In zone 9 Hydrangeas can do very well if planted getting morning sun. Afternoon sun is too much for them. They also need good air circulation to prevent mildew.

I live in Western PB County and have 3 plants. They get morning sun and lots of afternoon shade. The last cold snap hurt them some, but they have lots of new growth. All you can do is try and see if it works for you.

Beverly

The 'Endless Summer' truly blooms all year. In the winter months I still have the somewhat dried up flowers and even they look good.
I have them potted up and some inground.

Evelyn

WOW!! Evelyn that is beautiful.

I have a little tiny shred of an overpriced Lukas Garden Center Red Hydrangea that has struggled in its spot for three years. After the original plant lost its branches the remainder just sits there. It has one branch and is under 5" (that is INCHES) tall.

It is in a very shady spot - do I need to / dare to move it to a morning sun spot as per Felix's recommendation? I suppose I have little to lose!

Anita

Evelyn, what a beautiful plant you have!
Olya

I just bought 2 Nikko Blue bare root plants at Lowes, the last was half price 2.50. I do have several others that are under an oak tree and they did pretty good this past summer. I had transplanted them from a sunny side of the house the Nov. before.

The native Oakleaf Hydrangeas grow well in zone 9.

Karalynn, thank you for this information! This plant looks nice , and is going on the wish list :-)

Olya

Olyagrove,
Lowes had the Oakleafs as bare root plants on sale for a couple of dollars. Worth a try. We have one that we brought back from NC a few years ago and it loves in under a big Oak tree. It is now about 8ft tall when it has its leaves and has a nice fragrance.

Our local paper has a gardening Question-and-Answer column each week and a recent column included an inquiry about hydrangeas. Our county agent stated they couldn't be grown here in SW FL as it wasn't cool enough. My husband read the letter to me, and I trotted him outside to view my very healthy blue hydrangea! It was one of those potted plants available in the grocery stores around Easter and I planted it about four years ago.

I do believe you all have inspired me to try growing hydrangea. I saw the bare-root ones at Lowe's, but hesitated because I always assumed they were strictly zone 8 and cooler. Hmmmm....

love_the_yard, that is what I was thinking about... north side of the house. May have to try that.
cool pics guys!

Very important to NOT plant these in front of your home - unless you don't mind brown sticks in the winter. These plants are deciduous and lose their leaves in winter (vs. evergreen where green foliage is persistent year round).

For plants in front of the house (in a shady place, similar to hydrangeas), I recommend camellias - a much better choice. No pruning, green year-round and beautiful flowers in fall/winter/early spring, depending upon variety.

-Carol

Camelias are beautiful, just be careful what varieties you plant around windows. Some camelias can get huge! Also if you're in an area prone to frosts, try to get a camelia that's resistant to bud blast (that's when a camelias flower buds will all fall off due to a heavy freeze).
There's only two of my mom's camelias in the top picture.

Not to worry. Camellias are very slow-growing compared to almost any other shrub. You'll have years and years before camellias get too big. And when you do have to prune them, well... you'll have years and years before you have to do it again. Heck, there are some shrubs you have to trim every week! Camellias aren't bad at every five years!

Beautiful camellia, Karalynn !
Olya

love_the_yard ; I have those "sticks" in my front yard and dearly love them because they originated in my grandmothers yard in orlando and were brought to this N. Fla yard many yaers ago by my father. I do not know what to do with the sticks tho at this time of the year. Last years blooms were unattended and still sit atop many of the sticks. Do I need to cut the flower stems? Other stems?
Down to the ground with all of them or what? I dont mind how they look, I just want to treat them right to encourage growth and blooms this year.

OKAY...SHELLFREAK !

how do you do it ?

How does it look in hot/wet August ?

In the ground.... or a pot ?

inquiring minds want to know ! LOL

I am new to growing hydrangeas. My daughter is getting married next year and wants them in her bouquet. I thought it would be a fun project. After scouring the stores I actually found some today at the grocery store. They are the Venice variety. A BEAUTIFUL, spectacular shade of blue. So reading the forum, I have a nice spot on the north side of my house the will get morning sun, and is well ventilated and breezy. Anything else? Fertilizer? How much water? What type of "acid" should I use to make them blue?
Thanks for your advice and help. I'll post pics of the wedding
Claudia

I have a oakleaf hydrangea in the ground about 4 years and it is only a few stems about 2 feet high. It gets a rusty look around the edge of the leaves. Right now it's not quite as bad . It's getting a little morning sun but I suspect mayby to little. Im not sure what kind of fertilizer to use. Please advise.

