actually, we have one coming up that I think you will like based on those credentials. I’m going to go ahead and give this a seven out of 10 because I love it but it’s slow to get cooking. Okay. And I’m going to give it a six cuz I like it but I don’t love it. Oh my gosh, you guys. I’m giving it a 10 out of 10 for a panacle hydrangeanger. And good things are worth the wait. I know. I know. We We’re tough crowd. Down here we have Seaside Serenade Glacier Bay. This is a Monrovia hydrangeanger. And I couldn’t take my eye off of it last summer when I saw it at the garden center. It has a black stem and a white lace cap flower that does not change color. And I knew when I bought it and I knew when we planted it that it was going to be very iffy, very borderline whether it would flower for us. Although the roots are hardy for us cuz it’s hardy down to zone 5, right? Again, like a lot of big leaves, not always hardy in our zone. But we did get some flowers. Yeah, it died to the ground. That’s pretty impressive. And they are pretty. I like it. I love this star contrast between the white and the black with the bright green. For me, I think this is worth keeping and worth protecting. Okay, I’m gonna give it a like eight out of 10 cuz I think it’s like fun and cool and unique. Yeah, I think it’s really interesting. I mean, I’m going to say a four. Okay. Just because I would not personally grow it. I think that this the black stem is super cool. I remember you being so excited about that. For me, if it is not really gonna take off, it’s just not worth it for me. But to each his own. Three out of 10. Wow. Okay. I think I’m like much more generous about hydration. I think you are too. I’m like shady. Puffer fish is kind of an improved variety of Bobo. Hydrangeanger. Yeah. So, it’s cool because it stays in that 3 to 4 foot tall and wide range. The bloom is a little lighter and lacier than Bobo. It is. So, it’s supposed to have better resistance to flopping. We did just have that storm like we mentioned earlier, and there is a tiny bit of flopping, but I can shake the water off and revive it. And the other thing that’s cool that makes them call a puffer fish is as the blue matures, it sends out one extra little stem to stick out of the top. Right. So, for me, I do grow it. I like it. I had a little higher hopes for it because it is supposed to be more of a mopet for a panacle. It’s supposed to be a little more ballshaped and it is, but because of that sort of lacy light factor, it doesn’t quite have the look that I was hoping for because these are the only ones I can grow in full sun is the panacle hydrangeanger. I wanted it to look a little bit more like a smooth or like a mop head, but in full sun, I would say maybe a 6 and 1/2. Six and a half. Six and a half. Yeah. I would say for me, puffer fish, I kind of felt the same way. had higher expectations. I think it’s totally fine. I don’t think there’s anything super exciting about it. I would definitely give it like a 6 out of 10. Okay, we’ll come this way, Christopher. And we have another new variety. This is called Pinky Winky Prime. Can you believe the size of the shrub versus the size of the flower? It’s like a 5050. That’s insane. And but it doesn’t bother me the way the tiny quickfire bothered me. Okay, this I anticipate being my favorite hydrangeanger of all time. I anticipate that this because Pinky Winky Prime, where so many hydrangeas in the last few years have been bred to be smaller, they went big for Pinky Winky Prime. Knowing that it says something like 8 to 10 feet tall and wide, I think this is going to be tremendous. I do think this will be my 12 out of 12 in a couple years. I’m fully anticipating that. Okay, this flower right here in particular makes me really excited for this hydrangeanger. I think it’s probably going to be a 10 out of 10 for me. And I think we’re probably going to be moving these um Let’s Dance Rhythmic Blues further away from it as it grows cuz it has put on a ton of growth this year. Ah, eight and a half. Eight and a half. Do you grow Let’s dance rhythmic blue. I do not. These are brand new for us this year. We’ve never grown them before. haven’t grown these yet, but when we planted them, they were probably like a quart size, and they were like pale green, like as if they’d never seen sun before. Okay. And so we planted them, and they have Look at all the new eyes. So many buds. Put on tons of flowers. They bloom this blue. Can you believe that color? That’s gorgeous. That’s some Cape Cod right there. Yeah, it is. They’ve got more flowers coming. I can’t believe it’s a gold color. Yeah, that is really the goal. Yeah, I can’t believe how much growth they’ve put on. I can’t wait to see how they do once they’re established. Yeah, these are a 4×4, so it’s going to be a nice solid mass. I