Paniculatas in full sun would be my suggestion as you get to z3 cold weather in Calgary. You can contact Mirage Landscaping (in Calgary) if you want their opinion of Smooth Hydrangeas in z3, which need afternoon shade here in Texas and in the northeast US. In theory, the Smooth Hydrangeas should be winter hardy and need afternoon/evening shade but I see some nurseries in the US that rate Annabelle as z4 and other nurseries rate it as z3, which is confusing so I suggest asking Mirage Landscaping, a local outfit, may be able to help; also local: Jenn Peter of The Passionate Garden who also recommends Annabelle & Incredibelle in Calgary although again, Anna/cousins are more heat/sun sensitive in my harsher sun and much warmer z8 climate of Texas (they get shade starting at 10-11am):

https://www.miragelandscaping.ca/landscaping/pretty-flowering-shrubs-that-thrive-in-calgary/

https://thepassionategardener.ca/2011/05/the-top-6-myths-about-gardening-in-calgary/

Ask them if they put Smooth Hydrangeas in morning sun only or full shade.

I grow all my hydrangeas here in MN, on my pile of sand, in part sun and very happy with how they do but do have to irrigate during dry spells. The ones I had mostly all day sun grew and bloomed fine, but the flowers browned out most years instead of aging nicely. And with the exception of the paniculatas, the plants flagged in the afternoon even when the soil was moist.

Hi, I’m in zone 3a (QC). i wouldn’t plant any arborescence in full sun. I tried it and lost them. Paniculatas will be ok, but as another poster mentioned, they will not get as large as indicated on the label. My oldest ones are 6 years old and they never went over 4 feet (Limelights).

All my paniculatas (6 or 7 cultivars) as well as arborescens (4-5?) are in full sun here and all are thriving. I do water occasionally but not excessively unless it's during their first year.

Mine are pretty much all beasts that get far larger than expected.

Hello everyone,

luis_pr, I appreciate your comment. Mirage Landscaping does seem to have some great articles on what plants to grow in Calgary.

pennlake, seems like paniculatas are less sensitive to moisture...?

Dear ostrich, I sincerely appreciate all the details in your comment. I ended up buying the hydrangeas on Friday before I read your comment.

I have bought:

• 4 Annabelles (planting under morning + afternoon shade close to the neighbor's fence)
• 2 Incrediballs
• 2 Firelights
• 2 Limelights
• 2 Quick Fires

These all get afternoon shade from 12 to 6pm (the south facing fence provides about 3 feet of shade and all the hydrangeas are going to be placed along this shade, holes have been dug out).

I wasn't able to find Incrediball Blush (tried at two different nurseries) and because of your comment, I think I'll be adding 2 more Quick Fires or Quick Fire Fabs instead (it's a new variety, early blooming). You're absolutely right - Calgary is a pretty dry location. I would rather go with something that isn't too fussy about moisture, granted the prefix hydra in hydrangea pretty much means 'water loving.'

The Quick Fires I have bought are seriously beautiful, they are the only ones with white flowers on them (a few flowers are half white with shades of pink). A butterfly landed on them in my backyard! And two bees kept enjoying the heck out of my Quick Fires. Pollinators seem to love Quick Fires! I haven't put them in the ground yet, today's the day. I have the holes dug out.

mazerolm_3a and cearbhaill, I think I'll be replacing my idea to use Incrediball Blush with paniculatas instead (Quick Fires or Quick Fire Fab).

Thank you all for your comments! I'll be sure to add some photos of my hydrangeas later today.

Hi Roger,

WOW! It is great that you have the space and opportunity to plant all of these lovely hydrangeas - you are going to love them! With the afternoon shade, you should be good with all of these lovelies!!! :-)

Now, I hope that you don't mind me saying this (unsolicited comments! SORRY!) - if you are going to buy more, perhaps consider making groupings of three. I find that to be more esthetically pleasing. So, rather than buying 2 more Quick Fire, buy one more to make it a grouping of 3. Then perhaps get one more of one of the other ones to make it a grouping of 3. I hope that I am not making things more complicated for you.... sorry!

Please do take some photos. I would love to see how you are going to arrange them and what they will look like in your yard.

ENJOY!

Hi Ostrich,

Unsolicited comments and advice are always appreciated by me! :)

I wish I posted here sooner because I love the idea of having them in threes. Unfortunately, I have 14 holes dug out for the hydrangeas using an auger (it was surprisingly hard work, mostly top soil but some clay soil at the bottom). The original plan had them in alternating spots to have some symmetry in the layout.

With that said, your comments did leave an impression on me. I've left the idea of having Incrediball Blushes and will be going with either Quick Fires or Quick Fire Fabs per your advice (also, I'm secretly in love with the 2 Quick Fires I have, they already have flowers!).

