Hello, two_munkeys. Paris and Venice bloom on old wood, meaning that they develop the flower buds on or after July. In the South (Texas for example), they start doing this in early to mid July. In areas further north, they will develop buds later.

It is difficult to know if NOW would be safe for you. The buds are basically invisible. The exact time is controlled by Mother Nature. There can be 4-6 weeks or more delay between my bud setting time and yours so, play it safe unless someone in Ontario chimes in: do not prune now. Instead, prune after they have bloomed in Spring 2011 or before the start of July 2011.

Here is a link that might be useful: Information About Cityline Paris

Hi two munkeys, I have both Cityline Paris and Venice. They both went in last year and wintered over superbly with just a thick coating of mulch over the roots. We're in 6b but you might want to try some protection for winter if you can force yourself to do it. Actually, last year was a great winter for hydrangeas on the East Coast, more buds and flowers than I've ever seen before!

They are normally sturdy and compact growers with a great shape. I would hesitate to prune them at all this year as Luis pr states, you don't want to run the risk of removing buds. I would wait before any pruning and you might find that next year they will fill in naturally. From my experience, I would say that they might never need any pruning!! They are a great series, the only one I'm not too enthralled with at the moment is Berlin, but another year may change my mind. Good Luck and I'm sure your plants will do well for you, they're beauties!! By the way, Venice drys beautifully in the fall with gorgeous colors that last through the winter. Lots of pigment in these flowers and they can't decide whether they want to be majenta, purple or blue and when they dry they have all these color and add some green! Really lovely if you enjoy into bringing them in for winter bouquets!!

Early this spring we saw Cityline Vienna and what a gorgeous plant, it appeared to have pink flowers, well, we didn't buy one, thought we'd come back later and when we did some landscaper had bought the whole lot of them! We never did see them in another nursury. Oh well, that will be next year's quest!!

Donna

I would recommend protection, at least for the first couple of years.
I purchased Paris & Venice during the summer of 2008 and planted them immediately. The first winter, Paris was killed to the ground, eventhough my lowest temperature was about 10°F(-12°C). It recovered last year, but did not bloom. This year it bloomed normally, but naturally, is a now a smaller plant than Venice.

These are the only 2 Cityline series Hydrangeas that I've found in my market area and there were only a few that one year at a local HD. They are the primary retailer for the PW line of plants in this area, but rarely have any of them for sale.

Interesting comment about Berlin, Donna. I am curious why? I never interested me because it simply "looked" too much like any other pink hydrangea. So, I was wondering in your case, why do you say "I'm not too enthralled with Berlin at the moment"?

Luis pr,
Actually, Berlin was the very first hydrangea we bought last year, the plant that started us on our newest addiction. But alas, we weren't really paying attention and bought just for the flowers, we do know better! Berlin was leggy and had rather small leaves from the start but, the huge bubble gum pink blossoms caught our attention and the rest is history! We do have some beautiful hydrangea plants, unfortunately Berlin is not one of them. She still has small leaves and is still rather leggy and this year she has even lost her large flowers! The flowers are about 1/4 the size of last year, the only thing positive I can say is that they are the same color!! In all fairness to Berlin, we never did fertilize this year, but all the other plants are doing splendidly. She may be in an area where the soil is poor, but the rhodys around her are doing fine.
She has one of the best locations in the yard, dappled sun most of the day with no afternoon direct sun. We'll chalk it up to transplant shock and next year we will feed her and hope for improvement. She set buds and there was no apparent die-off from a late spring frost. I still would not recommend Berlin, she doesn't hold a candle to the other in the Cityline collection.

Donna