like that. I like that. That’s a good middle end mass small hedge. I think that’s beautiful. I would currently give this a 9 out of 10 and I would say this time next year, we’ll reassess when we see what the winter does to them. We are definitely covering them. Yeah, worth it. Definitely like there are princess plants in this world, but some plants they are worth it. Worth it. I I will say eight just because I’m seeing the new growth. I know the now that I know the backstory. I think eight cuz I have high hopes for this. That sounds good to me. Let’s take a look at tidbit. Oh, this one is going to answer all your concerns about Little Punch Sky. Okay, so up here is Fire Light Tidbit. And we have two stands of it. Here’s one of them here. Or we could go to the one in the front. Should we just stop at this one? This one. Let’s stop at this one. Okay. So, this is firelight tibet. It’s another panacle variety. It grows about 3×3, which I think is kind of the size that little lime punch is right now back there. Yeah, I love this. This This is honestly probably top three hydrangeas that I grow. I absolutely love it. This is 10 out of 10. Absolutely gorgeous. Yours is not like our the growth habit is a little bit different for me. Mine grows a little bit more like the tiny quickfire where the blooms start at the bottom and just mass up. What I love is I planted them last year from very very small specimens and I made an entire hydrangeanger wreath out of the dried blooms with only three tiny plants. The amount of blooms was absolutely incredible. And the fall color so deep, red, pink, lots of variation. It made the most beautiful dried hydrangeanger that I think that I grow. I think this is my if you’re going to dry a hydrangeanger, this is the one that I would go for. And this is a mature drift of them. There’s three of them here. They’re very established. They’ve probably been in the ground four or five years at this point. Amazing. Really my favorite panacle hydrangeanger as far as that mid level goes. 10 out of 10 for me. Yeah. 10 out of 10. Love it. And then right behind you, Skye, is our most controversial hydrangeanger. Very controversial at the Grow Forme Garden and Garden. Yes. This is Let’s Dance. We threw hands yesterday over this. We almost fought. That’s why Christopher is not on screen right now. He’s still recovering. Get out of here. Let’s dance can do, which is a hybrid between a macrofila and a serata. it. Um, I don’t know. I’m just gonna let you talk, Skye. Okay. To me, this is a let’s dance can don’t. So shady. So shady. I just like pick a lane. Pick a lane, dude. What is happening? Are you a lace cap? Are you a mop head? What’s all this crazy? I can’t I can’t with this. To me, this is like a one because it’s got some blooms and that’s cool. The the actual aesthetic of it, I am not a fan. Not a fan. It’s not It’s not my jam. I can’t do it. Can don’t. Now, let’s dance can do is like an incredible breeding breakthrough because it does flower up the length of the stem or it’s supposed to. I don’t see that on ours, but it is supposed to them. Yeah. Here. Here. Look at that. It’s Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, for me, I’m pretty neutral about it. I think it’s like a six out of 10. I can appreciate the science behind it, the excitement behind it. I don’t again like you I do think it’s a little bit messy looking. This is its second full season in the ground. So maybe it’ll get better as it gets more established. Um I just think it’s a cool hydrangeanger, but I don’t think it’s a beautiful hydrangeanger. So I think it’s like a seven out of 10 for me. I’m sad, guys. I’m really sad. This has been one of my favorite hydrangeas ever. This has been a 10 out of 10 for so long. I do need to reserve judgment. I’m I need to question mark this until next year because I really want to see if it’s going to come back next year and give me what I’m hoping it gives me. I love the leaf shape. I love the flower shape. I love it’s literally my least favorite. I love that it’s a little wild, but it’s got these interesting blooms. I’ve really loved this a lot. I would be giving this a question mark five this year, which what? No, no, you’ve got to score it. This has been yesterday. Let’s dance can do pusher for the last few years. Let’s own it. Tell the truth. Come on. You know what? I’m like I need this to be the little hydrangeanger that could This is a Let’s dance could do. Okay. I need it to do the thing and then it’ll be Let’s Dance Can Do and it’ll be back to town. Maybe you’ve been influenced. Am I being influenced? Power is overwhelming. Uhoh. Well, all right. I’m going to I honestly I have to give this a a current five. I really want this to go back to being a 10. That is not what he said off camera. This is just fiction. Well, you know