in my zone 5 .... always that qualifier with the world wide audience .... and it would be no different for z6 ... or 4 ... September still has those 80 degree days available .... not good ... if you get 7 in a row .... October has cool days... 60 to 70F .... and cold nights ... and heavy dews .... NO EVAPORATION of ambient water .... and that is the key ... IMHO .... dig.. move.. water.. and you MIGHT not have to water it again until next spring .... leaves are dormant ... no big pull for the truncated roots to water the leaves.. plus all the water in the air... its like a greenhouse without the house .... PLUS... two cool seasons.. this fall and next spring.. to grow roots.. until the heat hits late next may or so .... that should be enough reasons to remember Oct .... lol carpe shovelum.. now.. go do the right thing.. and move them at will .... you know.. you can do this any time of the year, with a little care ... the issue is stacking the odds in your favor .... in case you forget to tend one way out back.. odds are it will survive without you ... and i fully understand the stresses on your worrying .... been there.. done that.. had some failures... succeeded wildy ... just do it.. and write the failures off to fate... ken

I have a few very large mature specimens of 'All Summer Beauty' that I would like to trade only for something on my want list. These are now just starting to break dormancy and I need to move them soon, so either I will trade them or move them to another spot in my landscape. Tempt me now while the opportunity knocks. ;o) As they are large plants I will not mail them but will meet another trader at a midway point between us. For those not familiar with this variety, it is the only H. macrophylla which blooms on NEW wood. A very reliable bloomer for those of us in the colder zones, possibly even zone 4! Please include the link to your trade list for ease in reference as it is very time consuming (of which mine, like many others I'm sure, is limited) to run a search to find it. Thanks so much! -Lily

thank you all for the suggestions... When the Endless Summer craze hit a few years back, I got rid of quite a few Nikkos, thinking I would have constant bloom from ES's. I cant even get one good flush of blooms on the ES's... I've tried them in sun, part sun, shade, etc. and its basically hit and miss... some years are decent and some years nothing.. I see some beautiful, big old 5ft Nikkos (I'm presuming) around town that bloom year after year on very sturdy, upright, bushy plants. The ES's seem to be somewhat weak, "leggy" growers, often just flopping over, and not getting much larger than 3ft tall. I missed my Nikkos so much that when I stumbled upon a few- by pure luck- I bought 3 nice ones in 7 gallons. I was shocked to find them in Cleveland. I thought I would experiment w/ a few various remontant or very cold hardy cultivars and see if there was much variance between them, but I've heard that there isnt much-- just thought I would check w/ the experts on the forum here. I also saw some ASB's at the same place I found the Nikkos so, I guess I will try them as well.. Hardiness doesnt seem to be an issue, I usually mulch w/a bit of leaf compost, but I cant recall significant dieback this close to Lake Erie. I would love to find a very deep blue like the Enziadom, or some of the other older "standbys" but the problem is locating them, in that every nursery is saturated with Endless Summer. Anyone know a source for Enziandom?

Unless the outbreak is very severe, I would not bother to treat for cercospora in a home garden. This tends to be primarily a nursery issue and most plants in the landscape will outgrow it. Just practice good sanitation and avoid overhead watering. Immunox is registered for this purpose (control of cercospora leaf spot) so I would not see the need to use a copper based fungicide as well. FWIW, I work in a nursery and bring home various unsalable or returned plants and nurse them back to health. Without exception all of those hydrangeas that have been afflicted with cercospora leaf spot show no sign of it the following season. The above plant does look extremely chlorotic (but otherwise relatively healthy) and a fertilizer may be advised. Often, less acidic soils do not allow proper absorption of iron, one of the primary causes of chlorosis, and acid lovers would benefit from chelated iron or a fertilizer for acid loving plants. These typically have iron supplements included. FWIW, sun only until 1:30pm should not be too much, although SC sun is much more intense than mine up here in the PNW. Your plant does not show obvious evidence of scorch and if it is not wilting excessively, it is probably sited OK.