I would think that afternoon dappled sun would work better for big leaf/macrophylla than full all day sun. I can just about get away with full sun on the cloudy cool Washington coast, but will have some sun damage some years even here.

If your plants need water, water them. Try to time it so that they do not stay wet overnight, but if they are drooping mid day and need water, you won't burn them by watering then.

Move them immediately! Dig them up and put roots into a bucket of water. Dig a hole in the dappled shade and fill it with water. Let it drain and then plant the hydrangeas at the same depth they were in the first place. Notice how quickly the water in the new hole drains out and that will tell you how much to water. If it drains quickly - then you will have to water quite a bit until they acclimate to the new home. If it drains very slowly - then you know that you will have to check before watering. Put your finger into the new dirt and when it is just moist and not soggy, then water. Luis has the technique written out in many places in this forum. If there is any direct sun, then use a lawn chair to keep it in shade until it looks healthy. Good Luck.

I tried big leaf hydrangeas in full sun, sandy soil here in MN and it was not happy. After several years I moved them to morning sun, afternoon shade and got much better performance.

Newly planted hydrangeas suffer from transplant shock because their root system has been cut to fit in a small pot. Until they develop more and bigger roots, they tend to wilt when their big leaves loose moisture faster than the roots can absorb moisture from the soil. The little roots near the surface are the ones who tend to absorb most of the water.

Luckily, if the soil is moist, the shrub recover on their own by nightfall or in the morning. The soil needs to be kept as evenly moist as possible, with no periods of dry, wet, and back to dry soil again (or as few as you can).

I would recommend that if you see them wilting, that you first test the soil to see if the soil is dry or almost dry and water only if that happens. Let them be a little wilt so they force themselves to develop those roots and get more water. But if you see a bad wilting episode, water (1 gallon of water) first and ask questions later! ;o)

Wilting is usually a problem as we enter the summer months or in windy days so make sure that the plants have 2-4" of mulch up to the drip line. I would typically give them about 1 gallon (or 1.5 gallons in the summer) of water per watering. But in sandy soil, I would add 50% more water than that. Adding some compost to the soil might reduce the need for that much water. Add the water from the crown outwards since most of the roots will be around the crown area and new root segments will be away from there.

To determine if you need to water the plant, use the finger method. Early in the mornings, for 2-3 weeks, insert a finger into the soil to a depth of 4". Do this daily to determine if the soil feels dry, moist or wet. If it feels dry or almost dry then water the plants and make a note in a wall calendar indicating that you had to water. If the finger feels moist, do not water. If the soil feels wet, you may want to research why... did it rain recently? or did the sprinkler go off recently? After 2-3 weeks of doing this, review the notes in your wall calendar to see, on average, how often you had to water the hydrangeas (every 2, 3, 4, etc days for example). Then set the sprinkler or drip irrigation to give them 1 gallon (or whatever) of water on that same frequency (every 2/3/etc days). If the temperatures change by 10+- degrees and stay there, you can do the finger method again and see if you need to tweak things. In the Summer, increase the amt of water per watering but in the Fall, reduce it back. Consider watering some in the Fall & parts of Winter if the temperatures are mild (so the ground does not freeze) and it is dry (probably not needed or not needed much in future years). An alternative to some of this would be to use a soil moisture meter so you do not have insert a finger into the soil.

Too much sun should result in leaves turning all yellow or white-ish, including the leaf veins. Only the leaves in direct contact with the sun would be affected and the others would remain dark green as usual. But the hot sun can heat the leaves and make them loose moisture. Which is why hydrangeas tend to grow mostly as understory trees in the wild.

Leaf browning from the edges inwards suggests that they need more water. Common in year one, in summer planted hydrangeas, in the summertime and common in sandy soils.