what? Maybe it’s different through the lens. Maybe it’s different. Now you’re seeing it for its real. I’m I’ve never stood at this angle. I’m always so close. Maybe that’s what it is. Okay. Again, I’m the highest scorer. Yeah. But you’re always the highest score. He’s so much more generous than us. I love And I can But I think it’s cuz I really appreciate the science behind this one. That is so cool. That is very cool. And there’s one more right behind you, Sky. But that you probably didn’t even realize cuz it’s so late to bloom. Yeah, it is. This is Limelight Prime, an improved version of Limelight. And we actually no longer have Limelights in our garden. We rehomed all the ones that we have because they flopped so much. And Limelight Prime is an improved version that has a stronger stem. Uh more intense color, but it has smaller flowers. I’m not thrilled with the fact that it’s starting to bloom so late. It’s a very late one. It is. I mean, I think it’s like a six out of 10 for me. Limelight Prime. Okay, I’m going to say eight out of 10 because I do have quite a few of these. They’re super fast growing for me. Probably one of the fastest panacles that I’ve grown, which I’m pretty excited about. I planted them last year and they’ve already put on multiple feet, which I’m shocked at. I would give it a 10 if it had the same coloring as a regular limelight. It doesn’t get that super bright white first. It It stays a little bit more on the green, but I will say when it ages into pink, it’s a much prettier, deeper pink than the original Limelight. So, it’s it that’s it’s super hard. There are pluses and minuses. I do have some regular Limelights, but they were very floppy and they didn’t they had more of an antique pink, whereas this is a deeper pink. So, I just I I say eight. Christopher six. Six. Oh, okay. It’s a six. All right. Yeah, I’m I get brutal, I guess. I think we should take a look at a wee white. Okay. Oh, I love wee white. Come along. Let’s hydranger queen. So, we have a total of 10 wee whites. Some down there, they get overhead water from the sprinkler. These up here that are on drip, they are in full sun. And how many are planted here? This is four. Four. Okay. And this is a dwarf smooth leaf hydrangeanger. So blooms on new wood. This is as big as they get. Comes out bright white and then it ages to this green. Sometimes there’s little tinges of blush or you know whatever. So these are more on their way out these flowers. So that’s why there’s some speckled with brown after the rain and the heat, but I just can’t believe the number of flowers on a shrub this size. Yeah, I would say in your garden they’re a seven and a half. In my garden, they’re they are a little bit younger and I have them in more shade because I need more shade. And maybe that’s why I don’t have quite the amount of blooms that you do because yours are in full sun. In my yard, I would give them a five. One, because the white is not super super white and I like it super super white um when it first blooms and then it turns to green is a little bit on the creamier side. And I’m that’s probably why I just it’s it’s it’s there. It’s fine. It does what it needs to do. It always blooms. I love that. But I love them. I’m going to give this a 10 out of 10. And I love the foliage is so healthy and dark green. I love a dark green hydrangeanger leaf. Yes. And I love that there’s so many blooms. I love that you get a variety. Look at this green flower right here. You’ve got white. You’ve got a little faded tabis here. They’re completely reliable. They can handle our full sun. Bloom on new wood. What do you think, Chris? Nine out of 10. I like them. I think they’re wonderful. They’re such a staple of our garden. So, there’s also that sentiment attached to it. Absolutely. This is the first thing you see. And then if we come down here, Christopher actually just swoop around to see the ones that get overhead water. Run, run, run, run, run. These are actually maybe in a little bit better shape because they get overhead water so the blooms haven’t burned as much. Interesting, right? Yeah. Really interesting. They look good though. They do. But then over here we have what I would call the most perfectly pruned panacle hydrangeanger of all time. And here is a nice example. This is vanilla strawberry. This is a panacle hydrangeanger planted in 2018. So it’s very established. We really take our time pruning it in the spring to get this perfect shape on it. Blooms a little bit later in the season. I really like vanilla strawberry because it has dark stems, nice blooms that’ll turn pink as the uh fall approaches. I think it’s like a 10 out of 10 if you want a big hearty panacle hydrangeanger. Yeah, I would say nine and a half. Just I like a a little bit fuller bloom. And maybe it’s because these aren’t fully fully bloomed, but I like it a little bit denser, but nine and a half. Like it’s it’s absolutely gorgeous. 