Thanks everyone for your replies! :) I have tried so many things I have lost count, but I think I will stick to it and try again. These 2 plants really make you work for their beauty dont they? With the peonies they literally never showed up out of the ground at all. It was as if nothing was ever planted. With hydrangea , I have had several different forms of death LOL. Currently the drought I assume got all my different varieties. Maybe I'm just used to easy plants and I need to learn some need extra work. :)

Nice finds. Both can reach 4-5 feet at maturity. Arborescens can take more sun than macs. However, Oregon Pride is basically a Merritt's Supreme with burgundy stems - and Merritt's can take a decent amount of sun - leaves grown in a nursery or greenhouse may scorch but you may discover newly developing foliage to be more sun tolerant than the old.

I have a pink mophead but don't know the cultivar - found it at a year end HD sale about 4 years ago. It has struggled in the heat every year until last year when I moved a dripping birdbath by it to give it constant moisture, and it has done much better and bloomed very well. It's starting to bud now. If you want to try another lacecap, try Blue Bird. The flowers are a kind of mauve pink to blue. The flowers around the outside are light, and the center cluster is usually a deep bluish mauve. The walkers in the neighborhood always comment on it when it's blooming, which started this week.

I planted a Dharuma last fall, so it is finishing its first season in my garden. It has the lacier flowers that I like, similar to Quickfire, rather than the dense panicles of something like Limelight. Mine is in full, all day sun like pretty much all of my H. paniculatas, though currently it is somewhat shaded by tall phlox since the shrub hasn't grown tall yet, so I am not sure that my experience is of help to you. I'd go ahead and ask on the hydrangea forum, specifiying which variety, but also commenting that you want info from folks at a similar latitude (there's one regular poster there from PA which would be similar) and similar light levels. IME all H. paniculatas have similar preferences so you can ask about the light levels in your heading. I think that 4-5 hours would be enough for good flowers since 6 hours is considered full sun, but the quality of the shade is important also. Is it bright shade from reflected light or dappled shade with some sun coming through leaves? Or is it dense shade caused by an overhanging dense tree? Is the sun only early and late in the day (less intense) or do you have some mid-day or afternoon sun? Or you could just plant it and see how it does . . . do you have another spot you could move it to with more sun if it doesn't bloom enough for you?