While root hardy in your zone, they will still need winter protection to avoid damage to latent flower buds. Not providing winter protection for any type of macrophylla or serrata in any zone below 7 is just risking a lack of any flowering potential.

Gardengal, thanks for the advice. I might just get one and see how it does. Thanks again.

Hyed, you always have the most beautiful hydrangeas. Looks like yours in planted in dappled shade, similar to what I have. My concern is that my shady area is also somewhat windy. :-(

I have Blue Deckle in bright shade; it has not complained so far.

Could you also add a compact evergreen to shield from the winds? Winds can help macrophylla leaves loose moisture faster but serratas have smaller leaves so they would not loose as much moisture as macs would. Then again, they are smaller and have smaller roots so... oh well...

Just wondering... would both of these be "blue" for you, bella rosa?

bella rosa..doesn't hyed have gorgeous hydrangeas?..my neighbor went to Boston and told me that hydrangeas were "blooming everywhere"..that does NOT happen where I live..they have big snows in Boston and it seems similar but something IS different..hydrangeas do well there..

nicholsworth, yes, hype has gorgeous hydrangeas! i'm jealous. :-) I would like to grow at least one blue hydrangea. my soil turns them into pink, except for the annabelles and paniculatas. I might just try growing them in a pot and overwintering them. wish me luck!

bella rosa..it's amazing to me that you have macrophylla blooms..I think of your climate as colder than mine..mine require winter protection and sometimes even that doesn't work..I should get some of that product (the name escapes me) and treat mine..I would love blue blooms..I meant to check it out last year..post your pics!

The Morton Arboretum had some beautiful plantings of Blue Billow in full bloom late last June when I was there.

WOW thank you ladies for the kind words.....but I also have had Bad yrs with my Macs(ES)and starting to phase them out ...outside of Blue Billow& Mathilda G .... i’m Going to have some fun this yr & sprayed paint some of my Anne’s and Incredis just a few here and there,What the H-LL, they give me Hundreds of Blooms we will see if ... anyone notices Few blues here and there

nicholsworth, actually, I don't have any hydrangea macrophyllas. Sorry if I confused you. I have Annabelles, Incrediball, Bloomstruck, and a bunch of different paniculatas, i.e. Vanilla Strawberry, Zinfin Doll, Pinky Winky, etc.

Ahhh..that makes sense..

Update on my Blue Billow just starting bud out after the Winter we just had.. hope you can see the buds ... this plant is over 20yrs old and is 3 1/2 ft H x 10’ W have never Winter pro...66 today low 30s Sunday

Lucky you. Do you prune it? Also, is it planted in full sun or shade?

Hi.bella, Never pruned it basically deadheads it’s self ... it’s planted on NW side of the house/deck so it gets early afternoon Sun

heed, thanks for the info. I never see this hydrangea at the local nurseries. maybe i just never paid attention! lol. I'm going to look for it this time. i might have a perfect spot for it.

Hyed does it bloom on new wood? Yours is gorgeous!

Both Blue Billows and Blue Deckle are old wood bloomers. But they are also cultivars of mountain hydrangea, H. serrata, which might make them slightly more cold tolerant than a typical mac. Otherwise, I am surprised they do so well for hyed, as that is not a climate that is conducive to flowering of old wood blooming hydrangeas without winter protection.

Thanks GG - I’ve had good luck with the re blooming Macs, but I don’t winter protect, so I think I will have to pass on these, pretty as they are!

After having such great luck with 'Tuff Stuff' I saw 'Blue Billow' at a nursery and bought it as an experiment. I have had some bloom only two years even though it is planted just to the north of a rock wall to mitigate temperatures, with shrubs to the northwest of it, and it gets buried in extra snow shoveled loosely off the patio above it. I think that our December temperatures before we get much snow are most likely too cold for it most seasons.

Pennlake, thanks for posting that pic. I'm going to look for Blue Billow at our local nurseries. BB is so pretty. I wonder if it's color is dependent on the soil. I have a Bloomstruck hydrangea from last year and it didn't bloom blue, but pink. It was pretty, but I really wanted blue.

Bella, I believe your soil is alkaline pink pink no blue?

I'm not sure.

It would be worthwhile taking a soil sample for basic testing so you know about the pH.

Bella do you have any blue hydrangeas?

For a bigleaf hydrangea to bloom blue, it needs access to aluminum - that's what triggers the blue pigmentation. In soils that are not sufficiently acidic, aluminum is bound to the soil and not readily accessible so you either need to acidify the soil or supply the Al via something like aluminum sulfate. I'd recommend a combination of both - if soil tends to be more alkaline, you may have to supply the Al in quantities that could be potentially toxic, especially to neighboring plants.

gardengal, thanks for the info. strange question..do pine needles provide acidity? there's a bunch of them nearby. just wondering.

Fresh (green) needles tend to be acidic; dried or brown needles are not. And neither contribute to soil acidity to any measurable degree. Soil pH is primarily dependent on the underlying mineral content of the soil - acidic rocks make for acidic soils :-) Also a big influence on soil pH is the amount of rainfall - areas with normal to heavy rainfall tend to have more acidic soils. Arid areas tend to have more alkaline soils. Vegetation, mulch or plant debris has a minimal effect although fertilizing routinely can have an impact, depending on the fertilizer used and the amount and frequency.