Hydrangeas are normally understory shrubs so they tend to prefer afternoon shade. While paniculatas hydrangeas are the most sun tolerant ones, they will be sensitive at first... until they become established in your garden. And they will perform poorly in places where the sun is harsh during the summer time. Shade will be needed in VA. In my Texas Summers, VS (or any paniculata) would die if planted in afternoon sun conditions. But if planted in places where the afternoon sun is weak in the Summer, like the northeast, paniculatas will do much better. That is why, over there, Pee Gee Hydrangeas grow as small tress in full sun.

So try paniculatas first. Keep them well watered and well mulched. And monitor them often during the summer months. To help it get along, I would wait to plant it outside until Fall temps arrive. I always have issues if planting in the Summer. See below.

http://offices.ext.vt.edu/chesapeake/programs/anr/Pruning.pdf

Thank you! Are there any particular varieties of paniculata that you're aware of that are especially tolerant of sun/heat? Wasn't sure if they're all similar, or if some might perform better than others. Other than two mopheads which I love, I don't have much experience with hydrangeas (and no experience with paniculatas).

After much research I've decided to try and plant Bobo Hydrangeas in my yard. They seem to be the most tolerant of sun and heat. Mine won't get full afternoon sun like your yard, but it will get the hot sun of Colorado.

Check them out here:

https://www.provenwinners.com/plants/hydrangea/bobo-hardy-hydrangea-hydrangea-paniculata

1. I might try Little lime, gets to 5'/3' and turns a nice shade of pink in the Fall, while Limelight can get to 10'/6'.....unless you want to go Big
   
   

If I were you I would probably give up on the idea (unless you are OK with losing the money you put into a plant that dies or looks awful.) From all I've read, when H. paniculata is grown in an area too hot (and the added heat caused by reflection or release of absorbed heat from the building just behind it will make things worse) they go from a short spell of white flowers to premature browning, not getting the pink shades as the flowers age. Here it isn't a problem, even in all day sun, but we have cooler night temperatures, and temperatures into the nineties are an occasional thing, not frequent.

Seems like it should do fine. Not that I have a paniculata on the west side of the house but I do have other shrubs on that side of the house that are fine (don't know why a paniculata can't handle the same thing as Loropetalums, Crytptomeria 'Nana', Mahonia, crepe myrtle, and Camellias plus other perennials). I'm in the Atlanta area so we definitely get 3 months of mid 90 or higher temps and I bet there are many further south of both of us that do the same thing.

I will grant your greater experience in the zone; hsm can feel free to ignore my comments above.

Paniculatas might "DO" fine in that situation (provided you give them the extra care they need) but it is not what they prefer. As Luis stated early on, hydrangeas are woodland understory shrubs and are ideally sited where they will receive adequate shade, especially during the hottest part of the day. Which tends to be the afternoon :-)) While paniculatas are probably the most sun and heat tolerant of all the hydrangea species, the flowers will not develop the range of coloring most of us prefer (as Babs mentioned) and will fade to a tannish brown rather quickly, often bypassing completely any of that pale pink, rose or deep pink coloration many of the newer cultivars are known for. And they will require a lot more water when planted in afternoon sun!!

If planted on the west side, I would attempt to site them so that they are at least partially shaded by a larger plant. Even in my very mild summer climate, full sun paniculatas struggle.

I say go for it , follow Luis instructions, we are all chiming in here, and you'll never know, it will take a few years but we all took a shot and made some mistakes...Good Luck

I may go ahead and try it; if it doesn't work, I can move it to a more suitable place in my yard. Just want to see if I can get one to work in this spot! Thanks to everyone for the helpful info!

I don't have one on the west side of the house but do have 'Phantom'
sited in a western exposure - it has been growing great since I first
put it in the ground 3 years ago (2013)

First year it doubled in size and had nice blooms.

This
year it is about 7 feet tall (needs a major haircut) The two Okame
cherry trees flanking it on the east side block the morning sun for the
months of March through July but by August they are usually bare (have
the big begonia hanging in the tree on the right) This was July 30th. I should go into my neighbor's yard and see the blooms from that side.

I am in the same zone and have Limelights, Pink Diamond, Vanilla Strawberry and other paniculatas in my yard that get mainly hot afternoon sun. They look ok early on in the season but later in the season the sun and heat gets to them. Not all get that pretty pink flush. I don't do a lot of supplemental watering. One that might do better is Quick Fire. Above are Limelights last year before heat has taken toll

Below last Sept.

Watering will help when a drought comes along...

Very Nice NHBabs - very nice! Our droughts can last weeks in the Atlanta area but at least we can water, on our watering days up to 10 AM (wet years no one pays attention to these rules). Been here 38 years and have had two summers where we had a total water ban - talk about brutal. We often get sued by AL and FL over the Chattahoochee River so we get a total water ban while AL folks continue watering like its nobody's business (but then they also have the TN River running through the upper end of the state) - not quite fair but what can you do? Use grey water collected in the tub, washing machine, and sinks; AC condensate and hope everything ekes by until the fall rains come in.

I have a huge Pink Diamond panicula in a blazing west exposure that I cut way back every spring. It does fine. We are in Roanoke. It doesn't get any special attention except water in a drought.

may i suggest ENCORE AZALEA ? or any cultivar that is sun tolerant. im dealing with struggling hydrangea now. they do not have showy blooms and foliage when they're not in proper light!

1818 Federal, are your hydrangeas panicled hydrangeas or big leafed hydrangeas? Different species have different sun tolerance.

big leaf

I'm in 7a. Paniculatas will do fine. I have 3 limelight hydrangeas, 3 baby lace hydrangea, and 1 white wedding hydrangea. They're all panicle hydrangeas that face west in my yard. First year in the ground make sure to water regularly. You will still get some crispy and/or yellow leaves. Year 2 they'll be happy. If you cut off the blooms as soon as they start to turn pink, limelight will rebloom in the fall. Little Lime would be better sized for a foundation and you may be able to get them to rebloom also.

1818 Federal,

Try Hilda Niblett azaleas instead of Encore for a hot western exposure. Mine are in bloom now (not full yet) and take the heat and sun with aplomb. The only Encore azaleas I will buy are Autumn Twist and two are on the east side and one in semi-shade in the backyard.

This Autumn Twist had some odd blooms as though one branch got a purple only branch in the mix.

Hilda in 2014 (June 1)

2013 close up

May 9, 2012 when we put them out

Last year May 22

Autumn Twist is famous for being a fast grower and producing sport that bloom purple!

hc mcdole , these are gorgeous!

luis_pr, I will look for Autumn Twist. Even WMT has Encores now.

gumneck 7A Virginia , your limelight picture is worth 1,000 words.

Oh, thanks for the tip. I just stopped at two WMTs. "My" WMT does not carry Encores but one close to my sister says it did a few weeks ago but is out now. Or maybe mine carries them but the employee that I asked did not know. Hmm, yes, that probably is it. Ha! ;o)