I haven't heard any good reviews about this plant. All I seem to hear about is people pitching them. A local nursery just had a bunch of 3-gals with tons of new growth but I don't recall seeing any florets on it.

If you're this concerned enough about the blooms (which you should be!), I would try overwintering in a garage, porch, or basement to preserve buds. But this shouldn't even be necessary considering the product.

Like I mentioned in a different post, I'm actually happy my Red Sensation turned out to be a Summer Lace. It has grown very fast and had little if any frost damage.

In actuality, you'd be better off with a Merritt's Supreme - my parent's have theirs right next to a Nikko and each get about 30-40 blooms per summer in zone 6. Glowing Embers / Aplenglow may also produce. From my brief but extensive with macs, the specimens with the thickest canes and fattest buds seem to be the hardiest.

In the end, no one may know why Red Sensation is so testy. But companies like F&E have dropped products from their line before and maybe some day they will have a different product to replace this as their red hydrangea.

Forever and Ever replaced the "Red" cultivar two years ago I believe. The former cultivar was 'New Red' and now is something else (cannot remember off the top of my head). I suspect the finicky performance of Red 1.0 was the impetus of Red 2.0--which I DO know produces numerous, large blooms...and quite beautifully if I might add!

If you are having trouble getting a hydrangea flower, the best piece of advice I can give you is to try growing said hydrangea in a container which can placed in a cold (but not freezing) garage or shed.

I also have the same problem with FE Series "Double Pink" I didnt bring it up because I didnt want to confuse anyone. I bought the Double pink with a few blooms on it and didnt have an excuse why it wasnt blooming. I went to FE website and noticed the Double Pink is no longer offered and neither is Red Sensation. Their Red Hydrangea is simply called "Red" now. Seems both Red Sensation & Double Pink have been discontinued. I feel like a test dummy...lol...leaves a bad taste in my mouth to ever buy a FE Hydrangea again. I dont want to spend years again waiting for a hydrangea to bloom, just to find out it was a dud. They have months left at best in my yard if they dont produce here soon and my money is on they wont. I have 5 Hydrangeas in pots I winterize already and dont want more in pots. I bought them to be planted in my yard...lol... Thank you for bringing it to my attention that it was a new cultivar and prompted me to check their website. I would never buy a FE Hydrangea unless it was in bloom to prove what it is. Along with checking on the web that others in colder climates have had success with that particular one. I have multiple years success with FE Series: FE Original, Blue Heaven, Peppermint & Together. Summer lace I bought last year and seems to have proven to be worthy also. Rebloomed last year and has put buds on new growth this year also. I see FE has many new exciting Hydrangeas I didnt know they offered now, but I wont be their test dummy again. It's a shame they apparently rushed hydrangeas to market that werent proven and I wont take that chance again.

Yes, it is unfortunate that you were a "test dummy"--I too owned Red 1.0 and she never bloomed. It eventually died and I was not overly upset :)

I also grow FE 'Peppermint' and 'Blue Heaven' both of which perform well and produce some very attractive flowers. I am looking to add FE Red 2.0 but it is not super easy to find. 'Peppermint' seems to be the easiest to find, and from what I have seen/read/heard, it is probably FE's best cultivar. Rebloom however is still markedly less than that of Endless Summer, T&S, and Blushing Bride.

Yea my Peppermint doesn't rebloom well either, but still produces great for its 1st round of flowers every year. Probably why I only own one, but I am still very happy to have it in my landscape. My Blue Heaven's always at least shoot a couple new blooms after their first round and they are huge flowers as advertised. Only down fall to BH is it is so sensitive to the sun. Easily the most sensitive hydrangea in my yard. But on the upside it produces well in deep shaded spots, that others wouldn't.

I dug all 3 hydrangea's up and put them in pots...lol...they were so healthy I couldn't do it. I will over winter them and see what happens next year. I am sure they will bloom then. But I am less than thrilled to have more hydrangeas in containers. I went to my local Lowes recently and they had Peppermint,Together,White Out and the Original only. Lowes had at least 50 all together, but I am very interested in seeing the new Fantasia and Pistachio.

Like i mentioned in a different thread, most Lowes around me also have Peace now as well. Only the small pots are out now but i highly recommend these as the bloom mine has is about 10" across, the double flowers are extremely large and they are beginning to "blush". I bought it 3 weeks ago, put it in a 5gal pot and it is now almost 2' tall! The foliage is also very elongated and cupped, almost tropical looking.

FYI Fantasia has florets coming from crown stems!

You have a Fantasia?? Havent seen a Peace, Fantasia or Pistachio yet. Please post pics if you get a chance!! FE is really leaving ES in the dust with the variety they offer as long as they prove to be hardy in the Northern areas like ES has. On FE's website some state they rebloom and some dont state they do?? Along with some dont state their zone range on the website?? Makes me nervous....lol. I have many Lowes in my area and maybe thats why they arent shipping those to our area...lol

Fantasias are out there, but only at finer nurseries, in small pots for about $25. They've been out since last year. I'd call around if I were you. For some reason I've been too lazy to take pictures but I might as well make use of the gaudy camera thats on my Android phone. If you find Fantasia, note the amount of time the blooms spend in "peach" stage and how rigid the petals are - very durable!

I've been back-and-forthing with FE on Facebook, and they just told me that due to uncooperative weather patterns, Pistachio might not be ready for wide scale retail in 2012. Not surprising! Dry weather after spring freezes is not a good recipe for much.

However, they did say that they're ready to ship Red for the first time this season. Might lead us to indeed believe that it is more problematic than its cousins.

On FE's site, if reblooming isn't stated, I would assume that it doesn't. I've verified for myself that FE original reblooms, and so does Summer Lace. Also you'll note that some bloom in Summer only, like traditional mopheads, where you can then prepare for them to not bloom more than once.

FE's are all cool specimens, but like any hydrangea, they seem to require a lot of care, potential moves, and patience. Some people's might be happier in unlikely places, and some might just be happy as container plants only. Don't give up on them until they die, I say!