10 out of 10 for me. All right, come on back here. We have a little fire light tidbit sticking in there. And then we’ll head up this way to the hydranger room. Oh, but before we hit the hydranger room, look at this gorgeous 10 out of 10. 20 out of 10. Yeah. Amazing. Gatsby pink oakleaf hydrangeanger. Starts with a white flower, turns pink. It’s a lace cap bloom. Blooms on old wood. Don’t prune it. Don’t touch it. Let it get to its full 6×6 size. Really good bud hardiness. I think it’s a 10 out of 10 for sure. I Yeah, absolutely. This is so stunning. I also grow it. It has much stronger stems than the Gadsby Moon. Love the color. Love the shape. Love the fall foliage. Love it. Everything. Two thumbs up. Everything. Love it. Come on back this way to Lime Ricky Hydrangeanger. Now, Lime Ricky, to be fair, has been discontinued, but I love it. It’s been replaced with Invincibel Sublime. That’s the improved version of Blime Ricky. And you can tell it does flop in the rain, but I love the big enormous foliage. I love the big flowers. I would plant more Well, no, I wouldn’t play more of these. I would choose Invincible Sublime over it. Yeah, I think so. Um, but I just really like it. Five. I think it’s like an eight out of 10 for me. Seven. Cool. Yeah. All right. Look at that. We have something we Yes. Down here is a small drift of wee bit innocent big leaf hydrangeanger. Now this is not supposed to be a reloomer, right? It doesn’t have that raant quality, but for me it actually does reloom. Wow. What do you think makes it do that in your garden? Well, I only have them in containers because they’re they don’t have quite the bud hardiness of some of the others and so I knew I loved it. I loved the sweet look and color of it. And so I knew I wanted to protect it from the get-go. And so I think just having it so protected and in such an ideal location, I do get some relooming. What I love about the Wee Bit Innocent is that similar to Sky View, you could push this to blue with aluminum sulfate. You could push it into the pink territory with PH, but they’re always going to be more pastel. Yes. Which I think is just very sweet. I think I think that it’s perfectly named innocent. It’s sweet. It’s cute. Small stays 2 by two. Yeah, I think it’s a neat hydrangeanger. I like the big bold foliage on it. Um, if this was covered in those blooms, it’s a 10 out of 10 in its state that it comes back roamy wise and all of that. I’m going to go with a six of 10. I would like to try and protect it. I think this was one worth trying to protect for us. I think so, too. So, for me, unprotected three or in the ground, three, but in a container, uh, seven. Yeah. Right now, I think it’s like a six out of 10, but I want to try and protect it better this winter. Okay, Eric, show Sky our um Well, I’m going I’m just going to say show her that one out of 10/z out of 10. So, right behind that is light ode hydrangeanger. This is a supposed to be a relooming hydrangeanger from I believe it’s first editions. It should bloom a lace cap. It’s got variegated foliage, which I think is awesome. I think that’s variegated foliage. So, for me, it’d be a two because the foliage is gorgeous, but the fact that it doesn’t bloom is very, and this has been in here 5 years, so it’s fully established. It should have that energy in the roots. Um, wow. Look at what the rain did to our brand new wine vibum. Uh, we’re going to pull this out. So, for me, it’s a zero out of 10. It’s coming out this fall. I say two. Yeah, we are wrapping up our hydrangeanger ratings here in our hydrangeanger room which was inspired by the trial garden in Spring Meadow and the choice of incredible was inspired by Sky of Hamilton House Designs. So if you don’t follow her on Instagram, it’s @ Hamilton House Designs. Hamilton House Designs and on YouTube and on YouTube on all the I think all the channels. You’re now Hamilton House Designs on all the channels. Your website is hamiltonhouseinc.com. Okay, beautiful. So, make sure you follow Sky on all of her platforms. But let’s get back to the hydrangeanger here. This is incredible. Now, I have to preface this with these were planted in the fall of 2023. So, last year was their first se full season. This is their second full season. And we know that it takes hydrangeas three to five seasons to really get established and mature, show off all their best traits. So, these are immature specimens despite their size being so big. Incredible. 