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It looks like the OP is on the right track, so I'm responding to bildivarian's post. That's the 2nd post I've seen where someone's tried to plant hydrangeas in what appears to be a full sun or mostly sunny spot.
I think it is easier to get any plant to survive if you put it in the right place. Before buying, you should research the conditions at your site and the needs of the plant. If you pick the ones that match, you'll have better luck. (I like Dave's Garden for online, and there are lots of books about gardening as well). The other important factor is transplanting properly. Like Bulldogdad wrote, you can transplant in Summer, but it will be a lot more work keeping the plants alive and healthy. That's from a home gardener's perspective.
1. Hydrangeas (macrophyllas, annabelles etc) like shade. Supposedly you can plant them in full sun if you have LOT of moisture, but I haven't found that to be accurate. If you want to plant a hydrangea in full sun, you may have better luck with an oak leaf hydrangea (assuming the other conditions such as soil ph etc are adequate).
2. If you're in someplace like me, with cold snowy winters, cool Falls and Springs and hot summers then the best time to transplant is Autumn and Early Spring. The plants are less apt to be stressed by the heat, lack of water or excess cold. If you plant in late Spring or Summer in these areas, the plant is probably going to wilt, brown etc and will need to be babied just to get it to live.
In fact, I suspect most plants transplanted then die, and that's why the nurseries tend to wait until late Spring and sell flowering plants...repeat customers.
When I've planted in Late summer my trick is to put water in the hole and let it run out first, then mulch and water as usual to reduce stress on the plant. I also remove a few of the leaves to cut down on wilting and give the roots less to support.
I think there needs to be a hydrangea specific thread. Like most people (im sure) it seems like im digging graves instead of a hole to grow a plant in. I have redone my whole back yard and planted many new things a have fought to keep alive. 5 of those are hydrangeas 2 in pots (to hopefully keep blue) and 3 in ground. We live in Denver and its very dry and hot (now). And the soil i once thought was sand is apparently clay/silt and absorbs as if it were solid rock...not much water absorbing. Im fighting to keep leaf scorch away. The first 2 pictures are in pots and i had to build the sun screen because they were just getting too much sun. Im adding garden sulfur (to pots) to keep the soil acidic (i think) to keep the blooms blue.
These are in the back and they dont get sun past 2p ish. A few days after they were planted two plants got bad leaf scorch and the other visibly wilts when its thirsty and perks right back up after watered. The others dont wilt at all they just scorch. They are supposedly the same variety...The blooms look happy but the leaves are not.........
I guess everything is going to need a healthy watering every day until they grow some good roots. Hopefully they can do that since the soil is so water resistant.
Gardening is not for the faint of heart, especially when you are new to an area and don't know the hazards. Every plant will have places that won't work with the general instructions they come with. In this case Hydrangeas can and do survive in full sun, just not at a high elevation in super dry air. We are misled by 'general info' tags because they have to cover a lot of territory in a few words. The same Hydrangea that can take most of a day of sun in New England will wilt and scorch in the same setting in a southern state. If you take away the humidity and increase sun intensity that would equal where you are currently residing, with an even greater chance of wilt and scorch, and that is before we factor in the soil conditions that we discussed in the other thread. None of the Hydrangeas will do well in the current conditions unless there is some form of afternoon sun protection and daily watering. Your sunshade is an excellent start, as is trying to keep them watered daily.
It is easy to say after the fact or from the sidelines that you shouldn't have picked certain plants. Just about every gardener I know, experienced and novice, have purchased plants that were not good choices for their zone, climate conditions, soil type or for their garden in particular. Most often we are taken in by the *beauty* (insert name of whatever plant you have foolishly purchased between the **) in its pot fresh from a greenhouse where it has had "perfect" conditions to make it a lush plant. As long as there are buyers they will offer inappropriate plants--- after all Hydrangeas will survive in some gardens in your area if they have been prepared correctly, are planted in the right spot (morning sun only) and if the owner is willing to water or has an irrigation system set up. Before you make any more forays to a Box store or other large nursery do a little homework at the library and at the local cooperative extension for plants that thrive in your region. Sometimes you'll find the best plants looking up xerigraphic landscaping for your state or ones with similar conditions (in your case Utah for example). Then go back with a list and don't get snookered into buying the pretty but needy plant. Mail order can be your best friend in the spring, if they don't have what's on your list. Sometimes the little niche nursery down the road will have more plants that can take your garden conditions.
In the meantime.... be prepared to build sunshelters to block out any sun from 11 AM to noon onward, and to water at least once a day as you have been doing. If possible add companion plants around the hydrangeas that can eventually act as sunshades or move them to a place that is shaded by trees in the afternoon. I know I wouldn't let them go without a fight either. Sometimes it doesn't turn out well and other times you manage to get that sweet victory. My garden is about 90% 'grow what grows' and 10% 'try to grow stuff that needs attention.'
Will hydrangeas grow in full shade in Zone 7? I want to relocate some hydrangeas to the base of a large tree. The shade line would be a few feet away with very minimal light making it through the tree.
