it's a macrophylla hydrangea..don't know the cultivar name..sometimes there's a sticker on the pot that has the name in small print..I first thought it was an Endless Summer but they come in blue pots and isn't your pot black?..Morning sun and afternoon shade would be best for this shrub..where do you live?..you might need to protect it in the winter (so that it will bloom)..the heavy blooms can weigh the stems down..are you worried about the brown at the base of the stems?..just older stems..

You have been given good advice above. In most areas these will droop and have leaf and flower damage in afternoon sun. If you add your location and USDA growing zone, it will help get info best suited to your growing conditions.

http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/phzmweb/interactivemap.aspx

My apologies, I am Zone 7b.

You want midday and afternoon shade in your zone (SE US?) and if it isn't getting below freezing now, it would do better outside in full shade rather than inside with not much light. Gradually acclimatize it to more light before siting it in its permanent spot.

Thank you all so much for taking your time to give such helpful feedback. I will research the pot closer to see if I can find a sticker that provides a name, if not I will start with the mop head Zone 7b description. I am now glad I kept this in the garage covered last night. We had a frost and it seems like this plant would not have liked that.

@nicholsworth55-yes I noticed the droopage was primarily from stems that were browning. Thank you for clarification.

@luis_pr- I find I primarily visit Lowe’s or HD for their clearance section. Regular priced plants would quickly drain my budget for my project this year. I have lucked up and found some wonderful deals, which has allowed me to stretch my dollar. I know another great way is to save money is to start from seedlings or something about rootstocks however I am very new to the gardening scene and I am unsure if possess the green thumb my mother has. Thank you for your information.

@Nhbabs- Knowing ones Zone is key when planting almost anything It seems. Good information to learn. Thank you.

Location is also helpful when asking for advice. So for instance there is zone 8 in Washington state, Texas, and Georgia, but growing conditions are quite different (soil, summer heat, duration of winter cold, average last frost date, both timeing and amount of precipitation, etc.) All the zone tells you is the average coldest winter temperatures, which is why I asked for a general location. Zone 7 in VA is quite different than in UT or OK.

@Nhbabs- Yes, I am in the SE. Last night temperatures dipped back down into freezing so I brought anything not yet in the ground in the house to protect it. Today it should warm back up so I will put them back out. The area I am now considering planting it at would be shaded most of the day however I will need to watch today to see how much Morning sun it gets.

Ah! Okay wonderful I now understand. For clarification purposes I am Zone7b NC. Thank you.

My cousin in NC has neighbors with mopheads getting afternoon shade. Freezing temps would not have killed the roots but would have zapped the foliage badly if they lasted long enough. The flowers may have been toast too so good move bringing it inside.

Can we tag people in posts?

I haven't but I'm not tech savvy..lol

Cee Smith, you can save a thread, or you can follow a member, but you can't actually tag people. This thread should show up on your home page, since you started it.

To follow someone, click on their user name to go to their home page. Under their photo (if they have one) on the left side of the screen you'll see the "follow" button. Otherwise, to find a specific thread, you can do a search by subject/forum title, etc.

John

Some folks also have messaging enabled or you can message folks if you follow each other.

Update. I have figured out the type of hydrangea this is. It is a Mathilda Gutges Blue. Her large mop blooms are still drooping very badly. Soil is moist, getting 3 hours of am sun. Is this normal?

This plant went from grower to HD (where it may have not gotten the best of care) to your indoor area to your yard. No wonder the blooms are drooping. That is a lot of environmental change in a short amount of time for this plant. If they bother you, cut them off. I wouldn’t expect a whole lot of improvement on them this year, but it may put out more blooms. I am not sure if this one does that. Don’t overwater; you don’t want constantly soggy soil, but you also don’t want it to get bone dry. Just keep sticking you finger into the soil to check, and then water slow and deep when it needs it.

You said you got it at the "big" stores so I suspect that the shrub was forced to bloom early and by now, they may be spent or are not well supported by the limited root system. Remember their roots got cut to fit into the pot... so the roots cannot absorb as much water as needed. Keep the blooms "on" (they will brown out soon) or cut the blooms at the petiole string that connects the bloom to the stem. The plant should bloom at "more" normal times in 2019... meaning closer to May-ish.

Neither of the two names that you mentioned reblooms. They will develop invisible flower buds at the ends of the stems for Spring 2019 sometime between July-September and these will then open in Spring 2019.

Small update.. green is normally a good sign..right?

Yes. Although some leaves/stems can be normally other colors too!

Okay so these new green... leaves/stems are..what? New growth? For next year?

New growth. Will not produce blooms this year if this is Mathilda but it will develop invisible flower buds in late summer or early fall; then they will open in the spring... Mayish or so.

I have posted this comment before, but some of ya'll must have a great eye, depending on the type of hydr to determine the cultivar. My brain got all confused when I was looking for a purple Hyd. and while Hydra. Plus website, there was a like a ba-jillion cultivars

I had a Mathilda G. in my Kansas garden and it was hands down my favorite. In the spring it will bloom in yellow, blue, pink and purple on the same plant. She is a true beauty. Mine was in morning sun and afternoon shade. You got lucky!! Try, but failing, not to be jealous Cee.

Update. I cut back all her struggles and simply left the sticks for next season . Many said no more blooms this season but today I see this ..