Hello, hydrangeahead. I guess no one has it or too few people have it.

There is usually very little difference sun-wise between all the various big leaf varieties from a sun perspective. Meaning, if a location works for one mophead, it will usually work for another similar (height, etc) mophead. That being said, big leaf hydrangea typically fares best when the conditions you planted it are similar to the conditions where mopheads originated from. Usually. And that translates to dappled sun locations; or morning sun/afternoon-evening shade; or bright shade.

In northern locations that are cold and the sun is not strong, big leaf hydrangea can be in close to full sun conditions. But in warmer northern locations and all the others, I would recommend afternoon shade for best results.

But the problem sometimes is that, yes, the plant may not have sunlight issues but, it may have blooming issues with winter weather. Mopheads have a difficult time reliably producing blooms as your location gets colder... say, Zone 5 or colder. Even down here in Z8, I have had mild winters that are mild, suddenly get very cold, zap the flower buds and I get no blooms from old wood.

In cold zones, this problem may require that you try remontant (re-blooming) mopheads instead of those that only produce flower buds on old wood. But Z4 is "pushing the envelope" A LOT. The ads for Love do not state that it is remontant so, until this is stated, assume it blooms on old wood only. It may be risky to grow it in cold zones like yours, where the old wood may get killed. The plant may come back from the crown but it will not bloom since it is not remontant. But for dara_gardener, it may do well in BC in afternoon shade. Hopefully, dara_gardener will chime in and say where she planted hers.

Browning of the blooms is not necessarily too much sun per se; too much sun or actually hot weather exacerbates moisture issues and causes the plant to abort blooms when the big leaves loose moisture faster than the plant can absorb more water via the roots.

Where the sun is strong (in the South of the US for example), too much sun results in sun scorch (the leaves in direct contact with the sun turn all yellow, including the leaf veins, and the other leaves remain dark green).

For sunny places in Z4, your best choice is a hydrangea paniculata. But again, one has to be mindful of the location. Down here, as sun tolerant as paniculatas are, the leaves need protection from our harsh sun or they fry.

FYI Only... If wondering... I have seen other similar double-bloom mopheads around. Check these; they are remontant: Forever & Ever Together; Forever & Ever Peace; Double Delights Perfection. I believe they are hardy to Zone 5. Forever and Ever Mopheads however, are usually advertised hardy to Zone 4. They will probably loose old wood flower buds but will then produce blooms later in the Summer. Caution: ES is also advertised as hardy to Zone 4 but blooms poorly sometimes based on the complaints in the forum. F&E does not have as many complaints.

In the PNW you can probably get away with that sort of sun exposure. We are so far north that summer sun is not that intense and it is not uncommon to see large macs in full sun (or close to it). And looking pretty good :-) You will need to pay close attention to the watering for the first few years as the plant becomes acclimated but it should adjust.

And there is NO issue with winter hardiness here. Even with some of our fiercest Arctic blasts, I have never experienced any reduction in flowering on any of my macs.

Here's a link to 'Love' Hydrangea. https://www.springhillnursery.com/product/love-hydrangea

As you stated Luis, 'Love' Hydrangea is a new variety. It blooms on both new and old wood. Also it is supposed to be sun tolerant. I completely agree with Gardengal that our area in the PNW has no problems with bud die off in big leaf hydrangeas. The only time I ever had a hydrangea get killed to the ground was last winter and the plant was growing in a pot. It does say 'Love' hydrangea is hardy down to Z4 Hydrangeahead, but I'd be leery of planting macrophyllas in that cold of a climate. Lot's of winter protection for sure. However the plant not flowering due to winter dieback, likely isn't a problem. Have you considered planting H. macrophylla in pots and bringing them under cover for winter? You could plant the entire pot in the ground during the warmer season then take plant, pot and all and store in a protected area during cold weather.

For my garden area that prompted this conversation, I ended up by getting two 'Strawberry Fraise' paniculata hydrangeas, as well as 'Fire and Ice'. They're all planted now so that section is exclusively paniculatas. Doing well too. I'm still thinking of getting 'Love' and finding another spot for it. 'Love' really looks to be a nice hydrangea. Luis, my experience with Forever and Ever hydrangeas hasn't been all that positive. If the flowers get damaged due to water loss, too much sun or being clobbered by an errant hose, there is nothing left for the season except a very ugly shrub. I much prefer a new and old blooming hydrangea variety that can throw out new flowers to replace old, damaged ones.

Never fear luis and dara, I am planning on overwintering this one in a pot in my garden shed with my other mopheads. It's just so beautiful that I cannot resist (well, the pictures are beautiful, and I'm weak, haha) I do love my paniculatas and arborescences because they seem to be more reliable (so far)... my Vanilla Strawberry tree looks like it's going to be the most delightful of the group so far.

My Endless Bummer was planted in the ground, unfortunately, when they were first introduced here, so before we all knew of the dieback problems. Last year I wrapped it all up in burlap with leaves, and all of my old canes died anyway. I may try a more robust plan this year if I don't get many blooms. I am also trying a mophead in a narrow walkway between my house and garage (maybe 8 ft?), because my neighbor's in a similar situation made it through the winter with old canes intact. If it works, I'll be moving more macrophyllas to that area. I'd like to dig up the ES, but I'll wait to see how the summer pans out. So far I only have three blooms on a huge bush, so it's not looking great (last year I got one lonely bloom).

Thanks for the link, dara. I am confused about your F&E comment though. What happened with your F&E? F&E hydrangeas do bloom on old and new wood. Idea: have you also considered adding Love's cousin? It's a name like Miss Saori (sp?) maybe. Are you going to get Love locally or by mail order/internet?

I think my dogs would love investigating things thru the area in the secret garden. I have one pooch that looses herself outside checking stuff out and waging her tail while at it. :o))

Hydreangeahead, copying the neighbor sounds like an interesting experiment. I hope it is repeatable and works for many winters!!!! Post the results. Say, at what time (month) does your VS tree bloom in WI? when does it turn that nice magenta?

Hi Luis. A little research has shown that I'm mixing up Forever and Ever series with Everlasting series. It's the Everlasting series that haven't worked well for me. They are supposed to have extremely durable flowers that last all summer. Trouble with that premise is it assumes nothing bad will happen to the 'everlasting' flower. I'm here to say "it ain't so"! As to the FaE series, I'm not sure if I have any. Is Pistachio a FaE? Have two of those. Hydrangeahead, I totally relate to the comment about not being able to resist beautiful new plants! I checked and the local nursery has sold the last 'Love', darn it. Guess I will have to wait until next year for it. Glad to hear you are overwintering your 'mac's. A bit of work, but you'll get the best results imo. Are your Endless Summer are too big to put in pots?

Ah, I understand. But you better watch out with Everlasting because some of the hydrangeas are old wood only and others are both old & wood so one has to review the info carefully.

As for Pistachio, I have one and it is from other folks, Garden Debut I think.

ES gets big here because the growing season is long so I would have to put in a half wine barrel.

Totally right Luis. The Everlasting varieties available in stores here have all proved to be disappointing. They only bloom on old wood. The flowers get beaten up with one thing or another, then look tatty. Removing them leaves this incredibly ugly shrub! They even look horrid in the stores! So I don't like them. Pistachio is a not bad hydrangea. Stays very small, but each year is getting a little stronger. I really only notice one flush of flowers on it though.