Gardening is an ongoing learning experience. I have enjoyed reading about people's experiences here with hydrangas. I have just one that I put in about 3 or 4 years ago and last summer it rewared me with 12 or 15 lovely blossoms, that are white and turn more pinkish as the fall progresses. I have hydranga envy of my next door neighbor who has a gorgeous blue one. Mine is in a moist spot by the side of my garage that gets late afternoon sun only. Ferns do well in this same spot. I used to listen to "The garden hotline" on radio when Ralph Snodsmith was the host - he is now deceased - and they have a new person, Mark Viet, and call the show "Simple Gardening. I still miss Ralph. Anyway, he gave a great tip for watering your garden. He said it is much better to give a deeper watering perhaps 2 or 3 times a week as opposed to doing it every day. We here in Northern New England had an extremely wet and cool spring so things in the garden are looking very lush. Hosta are better than I have ever seen. Astillbe will be blooming within a week as well as some of the daylilies.
Will hydrangeas grow in full shade in Zone 7? I want to relocate some hydrangeas to the base of a large tree. The shade line would be a few feet away with very minimal light making it through the tree.
What about mums?
I am in zone 7A, and Yes hydrangeas appear to do well for me in full shade. I have an incrediball and an annabelle in the shade of a NORWAY maple. The Norway maple is a big invasive tree, but I got it with the property so I'm making the best of it. It has really heavy shade. The plants are close to the drip line, but based on my observations, they get no direct sunlight all day.
I also have a macrophylla in full shade on the Northwest side of the house as well. All appear to be doing well, and are flowering. The macrophylla has a little brother that gets partial sun and a lot (probably too much) of afternoon sun, but the one in full shade seems to be a bit happier.
I have a couple mums from last Fall. I'm not sure of the name, but the kind you get all over the place around Thanksgiving. The two I had in partial shade died. The two in full sun are happy and look ready to flower in the Fall.
Gardening is an ongoing learning experience. I have enjoyed reading about people's experiences here with hydrangas. I have just one that I put in about 3 or 4 years ago and last summer it rewared me with 12 or 15 lovely blossoms, that are white and turn more pinkish as the fall progresses. I have hydranga envy of my next door neighbor who has a gorgeous blue one. Mine is in a moist spot by the side of my garage that gets late afternoon sun only. Ferns do well in this same spot. I used to listen to "The garden hotline" on radio when Ralph Snodsmith was the host - he is now deceased - and they have a new person, Mark Viet, and call the show "Simple Gardening. I still miss Ralph. Anyway, he gave a great tip for watering your garden. He said it is much better to give a deeper watering perhaps 2 or 3 times a week as opposed to doing it every day. We here in Northern New England had an extremely wet and cool spring so things in the garden are looking very lush. Hosta are better than I have ever seen. Astillbe will be blooming within a week as well as some of the daylilies.
Happy gardening!
With the long hot dry spells we have been having down south I would love to be gardening in your garden right now. It sounds wonderful. My Astilbe are shooting up a few new flower sprigs but they finished the main show a couple of weeks ago. You Hydrangea sound beautiful!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Geneyus
Will hydrangeas grow in full shade in Zone 7? I want to relocate some hydrangeas to the base of a large tree. The shade line would be a few feet away with very minimal light making it through the tree.
What about mums?
Hi from the other end of the state. Zone 7, too.
From your description it sounds like it may be too shady for Hydrangea and most definitely the mums. Mums can tolerate some shade but will produce far fewer flowers, in full and deep shade they will look scraggly if they make it.
In general most Hydrangeas prefer morning sun and some afternoon protection. Some types like more sun than others but few do well with little or no sun. If what you have is dappled sun with maybe an hour or two of real sun then the Lace Cap variety might be your best bet. Officially Annabelle Hydrangeas need more sun but I recently visited a garden where there was a row of the most beautiful white Hyrdrangea lining the edge of a woodland garden. They get early morning sun for a few hours and are shaded under very tall trees the rest of the day (dapples of sun all day). They were Annabelle Hydrangea. If that is more like the conditions you have... go for it!
J&Em - I do enjoy the astilbe as some of them are dark pink and some light pink with a couple white. They seem to keep their flowers here for 3 to 4 weeks. I have divided a couple of them and they seem to thrive. I think they like the soil we have and the amount of sun and shade. It was beginners luck for me as they were among the first perennials I ever grew and they are still going strong.. My very first plant order was at White Flower Farm in Ct. I didn't order anything this year as my gardents are full, even though I thined and gave away at least a dozen plants in 09. Another plant that seems to like this location is the black eyed Susans that come along at the end of the summer and seem to last for 4 to 5 wees some years.
You need some mulch to protect those roots drying out and from sun damage and you need to water them morning and night as they are the least tolerant of sunlight and actually thrive a lot more in shady locations. The good news is after a couple seasons, they seem to become a bit more tolerant...but keeping them cool helps a lot. I had neighbors in the south that would get out their patio umbrellas to shelter theirs during the hotter months. But, we always had success with the watering in the morning when we took the dogs out and watering after we got home. We noticed a huge difference if we didn't water them in the morning before it warmed up too much. Don't lose heart - these seem like they are so difficult to grow but they aren't really, they just need extra TLC and the great news is that there are more drought tolerant and sun tolerant varieties being developed...because we don't all have shady areas to plant them in! hydrangea.com is where we got all our stuff from - they really know their stuff regardless of where you are located. We had plants shipped from them earlier this year to Northern Virginia.
Yes but are you willing to wait the years it takes for modern nails to break down.
PSST modern ferts are quicker.
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and other times you manage to get that sweet victory.
My garden is about 90% 'grow what grows' and 10% 'try to grow stuff that needs attention.'
It has really heavy shade. The plants are close to the drip line, but based on my observations, they get no direct sunlight all day.
