I have my hydrangeas outside on the west side of my house and they do very well there.I posted pictures of them last night on the "cottage garden forum".Look for a post that says,"i protected my NIKO".Go take a peek.I'm in San Diego cnty along the coast.
kathi

There is also an hydrangea forum--you might want to try posting there.

They belong outside, and on the east side of the house, not the west. They like morning sun, afternoon shade. If you keep it in a pot, you may need to water it every day because they are thirsty plants. Other than removing the finished flowers, they don't need much care. They are deciduous, and loose their leaves in the winter.

I have had several hydrangeas in large pots for many years and they do very well here in Davis. It's easier for me to feed them an acid fertilizer when they are in the pots. The pots are on a drip system. My understanding is that it is helpful to know if your hydrangea blooms on old wood or new wood. As a new gardener I dutifully pruned them back every spring and never got blooms...

BettyN

Hoovb is right, they like the east side best and they really do do better outdoors. They don't like to dry out and need regular water. Unless it's one of the hydrangeas that bloom on both old and new wood, such as 'Endless Summer' or 'Blushing Bride', they bloom only on old wood, so any pruning should be done right after bloom.
Most will be pink in alkaline soil and blue in acidic soil. (Amend with an acidic soil mix, fertilize with acidic fertilizer, and add aluminum sulfate to the soil or maintain the acidity by regular dosages of soil sulfur) White ones will usually be white no matter what you do.

wanda

My hydrangea is on the west side of my house as well and is thriving.

Mine just came out of its winter dormancy and has put out quite a bit of new growth in the last few weeks.

Well i hate to disagreee with those who say the east side of the house,but mine are on the west side,have been there many years and do very well.

I've had them on the east,also the south and i now am trying some on the North side.They DID NOT do well on the east side and even worse on the South side.The ones i put on the north side last year so far are looking healthy and have some buds.

I am about 5 minutes from the ocean,and always have ocean and canyon breezes,so maybe that's the difference.Who knows ???

Thanks Everyone.

Kathi, no doubt your ocean breezes make all the difference. In our hot inland heat, it will be best in more shade. My mom grows one in sandy soil in dappled shade and it seems to do well there.... I think it is the standard variety from a store or flower shop like this one.

I may keep it in a pot with a basin to retain water until I have a better idea how it will grow.

The pot it's in does not have drainage holes so I will need to transplant it anyway so it won't drown.

Thanks,
Jen

Jen, just wanted to say I'm so sorry about your dad. : ( I know how much you loved him and how much you will miss him. I hope you can find solace in all the wonderful memories you two shared.

Bear Hugs, Diana

Diana, thank you so much. I miss him a lot, he was very special and his passing was very unexpected. Losing a parent is one of the hardest things in life.

Hugs back to you,
Jen

I have been growing several varieties of mopheads (including Annabelle, Harlequin, Sabrina, Cityline Paris and good old grocery store offerings) in 24" pots on my south facing patio with great success. When I buy one, I keep it indoors for the blooming season the first year. I prune it in winter and then pot it outdoors in full sun. The next year they do beautifully, which really surprized me since I live in the Los Angeles basin with quite a lot of direct sun and heat. As long as I water them every day and feed with Miracle Grow weekly, they are spectacular. I think the key is acclimation. Once established, I think you can grow these guys just about any where, which is contrary to everything I read about how particular they are. Maybe it's my zone. I don't know exactly, but my experiences have to be more than mere coincidence.

Hi Jenn,
My condolences on your loss.

I LOVE hydrangeas. I tried them here in Simi Valley years ago, east side of the house, under a tree. They were far too thirsty for me to keep alive: daily watering was necessary and they all died from my twice-weekly schedule.

Then I got a hydrangea from my neighbor's wedding reception three years ago. I was so happy she had finally found True Love that I planted it and swore to keep it alive. I put it on the north side of the house near a shady trellis, and the water from my potting sink drains into it. Voila! Pink flowers from an originally blue hydrangea.

They definitely need some filtered shade and water almost daily for me. Ive had one for 3 years and the first 2 years it never bloomed or really grew much. All I did was constantly water it just so the leaves wouldnt shrivel up. This year I added a stronger spinkler that reaches it and the other plants around it have grown and now give it dappled shade in the hottest part of the day. The leaves are getting huge and not shriveling anymore. I can't wait to see a bloom finally.

Acid fertilizer helps too.

They really do appreciate acid soil. My soil is naturally acid and all my hydrangeas do very well without fertilizer or anything else but water. Only my Oak Leaf hydrangea has white flowers, all the rest are blue. The amount of sun they get will alter their growth. Those with more sun are more compact with larger bloom. More shade causes open taller growth with more, but smaller flowers. Al

Well here I am, it's 2009 and I'm still wondering where to plant the hydrangea! Because it is extremely sentimental, I want to plant it and leave it to enjoy, not have to dig it up and move it around the yard. I think the best spot we have is on the north side of the house which actually faces northeast and gets morning sun in summer until about 1:00, and full bright shade in winter. We have clay soil and even our Salvia regla thrives in those conditions.

I also received an asiatic lily as a sympathy gift and I may plant them side by side.... or should it get more sun than they hydrangea?

Your location sounds good to me. Don't worry about the clay soil, as long as the drainage is normal it will do fine. Even if the soil is not acid it will be ok. I would apply a mulch of compost after planting which will help buffer the PH. Al

Thanks, Al. I plan on adding compost and a little cottonseed meal (an organic acidifier) to the hole, and mulching with homemade compost and some coffee grounds.

Hi, Jenn.

My condolences on the loss of your father.

I live closer to the coast, and my hydrangeas thrive in shade (in ground in two north-facing areas--both mopheads and lacecap types). I also have some potted 'rescues' on an east-facing patio. They don't get as big or sturdy or flower as much as rescues planted in the ground, which really take off after about a year. Also, because they're so broadleafed, potted hydrangeas tend to wilt rapidly during summer heatwaves, even to leaving flowerheads and leaves looking scorched if not revived quickly.

This is a perfect time to plant them--they're dormant now. Cut old flowerheads off to just above where strong nubbins of new leaves (on opposite sides of old wood) are emerging. All the new flower growth will be on these. (I prune in November, when the old flowerheads look ratty and the old leaves are mostly gone.)

I also acidify my adobe soil by periodically dumping used coffeegrounds (free from local Starbucks) in the drip zone. Also, to make blue hydrangea look bluer (or to make pinkish ones more purple), you can add aluminum sulfate (though after the novelty wore off, I don't bother).

Here is a link that might be useful: Changing hydrangea color