I must be too kind to mine here in OR. They did bloom for me in MA on much thinner soil. 'Emerald Spring' gave a rather variable group of seedlings, some very red. Wish I had some of that group now.
On the other hand the heuffs seem to bloom with abandon here and they rarely bloomed heavily in MA. Of course we only had three different ones back then!! You see why I feel like a fossil!
Kevin