Pat

Hopeful in Brevard; I also have a 4 year old oakleaf hydrangea. I have been trimming it to shape it but it is about 6 feet tall. Mine always seems to have that rusty look to it too. If it wasn't in a woodsy setting I would have removed it because it just isn't a pretty plant because of that persistent rust. I mulch mine heavily and feed it with 8-10-10 just once a year in the spring. It gets morning sun with filtered afternoon shade. If your plant is only 2 feet high, that probably means that it isn't getting enough water and fertilizer. If you want to give the plant a boost, give it half strength Miracle grow every couple of weeks for a while in addition to some 8-10-10. Be sure to put 3-4 inches of mulch around that plant to help keep it moist. Hopes that helps.

Try DOMBEYA X SEMINOLE, you won't be dissapointed.

I LOVE the pics!! I can't wait until mine get big enough to bloom. I have seen some people post about buying bare root hydrangeas and cuttings from lowes for only a few dollars. Where do they put them??? I will ask a clerk next time I go. Is it a certain season?

I have a french hydrangea that was started as a cutting but has some leaf spot so I have to figure out how to cure it. I also have a varigated hydrangea. I also ordered a Pee gee hydrangea and an oak leaf Hydrangea. I really want a bicolor one... I think it is called a buttons and bows or Harlequin.

I also ordered a Camelia. From the looks of the pics... I need to get some more. I love them too. My back yard gets the morning sun and afternoon shade so that works perfect for me.. put the Hydrangeas in the back and Camelias in the front. The pee gee can handle sun so I Plan to put them in the front.

My Varigated

My sick one.. I think it is called a french hydrangea

AND>>>> THIS is my dream!

Thanks Happy: It does look greener since the summer rains. I wonder what the rust is and if there is anything can be done about it? I will mulch it and try the mericle grow as you suggest.

Hi Hopeful in Brevard; Rust is a type of fungus. If you would like to spray the plants for fungus, use Immunox or Daconil. They are the best multi-purpose fungicides for non-food plants. They won't fix the leaves already damaged. It will be for the new growth. You'll need to spray at least every 2 weeks. Be sure to use a pump sprayer which will allow you to get underside the leaves.

Hello to all you Hydrangea lovers! My mother gave me one of her Hydrangea plants a few weeks back. When she gave it to me it had one big pink bloom and about 5 budders. Just yesterday I fed it some "Miracle-Gro For Acid Loving Plants". I came to check on it the next day only to find it had wilted pretty bad. Did I over fertalize it? I used the product my mother reccomended because thats what she used to get it to start blooming. I need help, I don't know what to do. Is ruined for good? By the way how do I post pictures to show you? Thank You!

what time of year will i have to cut it back?

I've added a sprinkle of used coffee grounds into the soil and had beautiful multi-color (like the florida sunset)in my white mini-roses, will that also work for hydrangeas or will the acidity be to much, this florida soil is testy enough, I'ld hate to kill my plants? I know it will probably bring out warm colors, like in my roses. What about pine needles for mulch does that help or hinder the hydrangeas? Thaks from Florida.

hi there. I've had a hydrangea in a pot for 2 years on my lanai in SW FL - Sarasota area. The first year I just bought it so it bloomed great. Last year bloomed great around late spring. Now we're in June and no flowers yet since last year. It looks very healthy, green leaves, see pic. Do you think I'll ever get flowers on it again?? Maybe I pruned it wrong??

