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new to hydrangeas-have questions

15 years ago

Just bought ES and Annabelle. Can I put this in full sun? I get different answers from different sources. It would be full sun all day as I have no trees. Also I have pink elf that I planted last July and it has only tiny green leaves just at base of plant near ground-is this going to make it (it is in morning sun/afternoon shade).

Thanks.

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Comments (5)

darlene87
15 years ago
Most hydrangeas need to be in the shade part of the day. From all I read, they burn, wilt and other in full sun. The exception is a "panticulata" type hydrangea, which is a tree form, or small shrub. Go to Hydrangeas.com and do some more searching. I have 30 hydrangeas, and only 3 are in sun.
Darlene
silvergold
15 years ago
Annabelle (arborescens) can be planted in full sun, as can the paniculata. It may need some shade in the south pehaps, but in my zone it does just fine wherever I put it. No wilting, plenty of flowers, etc.

For me I have three ES. The two on the north side of my house in very bright shade had only one, maybe two flowers between them last year. The one I have on the north side of my deck that gets some afternoon sun flowered much more. It may take some playing around with this one, but for me it needs more sun, but not full sun.
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I don't believe it is a watering issue. They don't look wilted to me - merely floppy :-) This is a more common situation than you might think with nursery plants or even those recently from the nursery. Growers tend to over-fertilize to stimulate a lot of lush growth (looks good on the nursery bench) and the long stems of the current season's growth just can't support the weight of the flowers. With reblooming types (flowering on new or old growth) like the Endless Summer series, this is even more likely -- there often are not any ripe, woody stems to provide support, only the succulent but less subtantial newer growth. If you leave the plants alone - no pruning except to remove spent flowerheads - and offer winter protection to avoid dieback, the stems should develop woodiness and more strength with age and be much more supportive in subsequent years. Alternately, you can prune the plants back in late winter/early spring and go very light on any fertilization. The result will be a smaller, more compact shrub with smaller and tighter flowerheads but probably with a somewhat later bloom period. If NOT reblooming types, you do not want to prune at all, other than remove spent flowers if you want (deadheading does not encourage more flowers). To do so after the beginning of July - right in the middle of the primary hydrangea bloom season in most of the country - you'll be pruning off next year's flowers.
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ditas
15 years ago
Hi Watervillegirl - (By any chance you live in Watervilet, MI?) I too have Pink Elf - I understand to be a French H and may need Winter protection even for your 5b zone. Because she's going to be a petite H she might do better as a container plant that can be easily overwintered in your unheated garage or basement.

I originally planted mine in my front foundation bed, gave her a small wire cage filled with mulch she survived but the return of Winter - 2 wks of Apr. '07 froze her back to the ground. She later threw up 2 canes no blooms, last season.

I decided to dig her up while still dormant, last Apr. planted her in a container & sunk the container in a hole in a part-shade site - she heard the wake-up call of Mama nature ... is now leafing out. With fingers crossed, she may do better where she is now. Good luck to you this season!

Hi Silvergold - So good to she your post! :-) I finally found AB paniculata!!!
D
watervillegirl
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks for the info. I will keep researching. I really love these plants and would love to have more. I had big daddy last year in full sun and it died. So now I am afraid to plant any in the sun.

Ditas- I actually live in Waterville, Ohio. Small town about 20 minutes outside of Toledo, Ohio.
ostrich
15 years ago
watervillegirl, I am in Cleveland, so I am also in zone 5b/6a. I have an Annabelle that gets almost full sun on one side and not so full sun on the other. The side that gets full sun would have some slightly burnt leaves but the side that does not would be fine. So I would still pick somewhere that has some sort of shelter. Otherwise, the paniculatas will be fine there in full sun.

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