20 100 out of 10. They’re my honestly, they really are my absolute favorite. These were my gateway drug into hydrangeas. I just absolutely love them. I love the color. I love how they dry. Um, mine are much more established. They’re 10 years old this year and they are very sturdy. They do flop a little bit in the in the rain, but in general, they’re just very well established. They have a good base. I I love them. I just absolutely sound like you do. I love them. What would you score them, Christopher? I’m going to give them an eight of 10. Knowing that after a project we might have coming up pretty soon, I’m going to call them a 10 out of 10. Okay. All right. I think that this is incredible. I think this was worth the extra work with a little support and stuff. I would definitely give these a 10 out of 10. No, I take that back. I’m going to give them a nine out of 10. I’m going to tell you why. Because as we move to the incredible blush, you’ll notice that the foliage is a deeper green. And as I mentioned before, I love a deep green eye of foliage. So, for me, that brings this to a 10 out of 10. Okay. Blush 10 out of 10. Thoughts? Blush six out of 10. one, I don’t feel like they are as pretty of a blush as I thought they were going to be. They’re slightly on the mauveier side, and I was kind of I was kind of hoping for more of an innocent look, more of a pastel, and they’re just not quite there. And also, it just hasn’t had the oomph for me. These ones just do so well. And I planted the the blush in all the same conditions and they just haven’t taken off in the same. I feel like these look pretty comparable. Although as I look closer maybe the incredible is bigger. It’s a little bigger. And then of course behind them we have um repeated a pattern of sublime which we’ve talked about. Yep. And then invincible lace. What are your thoughts on Invincible lace? I know it’s hit or miss for some people. It it for me a five. Oh, okay. That’s higher than I thought. It there’s nothing overtly bad about it, but to me it’s a meh. I’m not a fan of the lace. I don’t love a disc. It’s just me. All right. It’s there. It’s an eight for me. It’s an eight for you only because it starts out with a really rich color and it does fade out quite a bit. But I’m going to reserve that changing over the more years to establish because I think it probably will have more color longer in time. Okay. I think that for me it’s a 9 out of 10, but I think some of that has to do with the fact that the flowers are purple, but the sterof florettes are white, so you get by color blooms on them. I think it’s a great kind of filler hydrangeanger. I wouldn’t say that it’s necessarily that eyecatching like, oh my god, I got to look at that hydrangeanger. I think it’s great to put in something like a mixed border like this because it provides rest for the eye. It definitely has a more naturalistic look and generally I tend not to do naturalistic. I do as superficial as possible. So I think it’s like a N out of 10. Yeah. So I’m Yeah, it’s fine. Christopher, let’s go right next to you right there. Ruby. Invincibel Ruby, which has most of the same qualities as all these other hydrangeas, but it stays a little bit smaller. I will say I’m going to give this a seven out of 10 only because it has exhibited some flopping tendencies. For me, it’s a seven. I would say um it’s better than some. I love the deep color that it starts. I wish it would stay that a little longer. It starts this deep right here. Then it kind of fades a little bit and then it biscs. I do. I actually I think that I like the faded color the best as far as most smooth go because I actually think that it mimics a mop head in the antiquiness and the variation of color. So that’s what I think that’s why I like it high. It is a little floppy, but yeah, just in general, seven seven out of 10. I think I would give it an eight out of 10 because I love that foliage. Yeah, I think it’s beautiful. I like the pink. And then speaking of pink, this is my favorite smooth leaf hydrangeanger. If I had to choose a smooth leaf hydrangeanger variety is between this and Invincel Sublime. Okay. But I love a pink flower. So this is Invincel Spirit 2. And it this is a drift of four of them planted pretty closely together. Very well established. Starts out here’s a fresh flower right here. Pink. Gorgeous. Beautiful. This one’s a little fresher. then it opens up to this and then it will fade to a bisque color. I think it’s got some good stem strength. I like the big bold foliage. I think they’re nice cut flower. They keep pushing blooms the whole season long. I got to say this year in particular, it’s doing the coolest thing. It’s pushing new growth quite high up over its first flush. I will give this a 10 out of 10 simply out of solidarity because I know he loves it so much that if I gave it anything lower, I’d be in big trouble. Oh, see I didn’t do that same favor with Let’s Dance can do. It’s going to do. It’s going to do. It’s going to do it. It’s going to do. Invisible Spirit 2. Do you grow these? I do. I