I have been wondering the same myself, zanne_lh. Since Mr. Ryan Gainey is such a famous gardener, I would hope that a hydrangea with his name would live up to the hype. He wrote a book with an odd title that I have never purchased but sporadically remember because it is funny... something along the lines of "The Well Placed Weed" or something like that. Well, I have a few of those every Fall. Hee hee hee.

So, does anyone have this arborescens hydrangea and can answer zanne_lh's questions?

Luis

Here's what Don Shadow (Shadow Nursery,TN) has to say about the cultivar...

Hydrangea arborescens 'Ryan Gainey'
'Ryan Gainey' is an excellent new selection of Hydrangea arborescens with darker green leaves, smaller flowers and thicker stems than Hydrangea arborescens 'Annabelle'
Note: "smaller flowers"!

You may want to look for a recently introduced H. arborescens cultivar 'Abetwo'(PPAF) , that has thicker stems and very large flowers, so say they! (link below). Being marketed as IncrediballÂ, with the "Proven Winner" logo.
Rb

Here is a link that might be useful: Hydrangea arborescans 'Incrediball'

thanks razorback! how great it must be to have toured his garden!

the incrediball is certainly that, and i love the greenish tinge that is similar to annabelle, but the size -- maybe it's a bit much?!

i have only seen a few images of ryan gainey (the plant), so i'm a bit hesitant about investing in it; i'm thinking 6 to 10 plants for landscaping the approach to my driveway, perhaps pairing them with blue billow.

i love the way annabelle looks, but the flopping doesn't sound so hot.

zanne_lh....
I had forgotten about this form of arborescens. Found mine today, while watering a nearby macrophylla
It has stronger canes than 'Annabelle', plus the flowers on mine are smaller, so it remains very upright.

Hydrangea arborescens 'White Dome'
{{gwi:1019237}}

The flowers are lacecap form, like the wild form, which I happened to win as a door prize at yesterday's meeting of the American Hydrangea Society.

Hydrangea arborescens (Native "Wild" Form)
{{gwi:1019239}}

I have 2 forms of H. radiata
(formerly listed as a subspecies of arborescens). They are cultivars, 'Samantha' and 'Eco Pink Puff'(a pink flowering form). 'Samantha' has been a wimpy one for me and has not grown well. EPP is a robust, upright, large cane cultivar, but flowers pink.

Thought you might be interested.
Rb

thanks razorback! definitely very interesting to see the wild form. your white dome is stunning -- perhaps it may be a better match with my blue billow? i usually prefer the mopheads, but the site is wooded, so lacecaps would be a more naturalistic choice. can you tell me how much sun your white dome gets, and how large the flowerheads are? also, how tall/wide is it overall?

thanks for thinking of me while you were watering!

thanks razorback! definitely very interesting to see the wild form. your white dome is stunning -- perhaps it may be a better match with my blue billow? i usually prefer the mopheads, but the site is wooded, so lacecaps would be a more naturalistic choice. can you tell me how much sun your white dome gets, and how large the flowerheads are? also, how tall/wide is it overall?

thanks for thinking of me while you were watering!