If the soil already drains well and has no soil deficiencies, you can re-plant it right away.... as if you had to remove it and replant it in the same spot when some work -say roof work- had occurred that forced you to move it out of the way for a day or two.

Wait....are you asking whether there's a reason not to plant now? Yes there is. It is mid summer, the temps are in the 90's and it is is a real challenge to keep new plantings adequately watered and shaded so the roots can get established.

If you have already bought the plant it will be easier to keep it alive in the ground than in the pot. However, if you haven't bought it yet, you might consider letting the nursery have the responsibility for keeping it alive until September. Early October planting is ideal: the soil is the optimal temperature for root growth, the sun is not going to scorch the leaves and stress the plant; there's easily 2 full months for it to get established. You won't have to water so often.

Unless you already know about planting shrubs, it would be a good idea to review how to prepare the soil (minimally) fertilization ( Do NOT FERTILIZE); dealing with pot bound plants; a watering schedule for newly planted shrubs; mulching; and the watering routine for the next year or two.

And if you already are familiar with the above, just enjoy planting in cooler weather and plant with confidence.

Marie

Ah, yes, I agree. If you are asking about whether n-o-w it is a good time to plant, well, in theory, yes but in practice, it can be hard... it depends on how bad/good your Summer weather is and whether you have the time to be closely checking up the shrub during the Summer.

If planted later on in the Fall, you still need to treat the shrub as if it was just purchased and expect it to behave like hydrangeas do in their first summers. So, it may wilt and have browning of leaves, etc. That is why it needs to be visually checked often if you plant now... so you can take appropriate counter-measures (add water, add mulch, "add" more shade in the afternoons, etc). And because of all that work, I prefer in the Summer, to keep it shaded/potted near my backyard doors (where I can very easily see it/monitor it) and theeen plant it in the Fall, either when temps go down or once the hydrangea has gone dormant.

Typically, because my Summer weather is so extreme, I do not even consider planting any shrubs whatsoever from mid May thru September. I mean, nowadays, at 10am, I am already perspiring like my dogs when hand watering!

Be advised that KY and TX should expect a mainly dry 2016-2017 winter courtesy of La Nina so plan on watering for a while this Fall/Winter, provided the soil has not frozen where you live.

Transplanting horror story: The only time I have had work on the roof late in the year, I needed to temporarily transplant two hydrangeas and had to place them in a protected area in front of a shed. The location had walls on three sides and I had to keep them moist daily until the work was completed. Ugh.

Skipping planting now story: I have also bought some hydrangeas late and kept them in their pots until late November, when I planted the new shrubs. Then again, my winters are mild but the point is that, in addition to planting when the Summer temperatures have gone down in the Fall, you can also keep it potted a bit longer and plant it once Bobo has gone dormant. Just an idea if you do not happen to have time when temps moderate. If it starts to get too late and winter shows its ugly low temps, move Bobo to a shed or the garage (water it once every 2 weeks or so).

Newly purchased Bobo probably has those round fertilizer pellets so, do not bother fertilizing. Just mulch it well, begin a watering program to keep the soil evenly moist and begin fertilizing in Spring.