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I was browsing some garden sites and on line order places when I came across this gorgeous picture and description of a lovely pink hydrangea. It was called "Let's Dance Moonlight". Long story short I ordered it. I haven't done any mail order plants for over 2 years as my gardens are just too crowded, even after giving away many of the past year. I guess I will just have to dig a new spot for this. I have had very good success with the Limelight hydrangea so maybe this will be good too. In the same order getting something called a banana colored Shasta daisy that is supposed to have a very long blooming time. I am in zone5 but sometimes have success with zone 6 plants. This is the first time I have tried this place in Holland, MI. called Great Garden Plants.
We have two in our front yard,, they are beautiful until the true heat gets them. We found out if you prune them (depending on how you do it) you will get almost no blooms the following year.
I recently read that most hydraneas require NO pruning unless they are getting way to large for the spot you have them in.
That is about right, the problem, when it gets so hot here it is almost impossible to keep them watered. They dry and turn brown very quickly and are really ugly. All you can do is either prune them and ruin the growth for next year or live with the ugly from yard until fall sets in.
I think my hydrangeas may have bit the dust with all our triple digit weather this summer. We watered them a lot too. They just burned up in the heat.
I ordered several plants off the internet. They didn't make it. I was told the needs of these plants may change in different climates. It's best to buy locally grown plants for the best success.
Hydrangeas should be in shade, and they also like moist soil. Although I have on in 99.99% shade from my house, and it does OK even during dryer spells. If you have a macrophylla or arborescens in too much sunlight, then they'll suffer and croak. My mom has older ones in almost full shade and they are doing great. I would suggest an oak leaf hydrangea if you'd like to plant one in a sunnier location. I've never had one of those, though, so that's based purely on reading.
I have a macrophylla and arborescens in pretty much complete shade, and they're doing great. I did try to put an Incrediball in full sun in a very moist area, but even so it did very badly. I also had a macrophylla in part sun (afternoon sun...mistake) and it did badly as well.
In my experience, I would say here in zone 7, hydrangeas do best in teensy amounts of sun...and even are extremely happy in shade. I think you may be hurting the hydrangea if you put it in a sunny location...I would say transfer it to shade...
There is a lot of conflicting information here based on experience with single varieties. There are several kinds of Hydrangeas which have different needs for sunlight and pruning. They are not a one size fits all and you need to know the variety you have to know when is the right time to prune an how much sun they can tolerate. Most need at least some sun in order to bloom well and consistently but some need less than others.
To the OP, good luck with the Let's Dance Moonlight. It is a mophead variety in the "Let's Dance" series, which means like "Endless Summer" (which I have) it likes full morning sun, afternoon filtered sun or shade and lot of water. It is supposed to be a very neat and small Hydrangea and will probably need very little pruning outside of deadheading. It will flower on both old and new growth so if you need to shape it or cut it back do so in early spring without risking the blooms. If a late freeze damages it then you can trim some more and give it extra fertilizer and water and it will still bloom like crazy. Limelight is a different type of Hydrangea that probably can tolerate a bit more sun (experts recommended full to part sun BUT you have to keep it moist, especially in full sun)and gets quite big. Pruning isn't needed but if you must do so you can prune them in the spring. They bloom on "new wood" only so early pruning will not cut away buds. Of course, you probably can get away with more on occasion; I know someone who has them and she seems to whack "whenever" and manages to still have blooms.
Mnita it sounds like you have a more "old fashioned" Hydrangea that blooms on buds set the previous year ("old wood"). Pruning them is least risky in mid summer (about July) when they haven't set buds yet. Buds are usually set in cool weather with this kind (fall). Frosts can damage the buds so winter protection is probably a good idea, as is cutting back watering in mid fall to stop them from putting out new growth at the tips.
All Hydrangeas are water needy and do best if they get consistent watering. Once they've had a few years of good care they are usually better at staying alive in dry times. My current hydrangeas took two years of babying but this year I don't get "heat droop" as soon as it gets hot and they have gone for a few days at a time in 90+ degree weather without rain or watering. Consistent deepwatering every 3 days will get you better result than daily short watering because it forces the roots to grow deeper. Mulch and planting shorter plants around as cover for the Hydrangea roots also helps retain the moisture. I've got a bunch of annuals and several varieties of Heuchera around mine along with a few inches of mulch.
Okiegirlfriend I'm sorry about the heat burning your Hydrangea. It's been non stop hot here, too, but I think slightly less hot and not quite as dry. Normally there are several Hydrangeas that will survive but they do require quite a bit of attention on a very regular basis and probably a lot of protection from mid day and afternoon sun. Someone planted an Oakleaf Hydrangea up the road from me and has completely neglected for years. It never gets water and, while it looks a bit haggard now, it has made it through a hot summer on it own. It gets morning shade and on and off afternoon sun. It may be a better choice than the more delicate forms, including ones like Endless Summer which are recommended for Oklahoma gardens in the literature. You may want to consider other possibilities to replace the Hydrangea. The Kemper Center for Gardening (based in Missouri) has been a favorite of mine for general plant information and they have a whole page devoted to plants for Oklahoma gardens from an experienced local gardener that you may want to check out: MBG Feature Class Notes
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