Hi Bordercollie,

Limelight is a paniculata, Annabelle is an arborescens; both bloom on new wood and are hardy in zones 5/6 but Limelight needs much more sun to bloom well, probably Annabelle does too. The macrophyllas (mopheads and lacecaps) like Nikko and Mousmee would really enjoy the shade and moisture as long as they get 'some' sun, filtered or otherwise, preferrably morning sun. Problem is, the vast majority of macrophyllas (set buds in early fall and those buds have to make it through the winter in order to bloom next season)are not reliably bloom hardy in zones 5/6 without extra winter protection. If you like the look of the Nikkos, you might want to try Endless Summer instead. ES blooms on both old and new wood, so if winter kills the flower buds and/or stems, new ones will grow in Spring. If you like the idea of having a lacecap as well, substitute Mousmee for a serrata like Blue Billow that is very cold hardy. Wish I had that shady spot...Good luck......yg

Hi! I live in West Michigan and have been growing hydrangeas for about five years. I have a beautiful Limelight, but it's in full sun. I believe Annabelle would do well in mostly shade.
I have a row of about 10 hydrangeas in mostly sun. I have Annabelle, Nikko Blues, a couple of florist lacecaps that have naturalized, All Summer Beauty and Endless Summer. They grow well and bloom well, but they need water frequestly. Especially last summer in all that heat and drought. They'd droop like divas, and I'd run for the drippy hose that snakes between them.
My point is that I'm zone 5 and my hydrangeas do well in mostly sun (4-5 hours/day). I've seen hydrangea tags that say they grow under all light conditions, full sun to full shade. I think the growers are just covering their butts because the same plant that needs full shade in Florida needs five hours of sun in Michigan.
I'm far from an expert. Would like to see more input on light conditions from more Zone 5ers.

Hello, we are in Z5 also. I grow a number of the paniculatas, including Limelight. These will grow quite well and flower in light to almost medium shade, but not full shade. Any chance you can prune the trees to open them up some to give more light, or possibly plant some hydrangeas at the edge of the shady area. I do not do a lot of macrophyllas as they are not mainly reliably hardy here, but have found Dooley does very well here. The arborescens, such as White Dome, and Samantha also take quite a bit of shade, and are hardy for you. Keep in mind the paniculatas like Limelight do get large, up to about 10 feet, so if you wish to keep them at 4-5 feet you will need to prune them. Please give them a try though. I absolutely love Limelight, and have found it takes much more shade than the books say. Good luck, Polly

Annabelle will do good in almost full shade.
Here it is planted behind stone wall where only the top of the plant could get 1-2 hours of early morning sun. It's in full shade thereafter.

Another example of Annabelle planted in decidious shade under the canopies of the trees. No direct sun whatsoever, though it is under dappled shade for 2-3 hours in a middday.
Picture might be too dark, but that is how it is there:

As previously mentioned, Limelight could be pretty big and would need at least 2-3 hours of direct sun to produce.

As to macrophyllas I'd be somewhat negative in described by you conditions for two reasons:
a) buds hardiness issue,
b) unsufficient light.
Due to shorter growing season in z5/6 you'd need to give them as much light as you could in a summer, but then in a winter they will be exposed to elements that might kill the buds.

IMO, arborescents is your best and 'guaranteed' bet.

Thanks everyone for your advice, I have saved all these responses on my desktop so I can refer when shopping! EGO45, your sots of Annabelle in full shade are amazing! Wow, that is really very dark!

Those are some interesting pictures, EGO45. I planted three Annabelles in full shade and they didn't really flower so I was thinking about moving them. However, maybe they were just too busy getting established. If I got the same kind of performance as you, I'd leave them for sure.