You can add paniculatas and quercifolias to the list. Annabelle can be grown as far north as Zone 4. Some Mac's that would be fine in Zone 5 are Blushing Bride and All Summer Beauty.

I also think that paniculatas would be an excellent choice there. They satisfy all of your criteria - hardy, tall, white flowers, and sun-tolerant.

There are many beautiful paniculatas, such as Limelight (I absolutely love mine!), Pink Diamond, and many others, and if you are lucky, you can even find a Pinky Winky!

Now, I am also in zone 5 and my paniculatas do extremely well with a full-sun and windy location.

Annabelles are great too, and I really love mine, but then they need much moisture in full-sun, so you may have to baby them a bit more. Also, they are not that tall - just 4' or so, while the paniculatas can be much taller.

If you want something upright, then a paniculata. If you want the big snowball flowers, and don't mind providing supplementary water, then Annabelle would be great. However, if it's an open spot that require a specimen shrub, I would probably go with an upright paniculata.

hi again,
thanks for the advice. i wasn't really thinking about the paniculatas, that's a good idea. i also didn't realize quercifolias can handle sun so well. however, the location i have has the potential for wet feet, as it is on a lake front and once the roots get down a bit they will always have water, and i know they can get root rot easily. so it looks like a paniculata might be the answer. i have a limelight and a tardiva and love them both. thanks for helping me narrow it down!

Quercifolias will not like wet feet and will die quickly from root rot if the roots are exposed to "too much" water for "too long" so, pass on the oakleafs unless you can build a raised bed.

as much as i love them i think i will have to pass. even if i fill in and try to raise up the planting area, the roots will get down to the lake water before long and i don't think this particular spot would be a happy place for a quercifolia. it does seem like a paniculata might work best. i did some searching around at different sites and saw some pretty cool ones. or maybe i'll get a good deal on a "fixer upper" soon at one of garden centers! i do have a soft spot for those. thanks!

emmgus, don't give up on the quercifolias so quick if you love them. I have several wonderful oakleaf hydrangeas potted. They do great. So if you want one, just pot it.

Annabelle will take full sun in your zone *IF* the soil is moist.

Oakleafs also do pretty well, again if the soil is moist enough (man do they wilt like the dickens if too dry and/or too windy). Unless you're planting right at the water's edge, I don't think wet feet is going to be much of an issue. If you dig down a good 4-5'and you don't hit water, you should be fine with the oakleafs.

PeeGee would be lovely, too.

Just to clarify - "wet feet" means standing or slow draining/poorly draining soil. It does not refer to consistently moist soil, which is the condition hydrangeas prefer.

Oops, sorry, I meant "standing water" not standing..

(I don't know how to edit a post, sorry for the triple post)

thanks to stillwelljill and mxk3 for your input! the spot i want to plant is actually pretty close to the water's edge, so even though i will build up the soil a bit when i plant, once the roots get down about 24" or so, they will have constant water. if the plant is happy it will be really a nice spot - between our dock and the house. after what i've read i'm afraid to do an oakleaf there, but i do have a beautiful one at home though, so i won't be totally deprived! the problem with a pot is that we are only at the house on weekends, so it needs to be in the ground or it may be completely neglected. i love the annabelle i have at home so much, i may just try another one in that spot if i can find one that doesn't look completely bedraggled in a nursery! i'll let you know what happens! thanks again, emmgus

Hmmm, yea, I'd go with an Annabelle then.

Why don't you try one in that spot for a full season and see how it does? If it thrives, you can always add more. Wow, I can just imagine what a grouping of Annabelle would be like next to the water's edge - GORGEOUS!!

Now is the time you're going to start seeing those clearance sales, and the great thing is if you hit the nurseries now Annabelle should still be in bloom - not necessarily the full white bloom, but if the blooms have the hit the greenish stage after peak, you'll still know it is an Annabelle (and be sure to double-check the foliage to make sure you're not getting a white macrophylla instead of Annabelle). So, you can get some great deals starting about now while still having the assurance you're getting the real deal.

Would a hydrangea send roots down more than 24 inches?

I'll be the Annabelles will be happy and then they'll sucker and then you'll have even more (which is a good thing)!