Hi everyone! I haven't posted for a long time, but I had to let you know that I am looking at an amazing, banner year for my ES. We had a cold, snowy winter (the 3rd snowiest and 11th coldest winter on record here in KCMO.) My 5-year-old ES are absolutely loaded with buds. I'm not sure if this is due to 1) maturity, 2) the wet winter with snow protection and/or 3) I have a full time job now and I didn't mess with them at all. I don't fertilize, but use lots of shredded leaves to mulch. In the past, I confess that I did cut some canes that were slow to leaf out, but I can't imagine that that would have made the difference since this year there are buds on the early-leafing canes and the late-leafing canes. I did learn an important lesson this year -- most canes do come back to life, even if some are later than others. I notice other hydrangeas around town with lots of buds. Anyway, just wanted to share this since it is a remarkable change from past seasons. I will post pictures when they bloom.