To me watering is the issue, not the pot depth. I have many plants in pots more shallow than that. Lately it has been topping out in the upper 90's here and I'm watered very day. One of my grow areas has been hitting 100+ because of the concrete the benches sit on. This plant is growing and putting on leaves and only having about 3/8" of an inch of soil and about 1/4 of an inch of gravel over the roots. It get watered once a day. When we start hitting 110 + around that bench in July, it will need more shade. Bonsai would not have been a reality if things could not be grown in shallow pots. Most bonsai are less drought tolerant than the plants posted on this forum. randy

I have a very nice rosemary plant that I've been growing indoors for a while now and it's doing well...probably 8" to 10" tall and branching nicely...almost bonsai-like. I have been heeding the advice here....not overwatering. But I am also careful not to let it dry out. The tag for the care of the plant that came with it said that rosemary won't recover once completely dried out. When I have access to my desktop computer, I'll post a pic of it on photobucket. I also have had good success indoors with lettuce leaf basil, greek basil, lime mint and pineapple sage. I've plans to start some Kentucky Colonel mint indoors and some sweet basil. The lime mint and pineapple sage was just planted as an experiment. I had some cut and indoors in vase and they both developed very nice looking roots in the water, so I transferred them to a soil medium, and they did well. All my indoor plants are in clay pots like the one used by the original poster of this thread.

Hey Bruce, I'll add something here. Your question is "How much is too much sun?", but the conversation is focused on temperatures. I submit that temperature and sun intensity are not necessarily directly related. If the question was "How hot is too hot?", I would say at that point where pollination is adversly affected - which is a function of temperature and humidity rather than sun intensity. Now, as for "..too much sun". I would say that this is more a function of your latitude than your temperature. I'll give you an example. It may be 100+ where you are, and 85 where I am, but the sun's intensity will be FAR GREATER here than there. Too much direct summer sun for me might be 2 hours, where too much direct summer sun for you might be 6 hours - even though your temps are much higher. PJ

First, let's start with the same suggestion that virtually every new poster to GW will engender - include your location and/or climate zone with every post OR change your profile to reflect it. You will get much faster and more complete answers that are appropriate to your specific location, if we know what it is. Second, with any plantings, you can't water to a specific schedule. The frequency of the need to water is dependent on soil conditions, siting and weather. When you do water you want to water thoroughly, so the water can percolate down through the soil profile the full depth of the rootball. Third, the hydrangeas appear to be planted in amongst a bunch of weeds or weedy grass. Why are they not in clear planting beds? Lawns, weed grasses and weeds can easily outcompete young, newly planted plants for both soil moisture and nutrients, delaying proper establishment. A defined, clear planting area surrounding the plants (or a single planting bed that contains them all) that is kept free of weeds and grass is preferred. And this should be mulched, both to keep any weeds down and to insulate the soil and prevent evaporation. The leaves of the plants don't look too bad - a little off color and a few showing scorched tips - but overall they look as though the plants are receiving adequate water. The browned or withered flowers are just flowers that have passed their prime. They can be removed to improve the plants' appearance. Depending on the type of hydrangeas they are (another useful piece of info we lack), they may not produce any more flowers this season. Hydrangea macrophyllas that bloom on old wood (the vast majority of them) create flower buds in late summer or fall of the previous year. Once those buds have bloomed, that's it for the year. Reblooming macs (those that bloom on both old and new growth) can generate additional flower buds in season but young, new plants like these are not so much inclined to do so until fully established. The offcolor of the foliage and the faded flowers could indicate these plants are receiving a bit more sun than they'd prefer. This is not a deal breaker but something to be aware of and to work to offset. Or you could relocate these plants in fall to a shadier location (morning sun only) and plant more sun tolerant panicle hydrangeas (Hydrangea paniculata cultivars) in their place.