IME the macrophylla hydrangeas like Bloomstruck need shade during the hot part of the afternoon. They also may need winter protection to bloom well in zone 5. The plants are hardy enough, but the flower buds may not be.

Thank you Babs.

I sure wish I had more shade here. A definite impulse buy with no research....(but they were on sale! :)

I do plan on wrapping with burlap for the winter. Do you know if this will be sufficient protection?

I need to think hard about where I can move them to now. I’d most likely move them early spring while still dormant? Will this be a good time?

Just burlap isn’t likely enough unless there is a warm winter. Wrap burlap around stakes and fill with leaves. Have some dry ones available somewhere so that as they settle you can top them up.

Early spring would be OK, though I prefer fall just after the leaves drop. Mulch well for the winter. Or consider whether you can plant something like annual or perennial vines or trees to give them some shade eventually.

Thanks again Babs. I’m going to move 2 of them as the 3rd seems to be doing good. We have a cool down with some good rain headed our way, so I will be moving them this week. Just need to decide where....

For all you bloomstruck owners, what is the characteristic of this plant. Would one say MANY small-medium blooms with small-medium leafs. And or this would be be observement in a potted environment.

A1an, here is a thread that may help.

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/3178380/hydrangea-bloomstruck?n=45

Thanks for the link NHB. Granted I know the rootsystem is limiting its potential. Still kind blown away. I stopped counting when I hit 60, but I have 60+ blooms on mine.

I bought a bloomstruck two weeks ago. I’m fairly certain it will be dead before the end of the season. We have had temps in the 90’s this week, but the plant was struggling even before that. Half of it is dropping on the ground. No new blooms are growing. Quite disappointing

It may still make it Sara (knock on wood) but, now may not be a good time to plant hydrangeas in some areas. Although one can successfully plant hydrangeas in the summer-ish months like late May, it becomes more of a pain the closer one is to hot summer temps.

Plants in plastic pots have had their root system pruned to fit and this may cause a plant to sometimes wilt... Hydrangeas can do this when temperatures get somewhere above 85F if the soil is almost dry or dry (top 4-8" more or less).

As a result, I plant them in their hopefully permanent spot only in early Spring, in mid Fall or in late Winter only. New ones purchased in May remain potted in full but bright shade until Fall; I do not plant them now as my mid or late May temps regularly reach into the 90s or more by May (in the 100s tomorrow).

Start by making sure the shrub gets shade around 11am or so. No afternoon or evening sun. Below are a few more suggestions to hopefully help you and your shrub!

Their roots have been cut to fit into the plastic pots so they cannot absorb water as fast as the large leaves loose moisture. They are also not used to being hit with strong summer sunlight and hot summer temperatures... very unlike what they were exposed to in the greenhouses since they were "born". As a result, they (and other plants too) suffer from transplant shock and they wilt. If the soil is kept evenly moist though, the plant will begin to recover on its own overnight and looks fine in the morning.

These periods of wilting diminish somewhat as the plant becomes established, one gets used to providing evenly moist soil and the roots grow ever more extensive. In future years, the summer wilting episodes occur less frequently and only in very hot or very windy days. So, continue to mulch and supply enough water to keep the soil as evenly moist as possible.

These times of the year, I have to water around 1 gallon of water per watering to 1.5 gallons per plant. Most of the small ones did fine with 0.5g in the Spring and the others were fine with 1g. In hotter May, or as soon as your temps begin to regularly exceed 85F, start monitoring how much water you are giving them and use the finger method. The goal is to water deeply as soon as the soil feels dry and keep the soil evenly moist (no periods of dry soil then wet soil then dry again).

About the finger method... at about the same time every day for 2-3 weeks, insert a finger into the soil to a depth of 4" and water (1 gallon or so) if the soil feels dry or almost dry. Every time that you water, write down a note in a wall calendar. After 2-3 weeks, review the notes in the wall calendar and average out how often you had to water... every 3 days, every 4 days... etc. Then set the sprinkler/drip irrigation to water 1 gallon on that same frequency of 3 or 4/etc days. If temps go up/down 10-15F degrees and stay there, use the finger method again. In the summer, consider increasing the amt of water per each watering while in the Fall consider reducing the amt of water as temps come down. In the Fall/Winter, reduce watering to once every two weeks when the shrub goes dormant and it is dry. Stop watering if your ground freezes but restart in the Spring. The aim for each watering is to water an amount (I do 1 gallon; tweak as needed) that reaches down to a depth of about 8" after each watering.

If I see an extreme wilting episode, I immediately give a new shrub 1 gallon of water from the base/crown outwards. That is where the root ball is located and where most of the roots also are. If the wilting episode is not extreme then I use the finger method and water only if the soil feels dry or almost dry.

In years 0-3, it may help to provide extra shade even if the plant is already getting morning sun only. The greenhouse developed leaves may have a hard time getting used to being outside and may be extra sensitive; they should noticeably improve if you use an umbrella or chair or newspaper to shield them from the sun. Consider indirect sun hitting them too from walls and glass surfaces. If the blooms wilt markedly on new shrubs, I have sometimes cut them off. The new leaves in Spring #2 will be hardier & the roots longer... and able to absorb/distribute more water.

Make sure that you provide 2-4" organic mulch up to the drip line or longer. It helps protect the roots from the heat and cold extremes. And it makes the water in your watering last longer. Do not use rock as mulch around hydrangeas.

I am not sure in what zone you are but stems usually handle zone 7 and warmer winters with few issues. Below Zone 7, the shrubs become root hardy and to bloom reliably, you need to winter protect if you want the old growth to produce blooms via the invisible flower buds that the stems developed near their ends from July (in the South) thru August-Sept (in the North). If the stems are not winter protected, they may or may not survive cold winters (I do not know where you are or your zone). Any new stems that the shrub develops from the ground in Spring are called new growth. They too will develop flower buds this growing season. The new stems first need to get a little taller/older, then they need to produce the invisible flower buds and finally, these new growth flower buds open in mid-to-late summer months. Feel free to set up your own post or Gmail with any questions.

Hope this helps, Luis

Bloomstruck is quite sun tolerant in the North once established. In heavier soils with some supplemental irrigation during dry spells it will be fine. Like most new plants, it will wilt a lot the first year season until established, especially with this early extreme heat wave up here.

Several assumptions in the previous post about how garden (landscape) hydrangeas (not pot/greenhouse hydrangeas) are grown that are not applicable to all growers.

Thank you both for your responses. I am in zone 4. I went to garden center to get two dwarf lilacs and the hydrangea was a spur of the moment (and $60) decision. I knew nothing about them, and with my soil being heavy clay.. I should not have purchased. I purchased Earl May’s plant start product to help roots establish. Purchasing it also gave a 2 year warrentee on the plant, thankfully. I will take the kind suggestions you have given me and hope for the best!

In zones less than 7, these mopheads are root hardy and, in regular winters, their old stems dry out so... new growth will then develop bloomage in mid to late summer. Paniculatas and Annabelle-like hydrangeas can be an easier option. They will develop blooms at about the mid to late summertime too, from new growth, although they only produce white, pink and lime blooms.

Transplanting went great. I watered very well before during and after lol, and no sulking whatsoever. I think they’ll be much happier now!

Give yourself a large cup of coffee or tea to celebrate the successful transplant. Keep it well mulched and do watch it when you get to warmer summer temps though.

Luis thanks Lol. I had lots of ice water as the temps didn’t cool down as predicted. I will continue to shade just to be safe until tomorrow, when it finally gets cooler.

I do see hints of blue on the buds which I thrilled with!