New/small/young plantings would benefit from more shade, especially anywhere that's considered to be the South.

Because of how the houses are positioned, she doesn't start to get sunlight until around 10 in the morning, until around 4, which is how I came up with that number. Sorry for the confusion! I thought about maybe watering her around 11 or twelve, instead of first thing in the morning.

Jorge, the sun is most intense when it's higher, approx. between the hours of 11 AM - 3 PM. Those are the hours in your climate that would be most difficult for your hydrangea and you cannot water it enough to offset that.

Hello, Jorge. May is the start of summer in Texas. Hydrangeas that are planted this year have not had much time to acclimate and develop large root systems so, they suffer from transplant shock and these wilting episodes. Not helping either is their root system that has been cut to fit into a pot. They try to get moisture from the soil as best as they can. Works fine in a greenhouse but not in some gardens. So compensate by giving them soil that drains well (do not plant in caliche soil) and soil that is as evenly moist as you can, meaning no periods of dry soil, followed by wet soil, back to dry soil and so forth.

When the big leaves loose moisture faster than the roots can absorb moisture, the leaves wilt and the plant looks "sad". Windy days can also contribute to this problem. So can winds of as little as 5-10mph when you take into account the 100-degree temps we sometimes get daily.

So be advised that until the shrub has acclimated to your weather (usually 1 year but it can take up to 3 years) and until its root system has grown some more, it will have these wilting episodes on windy days and between May & when temps go down in September. If you see an extreme wilting episode, immediately give the plant about 1 gallon of water from the base/crown outwards and make sure it has 3-4" of mulch a little past the drip line at all times.

But if it is not an extreme wilting episode, check the soil to see if is moist: insert a finger into the soil to a depth of 4" and see if your finger feels dry, moist or wet. If the soil is dry, give the plant 1 gallon of water. If the soil feels moist or wet then let the plant recover on its own. They tend to recover by nightfall or by the next morning.

To make sure that the plant can handle our summers, use the finger method daily for 2-3 weeks and write a note on a wall calendar. After 2-3 weeks, review the notes and determine how often you had to water... say every 3/4/etc days. Then set the sprinkler or drip irrigation to provide 1 gallon on that same frequency (every 3/4/etc days). If the temps go up/down by 10-15 degrees and stay there, consider using the finger method for 2-3 weeks to see if you need to tweak things.

As we get to the 90-100+ range, increase the amount of water to 1.5 gallons per watering and keep watering when the soil feels almost dry or dry. During this time of high temps, also inspect the leaves weekly to see if the ones in direct contact with the sun are turning all yellow/whiteish (including the leaf veins). This means that the leaves/the plant are getting too much sun. You then could erect some way to give it more shade and transplant it in the Fall when the temps have gone down. I would NOT transplant anything during our hot summers. Give it temp shade yes but not move it.

The sun in the summer is too intense here in Texas and hydrangeas of all types should get some respite from the sun starting at around 11am-12pm (latest). No sun afterwards. You can also grow them in a location that is shaded full time, provided that it is "bright" shade, not dense shade. I have tinkered with hydrangeas and camellias positioned such that they get about 2 hours of sun at around lunch time only and I ended with the top leaves yellow and the inside leaves dark green (or burnt looking leaves with camellias). From that, I came with another option for what to do in those cases: put some 30% shade cloth on top of the shrub to provide it with some, but not much, light.

Around Sept, temps should go back down and you can revert to watering 1 gallon per watering. Then once the plant goes dormant and the leaves dry out, water 1 gallon per watering weekly or every 2 weeks, depending on how much rain you get. Continue this until approx March-April or when the plants leaf out, that should be when regular Spring rains also show up. If you can, let Mother Nature do some of the watering for you. But remember to water during the winter months weekly or bi-weekly if it is dry.

Hydrangea leaves can develop some fungal issues with overhead watering so it is best to water the plants via sprinkler or by hand very early in the mornings (5-6am).

If you think that transplanting to a differently shaded place now is what you want to do, you can try that... or wait until the Fall. I do not know how tall the plant is but, you could put an outside chair, an umbrella, whatever, to provide temporary shade in this first summer. Next year, it will not be as bad. Only during the July-September time would I expect wilting episodes.

Weather info: in the press, they are speculating that, this summer, we will be under the effects of a La Nina Weather Pattern. That means that we in Texas may get less rain than is usual. Just a f.y.i.

Good luck, Luis

As Luis stated above, provide the plant with some shade until it's root system matures. I do this a lot with various plants. Get some stakes, like bamboo for instance, and push them into the dirt and then cover with shade cloth. this works well for me.