Hello, I live in Cape Coral, Florida && I just bought a hydrangea from lowes about two weeks ago, I was trying to keep it as a house plant and it is doing very well, as I know they love morning sun. It's got tons of bright leaves, but it had great big blooms and then they ran their course and died off. It's a mini penny hydrangea, and I need to know if I should pull off the old blooms or should I leave them on ? I heard some of the hydrangeas just grow new blooms, I have never had a hydrangea so I really need someone to latch on to me and help me care for this and teach me the tips and tricks for caring for a hydrangea indoors in a zone 10. Mine loves the air conditioning I have noticed! Please message me or email me at samanthaheartsyou21(at)gmail(dot)com thanks :)

Hi Samantha---I'm in Sarasota and had the same question as you did about what to do after they bloom---did they respond to you on Houzz?...Thx ~ Joni

Do either of you have a place in your yard with all-day shade? That would be the best place for this plant rather than in the house.

If you plan to keep it in a pot, it needs to be a light-colored pot. Dark pots (and black plastic nursery pots) will cook roots during summer. Remember that plants in the ground never get hot roots, so a plant in a pot needs similar conditions.

It will need frequent watering - every day or every other day, if you can keep it in all-day shade.

Good luck to both of you!

Carol in Jacksonville

I bought my hydrangea at Walmart Garden Center...in Lehigh Acres, FL. The attendant warned me they will not live in SW FL because the weather is too hot. I bought it anyway. My very favorite flower. I have tried before with ones gifted to me, purchased from grocery store, with the gold foil and bright colored bow...with no success. But...I read up on them and just really wanted to try again. Anyway, I also bought a large green pot in Walmart that has an opening in the bottom to water the plant from the bottom....and a bag of Miracle Grow potting soil. I transplanted my hydrangea in that and, according to directions, watered from the top for the first week. After that, it's from the bottom only. The large flowers lasted a couple weeks, then started drying out and petals dropping. So I pinched those off. Hated to lose them. But the plant is doing wonderfully....deep healthy green leaves and even new stalk coming up from the bottom. Oh, after I pinched off the dead flowers, I cut the stems back just above the next double leave. Now little green buds are growing where I cut. It is fascinating and I get alot of joy caring for this plant. I take it out on the lanai for the morning sun, then bring it back in the air conditioned house by the french doors. It seems very happy with this arrangement. Oh, I do have to replenish the water in the reservoir every other day. Kind of like keeping water in the Christmas tree stand. . I've had it 6 weeks now and it's beautiful.

Pretty soon I'm going to order me an Endless Summer hydrangea so this one will have a friend. It's kind of pricey because they recommend getting at least a 2 gallon plant so it has been established.... But I definitely am going to get one!

Been having success with one in a large black pot. Positioned on cement next to house under roof overhang where it gets direct sun from sunrise to about 10 - 11am this time of year. Had it about 4 years. Water it about every 5 days. A bit of mildew but not too bad. Blooming about a month so far. Agree the dried flowers still look good for awhile later in the season. Nice to have in a pot so can put it out of sight when it goes dormant in the winter.

Hi,

I am new to this forum and also raise Hydrangea half year already. My zone is 9B. I have to water them everyday or every other day at morning before 10 AM. At “sunshine all day” location i have to umbrella them to reduce some sunshine. At “shade all day” location I have to deal with powdery mildew issue, used a lot of things but it only make it worse (leaves fell off, not healthy) so I learn to ignore it and water them early and it really work. I recommend drip irrigation and water fertilizer weekly and twice a year hollytone fertilizer granular, soil acidifer if you want blue flower. Good luck guys

I saw it at Fairchilds Tropical Gardens in S FL, Dombeya Seminole. It is beautiful and it grows great here. Here's a link to it, https://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/119748/#b . Here's also an old newspaper article on it, http://archive.naplesnews.com/lifestyle/neapolitan/winter-winner-dombeya-is-floridas-colorful-answer-to-hydrangea-ep-385375423-339903931.html . It is just gorgeous!!!!!

I know this is an old thread but I am trying to grow some hydrangeas in my backyard this year. I really love the light blue colored ones, my soil ph is around 7 so I got some soil acidifier, I've also been putting used coffee grounds on top of the soil. It's been a few weeks and the soil PH seems to stay around 7... I'm wondering if anyone had success growing light blue hydrangeas in FL? What do you use to lower the soil ph? I'm in zone 9A.

Thank you!

Hi JX! I am in zone 9b (32259 zip code of Northwest St Johns County). How are you hydrangeas doing? I am attempting to grow four bushes in my front garden and need to compare results with others in similar zones. Thank you!