Depending on your snow levels and how cold it tends to be prior to deep snow, H. macrophyllas may or may not bloom early, and may or may not be as hardy as claimed IME. Most do bloom during the summer for me, though not in the spring. Will it bother you to have it die to ground level or snow level some or each winter? Or will it bother you to look at a cage full of leaves or whatever winter protection you use? If both those are unacceptable, I'd probably choose something else. IME H. macrophyllas and H. arborescens have about the same tolerance for intense sun. I know you've mentioned before that your H. arborescens is fine in western sun, but I don't think that's the case for most of us. However, since you are doing fine with Incredibelle there, I would expect any of the H. macrophyllas that are hardy enough to be fine there as well. Look at photos of Tiny Tuff Stuff. It has a reputation for reliable blooming and rebloom if you like lace cap flowers, and it stays in your size range.

Have you looked at H. paniculata Bobo? It should stay under 3 1/2 feet, is hardy to zone 3, blooms for something like 3 months, and has the typical color progression for this species, starting chartreuse, then white, then pink. I don't grow this particular selection of H. paniculata, but I do grow others in all day sun, and they are absolutely fine with the heat and sun, though they also will be fine with half day sun in zone 5.

Thank you both for your advice. Luis, thanks for recommending the "Let's Dance" series of hydrangeas. I was actually considering them. I like the shape of the plant - mounding, I guess is what they would call it - and the beautiful blooms. Do you have any recommendations for a reputable source for them? Babs, I don't mind protecting them with a cage of leaves or if they die to the ground. I like the "Bobo" hydrangeas, but I was already have one h. paniculata in the bed - Pinky Winky. "Bobo" is beautiful though and if I had room for one in my yard, it would be a top pick.

They are sold to plant nurseries via wholesalers Proven Winners and Monrovia so anyone that sells PW and Monrovia products locally can sell the Let's Dance Series. It is just a matter of whether they have the variety that you want. You could ask if the local nursery has already ordered and which varieties for delivery in Spring. Mail order wise, I think Wayside & White Farm used to (or still do?) sell them. I also could swear that I have seen them at either HD or Lowe's. But again, not all the ones in the series but rather selected ones. Maybe mail orderers have a better chance of carrying the complete series (or the one you want). In that case, check the Watchdog to see if that is good company.

Oh, my, Bellarosa - Pinky Winky in a foundation bed?! I hope it's a really big bed; my PW after 6 years is 12' wide and 8' tall. I had no idea it would get so large so fast. It's a beautiful shrub, but not for the faint of heart or the small of garden! If you don't have that kind of room, you might want to move it since H. paniculatas regrow pretty quickly after pruning, and I am not sure you can keep PW to a small size with annual pruning.

Ask around in your area about the various Let's Dance series of H. macrophylla before ordering. I ordered LD Starlight and I don't think it survived the winter, though I am not 100% sure since I mixed up a tag. So just check with those with experience with this series in your area that whichever one you choose has a good chance of surviving in good shape. I have others that are rated warmer than Starlight that have done better.

Is Starlight the lacecap one? I have a hard time attaching their plant names to pictures in my head.

It is. Found it here.

http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/1991408/lets-dance-series

Not to be negative but here goes. I live in Indianapolis IN. Have 9 macrophyllas. Some r 10 yrs old. All alive but nonblooming. Put 2 in pots & put in my shed. Covered 7 others. We'll see...will NEVER buy anymore macrophyllas. Love my arborescens & paniculatas. Several r new - planted fall 2015 - I've seen pics of NHBabs & I can't wait...

Other than the very sun and heat tolerant paniculatas (and maybe oakleafs, if they receive sufficient irrigation), I would hesitate recommending planting any hydrangea in a full-on western exposure. Even in my very northerly, mild summer location, hydrangeas with that sort of sun exposure struggle, especially macs. Since macs - even the rebloomers - have issues in colder climates (lack of flowering being the top of the list), I would want to give them the best opportunities to thrive as possible and that is generally regarded to be an organically rich, acidic soil in morning sun and afternoon shade.

I didn't comment on the western exposure part of the question. Just noticed the zone & the red flags came out - macrophyllas r duds in zone 5 IMHO.

Annabelles are weather and fool proof. Ours are in north west exposure and other than cutting them back to about 12" in spring receive no care. They have bloomed every year for 12 years. Not necessarily the most exciting hydrangeas but hardy, serviceable and quite lovely massed against the house.

Annabelles r reliable. The stems r kinda weak though...

Don't rule out western areas just because they are on the west side. All things being equal, Macs will have a harder time on west facing areas and growers may have to allocate more time to checking them but, experiment and see if you can overcome the issues with a micro-climate. I have only planted a Mac on the west side once; it was a Sun Goddess Mac with 1-2 hrs of sun exposure, I made sure the soil drained well and that I watered often; it did fine with the west wall on one side and a pine bush on the opposite side. And my MIL had a nice blue Nikko Blue by her west-facing NH bedroom window that had morning shade and afternoon sun so, wow, go figure that! Whenever I visited her in July-August, it seemed to get sun until sometime after her dinner time but of course, her sun was nowhere as strong as it is down here. You know, I never inquired what did she do for that NB (watering, winter etc)... But you can always look at other Mac's in your area to see how they are placed and 'test the waters' by growing the mac in a pot until you feel certain that the selected location will work... then plant it in the ground. Monitor the shrub and the soil moisture more often in the summer. If the first location does not work, just move the pot.

Bombshell (which has had a lot of complaints with blooming issues here), Wedding Gown and Pearls 'n Pink are some of the most compact paniculatas that I suggest you could try. Of course, they only "do" white/pink blooms, not blues/purples/pinks like Macs. If you still want to try macs in full sun, try anyways (maybe just one shrub at first) and post comments to see how does it go.

I realize that planting a h. Mac in a western exposure maybe not be the best idea, but I like to experiment with my plants and push the limits so to speak. Thank you everyone for your advice. I will plant one next year and keep you all posted on the outcome.

So which one do you think you will go with? A Let's Dance variety or some other compact mac? The Cityline Series is also very compact but does not rebloom so winter protection becomes a critical issue for those in Zone 5.

My 5 limelight hydrange do well and bloom with western exposure. Hoping to add dwarf butterfly bush and stella d'or to the mix...any thoughts?

Dane, can you add your general location and USDA growing zone? Where I am in central NH butterfly bushes don’t typically winter over well, and the dwarf ones are less hardy than others. In hot areas, daylilies Williams fade faster with afternoon sun so you won’t have flowers except in the morning, though in my area it doesn’t seem to be an issue.

IME Stella d’Oro day lily/Hemerocallis are difficult to fit with other colors, though Lime and purple are about as good as it will get. Try looking at some of the other dwarf, long-blooming day lilies such as Rosy Returns (pink) or Happy Returns (yellow). You could also look at catmint/Nepeta.