This was my updated layout plan for the hydrangeas after reading your previous comment (please note the incredibly artistic X on the Incrediball Blushes). I made the original plan about a week ago, with the idea of having symmetry and alternating colours. I do have the Annabelle and Incrediball next to each other, so perhaps that adds to the 'group of threes' aesthetic. I've also included a part of the location of where some of the hydrangeas will be planted. It's a photo taken a few days ago, hence no holes shown in it.

Once I plant them all (it's a bit rainy today), I'll be more than happy to share with you how they look! I'm very excited!

Cheers!

Hi Roger!

Thanks for the layout diagram! How long is that whole section, Roger? That is a lot of digging and planting! Have fun!

Roger, having seen your plan, I have the following thoughts. Rather than doing a whole straight line of hydrangea bushes, with the QF in the centre, and then alternating them with the various hydrangeas, I am wondering if you would consider growing the similar ones together, so that you have groupings of 2 Annabelles + Incrediball, 3 QF, etc etc. Then you can even have some space in between the groupings, so there is no need for you to necessarily buy more to fill the gaps, as the gaps can be nice to have, esp if you later decide to plants some lower perennials like hostas there. I think that may be nicer looking than a whole long row of hydrangeas. What do you think?

Also, Roger, now, don't scream now - I think that what you are trying to do is a straight line row of hydrangeas, is that right please? IF it works for your overall garden design, would you soften that up with some curves for this bed, rather than a straight line, unless you have decided to go with a linear design like I have for my new yard? If you go with a curved bed, you certainly have even more options as to how you would plant your hydrangeas too, so that they are not necessarily planted in a straight line here... ! Please ignore me if I am giving too many unsolicited advice! :-)

Lastly, Roger, if you get shaded by the afternoon with the fence, would this be a north-facing area? That would be great for the ones like Annabelle etc.

It looks like you have a really good blank canvas to work with - have fun!

Do be aware that not all Quick Fire blooms age to pink- mine go from white straight to brown. Some suggested that more water might do the trick but I've done that for several seasons now and nope. I am almost this close to replacing it with Firelight- I have a couple of those elsewhere and am waiting to see how their color holds up this year.

I hope you are allowing enough bed depth for Quick Fire- they get enormous and sooner or later you'll need to service that fence. And you don't want damp foliage crammed up against it all the time, either.

For size reference my fence is six feet tall.

cearbhaill, that is huge, and very, very lovely! Weird how it doesn’t turn pink at all for you…could it possibly be a matter of how much sunlight it receives? I took a picture of this Quickfire yesterday at a local restaurant. It looks great every year despite probably receiving minimal care. It’s in morning sun and afternoon shade. Hope Firelight works out better for you!

cearbhaill, your QF is lovely! Now, I had one in Calgary (zone 3b/4a) for years and it never grew beyond 4 feet tall. These paniculatas seem to be much smaller in our super cold climate! My Quick Fire in Zone 5 when I lived in Ohio was much larger too.

BTW, my only complaint with QF when I lived in Zone 5 was that, it turned from white to this dreadful pantyhose colour thing without going through a lot of pink LOL I think that lovemycorgi is correct that it probably has to do with the amount of sun and so perhaps those that receive afternoon shade would get to that pantyhose brown not so quickly???

I have 'Invincibelle Spirit 'II' in full sun in my garden (near Edmonton) also planted one on the south side of the house this spring, they'll wilt, but haven't brunt even during that very nasty heat we endured this summer. This is a very good plant for maintaining its color for a good long period of time!

'Incrediball' is excellent as well and very hardy and easily grows to at least 5 ft tall for me. Sorry, can't find my full specimen pics at this time. It's on the south side of my house, though the sun is rounded the corner by the hottest part of the day. I always very deeply dig and prepare the soil for all my plantings.

I'd also really like to acquire 'Incrediball Blush'! I have 'Pinkerbell' and it does NOT keep its color as claimed, it fades out and changes to green rather quickly.

FrozeBudd, these are so pretty! You really know how to pair them with some gorgeous companion plants!!! So colourful and pretty!!!! Need to learn more from you! :-) Thanks for sharing!

Ahhh, thanks Ostrich, I really do try and if I don't like something to the extend it bothers me, then plants are again moved around. I'm even doing some plantings at this current time with those yet small enough to move without too much hassle or ones that are potted. Soooo many times I believe I have an ideal location to plunk something down, so I go ahead and dig and move it to it's new position, then I stand back and say UGH, it either just doesn't pop disappearing into the background or fighting with neighbors ... sigh, painting with plants isn't always easy! :(

FrozeBudd, you're so funny - I like to move plants around, and I also think of it like "painting with plants" too! :-) So I add layers after layers until I get the effect! If I don't get it, I move them around LOL!

The painting in my newer house has barely just started, so I can't wait for it to be more done! But with our short growing season, it is not easy... sigh!