will say N 9.5. Okay. I really like them. Um I went when we were at Cape Cod last year. The Mount Cuba Center did a whole study on all of the smooth hydrangeas and Invincible Spirit 2 was the top smooth hydrangeanger in the country. Wow. for pollination, for health, strength, all of the things. And so that really changed my mind on growing it cuz I hadn’t grown it previously and I was like, “All right, I got to put some some of these in here.” The other thing that I like is with every sale of these, it goes towards breast cancer research. Um, so you will see the pink ribbon on the um, Invincible Spirit 2 tag. I think that’s super cool. I love anything with, you know, just a little goodness. little goodness behind it. So, you get a beautiful flower plus you’re doing something great. So, I loved that it did so well. Um, the only thing for me also is that I have found iron deficiency to be an issue. And so, a lot of times in my in my when I’ve been growing it, the leaves turn very very yellow. So, I have had to supplement iron for this and that I haven’t had to do in other smooth hydrangeas. So, I don’t know, maybe once it’s established, maybe where it’s planted, it’s being leeched from somewhere and that’s your soil, right? Yeah. So, we’ll just see. Yeah, cuz luckily we do not encounter that at all. Okay. Um, the other thing that I think backtracking to that study you were talking about, I think they also said it was the most sun tolerant smooth leaf hydrangeanger. Yes. Because of the amount of color in the blooms and the dark foliage, they said it can take the most sun of all the smooth hydrangeas. Science. I love the science. So, it’s a 10 out of 10. I think we should end on the bestselling hydrangeanger. Yeah. Before we do our official hydrangeanger count, which I’m kind of excited to do this count. Yes. Oh, yeah. We’re going to go around the garden and count every hydrangeanger to see how many we officially have. They just want to have more than me, which I am pretty sure you do now. Probably. Yeah, we’ll see. Probably. Maybe I’ll go home and do my own count on the Maybe you should. Everybody who is subscribed to you will see it. So, this is Bobo Hydrangeanger, the number one selling hydrangeanger in America. I am going to give it a seven. Okay. Um, mine have much much smaller blooms than yours. Um, it’s probably due to the amount that I don’t have nearly as much water as you do, the humidity. Um, it’s a little bit smaller. It’s 4 years old now and I would say it’s about Yay. big. Um, it’s fine. It’s very I can set it and forget it. It’s a nice pop of white. It stays white longer than other panacles, which I like. Um, it’s like a good filler hydranger. It’s a good filler hydrangeanger. I think it’s really great in the landscape. Like just a landscape staple. I agree with you. Seven out of 10. Eight out of 10. All right. Okay. I guess it’s time for the hydrangeanger count. So, come along. We’re going to go through the whole garden. I think we’re doing it on high speed, right, Christopher? We’re going to do a high-speed count. All right. So, anybody who wants to guess, get those guesses in now. Okay. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 16 10 11 12 13 14 9 15 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 191. We did it. We’re at 191. All right. Now that we have gone through your entire yard, you’ve heard my stuff. You guys have talked it out. I want to know which is your favorite hydrangeanger. I’m going to tell you from each category. Let’s ask Sky View. Favorite big leaf. Tough stuff. Top fun. Favorite mountain variety. Vincible Spear two favorite smooth leaf variety. Pinky Winky Prime favorite panacle variet. Nope. I take that back. Fire light tippet panacle variety. And then what which one am I missing? Oakle. Oakleaf. Oakleaf. Gatsby pink. Oh, for sure. I’m a Gatsby Pink L Pinky Winky Prime. Absolutely. Pinky Winky Prime. Let’s dance sky view. Not let’s dance Can’t do. No, I those I That’s it. I just have three. You have an influence. That’s it. All right. What about you, Sky? Okay. Incredible. Favorite smooth. Uh Oak uh Gatsby Pink for Oak Leaf. Quickfire, Fab, Panacle, although I really feel like it’s tied with Tidbit. That one is a very hard. Um, I don’t have a Mountain favorite. I’m reserving judgment on that. But I think Top Fun looks promising. What am I forgetting? Big Leaf. Big Leaf. Big Oh, hello Sky View. My namesake, of course. Yep. I think that’s it. Those are my faves. For more information on how to grow hydrangeas in your garden, please check out our video called Grow Forme Gardening’s hydrangeanger guide. Sky, thank you so much for joining us today. Please make sure to follow her at Hamilton House Designs. Again, I’m Eric. And I’m Christopher. And I’m Sky. And we’re Grow Forme Gardening. Thanks for growing with us.