Well, sounds like you did everything right!! Congratulations!! Keep up the good work and enjoy your beautiful flowers!! Show us some pictures!

When you put down manure, how did you do it??? ie. in the spring and all over the plant, or ??????? I have yet to fertilize, but am going to start,

my Hydrangea arborescens was shipped to me and when it came and I opened it the leaves were all crispy and dieing....I cut it back and now it looks like 5 6" or so stalks coming out of the pot...anything I can do to help it?

It is a little late to fertilize, joycekh, so I would suggest doing that next year. Tender new growth may get zapped by early frosts and you do not want the shrub to be in "growth" mode when it should be going dormant. Try fertilizing in June of 2011 instead. About 2-3 weeks after your average date of last frost, you can amend the soil and use weak fertilizers like liquid seaweed, liquid fish or coffee grounds. Then in June, apply manure, compost or cottonseed meal. You can also apply a slow-release general-purpose fertilizer per label directions. Then stop all fertilizers by the start of July.

Sorry to hear about your plant, mrsspade667. It sounds like it dried out in transit. You can help it by planting it in the ground in an area where it gets protection from the afternoon sun. Choose a well-draining location that is not too breezy and that allows the plant to grow to its size at maturity without encroaching into other plants. Mulch well with 3-4" about one ft away from the base crown. Use the finger method to water it.

During the next two weeks, insert a finger (daily) to a depth of 4" into the soil and determine how it feels: wet, moist or dry). Water 1g of water only when it feels dry or almost dry. Any time that you water, make a note on a wall calendar. After two weeks, review the notes made on the calendar and determine how often you had to water (every 2/3/4/5 days for example). Then set the sprinkler to water 1g of water early in the mornings using the same frequency. When temperatures go up/down 10-15 degrees and stay there, use the finger method again. During dry winters, you may need to water but only once every two weeks or so (water as long as the ground does not freeze).

Do not fertilize it until next Spring. Hydrangeas are not heavy feeders and your plant may have already shipped with some fertilizer pellets. Besides, it is not recommend to fertilize a plant that is stressed and yours currently is.

Hope it heals in the next 2-4 weeks,
Luis

Here is a link that might be useful: Fertilizing Hydrangeas