(Big leaf Hydrangea) Pink Shiras™ is a wonderful Hydrangea that is noted for its compact growth, strong stems and reliable long lasting blooms.  Pink Shiras™ beautiful flowers emerge green and become infused with red and then transform to shades of rich pink.  Acid soils deliver tones of lavender-purple.  Pink Shiras™ is very hardy and has been known to bloom even when other Hydrangea varieties have been damaged by frost.  Great to use in: containers, groupings or masses, perennial or shrub borders, hedges or screens, or for cut flowers. As a young plant it is best to prune or pinch your plant in order to build a full-bodied, well-branched plant. If the plant is leggy when you purchased it, shear the plant back hard by 1/3 to 1/2 its original size. Once it puts on an inch or two of growth, pinch the branch tips to remove just the growing tips, these tips control branching. Once growing tips are removed the buds below it will turn into stems. Once these new branches grow an inch or two, pinch the tips out again. You can repeat this throughout the first growing season as you are tending your garden. Although you will sacrifice blooms, this technique results in a well-branched, full-bodied plant that will have more flowers in subsequent years. During the second and subsequence seasons, prune or pinch as necessary after flowering and before buds set in mid-August. Do not be afraid to prune or shear your plant harder if you wish to maintain a shorter size. Introduction Year: 2007 Patent Strings: Pink Shira™ Hydrangea macrophylla 'Sonmarie' PP: 20595