Ironically this is the only Mac on my property (including remontants) that DIDN'T experience massive freeze damage to the terminal buds after leafing out in March. To boot there was absolutely NO bud kill over the winter. Now you'd think that it would be the old wood bloomer to perform this summer? We'll see.
This will be the first chance for mine to bloom because I got it last summer, and Novalis trims theirs down each season.

Lemon Daddy and Big Daddy are relatively easy to get. If you find a good nursery or home center, 3gals can run in the $20-30 range. Mine quickly shot up to 3.5 feet by summer's end. The leaves are soft and waxy, but durable. They will droop almost daily in dry heat or too much sun but bounce back fine. I believe the leaves become more yellow as they age.

Oh, you sound like me a few years ago. I was not shopping for hydrangeas when I went to a nursery that just happened to have a Sun Goddess Hydrangea (similar to Lemon Daddy). The plant bumped me when I was moving backwards in the cramped area and said hello and, well, I had to take it home. SG had nice leaves that start yellow and turn more green as the year progresses so I am eager to see what others have to say about your Lemon Daddy. Find out how the blooms look against the foliage. Mine has pink blooms that I do not quite againt the yellow leaves background but it is keeper because of the leaves anyways. The first year I pruned off the blooms but now I leave them on the plant. I am sure you will enjoy your Lemon Daddy if it is anywhere close to what SG looks like, mxk3!

Sun Goddess is a winner for me too but Lemon Daddy I can not get it to thrive-maybe it needs a better location...

Anyone doing well with lemon daddy? Big daddy is looking good after 3-4 years finally but lemon daddy dead

funny about your freeze damage-several years ago we had a bad spring freeze and the Sun Godess was the only one to bloom-even the remontants came much later. Maybe yellow leaves have a frost tolerance?

I have had little lemon daddy for at least 6 years. The whole area around us is a 6 and we are a 5. I cover in winter - it never blooms and dies back to ground every year. I use a screen cage with burlap and fill it with leaves. Would never buy again, but the leaves are a nice color.

It sounds like the winter protection is failing if it dies to the ground. Consider increasing the distance between the ends of the stems (that is where the flower buds are) and the burlap/chicken wire. Maybe allow 6" of more from the ends of the stems to the cage or the top of the structure. Then either pile even more leaves than you have used before or try using mulch instead of leaves.It can be hard to find a sweet spot that will keep the buds from drying. That is the problem with mopheads. Wish they would not advertise them as ok to grow in Zone 5, don't you?

I had a Sun Goddess once that also looked pretty when the leaves were yellow. I did not care for the contrast of yellow & the pink blooms though; I cut the blooms early one year. The yellow and pink combo did not quite work for me. Ha!

Mine also dies back totally. I also use a cage filled with leaves, which works great for all the others. Very disappointed in this one. It was planted between 2 Twist and Shout, with one big cage around all 3, so the tips were nowhere near the outside on mine.

I just moved it last week, to a position with much more sun. We shall see.

Not surprising, variegated ones are typically a bit more sensitive than non-variegated ones. In zone 7, they may behave as if they were on zone 6. Like the Teller Hybrids. I have noticed that with hostas too. Moving it to much more sun may speed up the move from yellow leaves to green(-er) leaves in some locations.

died off after a few years here...

I live in zone 5 and have 2 Lemon Daddy on the north side of my house. I don't do anything to protect over the winter, other than letting whatever leaves catch, remain until spring. There is a lot of die back, but the bush grows new foliage to full size every season, so that I am having to trim it back from the sidewalk. No blooms but fabulous foliage! Only trouble I have is wilting on hot humid days (90's) unless watered daily.

I had mine in the ground for a couple of years and it bloomed despite the nursery associate saying she never saw one in bloom. During drought it was hard to keep it hydrated competing with trees nearby, so I dug it up and put it in a pot. That was 3 years ago. It's okay but really needs a better spot for light and water to grow and thrive.