There are botanical gardens that have hydrangeas (mopheads) planted in full sun in the northern states but they are provided lots of water and the soil is very well draining and very well mulched. It may be hard to duplicate though. I can see me causing root rot if I am not careful (my summer temps get to daily 100s so I water a lot in the $$$ummer). ;o(

I recommend planting new hydrangeas in May and not in full sun. After a year outside and the root ball is more established, then you can reconsider. Even mature transplants in June / July are risky business and would exhibit some form of transplant shock in full sun.

K JM_6A I have to ask! Why in the world would you plant a hydrangea in full sun? What did the label on the plant say? This entire forum and every other one that I am familiar with ALL say that hydrangeas are to be planted in dappled shade or partial sun - and not in full sun. Paniculatas and some Oakleafs can tolerate more sun, but not Macs. I just don't get it! All kinds of free information is available on line and it is so easy to check the name with an on line catalog like Joy Creek Nursery, Monrovia and Hydrangeas Plus and many others will give you information on how and where to plant as well as descriptions of the plants, colors and what to expect as to size when mature. Hydrangeas are expensive, long lived and beautiful shrubs when given the proper growing conditions. Give them the conditions that they require and they will reward you with years and years of beauty.

You would be surprised but most labels on Macs say "full sun" on them.. every one I bought this year - 8 total..

Tags were designed to sell plants. Sites like DG and Houzz are actual knowledge bases

I totally agree

Hi ophoenix, it said full sun. Normally I research every plant heavily before I buy, but I have found that most plants just hate shade and it never even crossed my mind that a flower this big and beautiful could handle shade. The front of our house faces west and gets minimal sun, and I have killed so many things by trying to plant in shade, that I just assume everything needs sun now, which is stupid.

I am going to move them to a different area, I will just need to find the right spot. Thank you everyone who has taken the time to give me advice.

The tags do say full sun. I did the same thing. I just make sure that they are well watered. I'm planning on moving them in the Fall into shadier area. I just couldn't do it now as area isn't ready for planting.

"I have found that most plants just hate shade "

That is so not true!! There are probably just as many plants that are happy (or happier) in shade than there are those for full sun. And many have prolific and beautiful flowers - hydrangeas, rhododendrons and camellias among them.

I live in the middle of the woods, surrounded by huge native conifers, and have an extensive, lush and very colorful garden with very little direct sunlight :-) And I use what little I have of that to grow my tomatoes and give my collection of succulents and cacti a summer sunbreak!!

UPDATE: moved them to my afternoon sun spot--it is mostly dappled shade and then some sun later in the day. I just didn't want them to keep getting toasted. Hopefully they will be happy here, they are in a raised bed.

gardengal--we have a rhododendron in part shade that is super happy too!

ophoenix: are these plants (first link) shade loving plants, or plants that tolerate shade? And, is there a difference? I have read there is, curious what you say. The one plant I have found that does WAY better in shade is bleeding heart. My one plant in shade is huge, the one in part sun is just really sad and small.

I am not sure of the definition that you are using - loving or tolerate. They are listed because they grow in shade. The second link is to an interactive page and you can select the type of shade and then it will show a list of plants that will grow in those conditions.

The first link includes a great list of plants that will thrive in shade. And that is different yet from just tolerating or preferring :-) A great many of those will also prefer to be in shade - at least afternoon shade - if given a choice between that and a lot of sun. And just as many will be perfectly happy in full sun.......at least the less intense PNW full sun!! (Note: that link was written for PNW gardens.....may not be entirely appropriate elsewhere, especially with regards to winter hardiness.)

Awesome I will check out the second link. Thank you all so much.

Please be aware that the Great Plant Picks is developed as a project of the Elizabeth Miller Botanical Garden and is mainly for gardens in the Maritime PNW but you can check - on line - the specific plants for your exact gardening zone. Nursery professionals from Washington, Oregon, British Columbia and nearby states work on the list over the year prior to publication. One of the considerations for inclusion on the list is that the plants must be readily available for purchase.

By the way, their posters are available and are beautiful! Check out the website.