Care to share what kind of hydrangea? Depending on type, a full sun location may be a bit harsh for them.........

Hydrangea Arborescens Blue.

Well, that's a tad confusing :-) H. arborescens doesn't come in blue - only white or white to pinkish selection. And that coloration is not dependent on soil pH. And full sun is probably going to be a bit too intense for an aborescens. Even in my cool summer climate, these would be happier in afternoon shade.

How about a photo? Hydrangea arborescens doesn’t come blue, just pink, white and mauve.

Such a deal!

I will go home and check the taq and take a picture. I know nothing about hydrangeas so your advice will help a lot.

Congrats. I love buying plants that need some lovin and reviving them. Planting hydrangeas in full sun is probably not the best choice. They will struggle. For 2 bucks it doesn't matter what they are. Let them get accustomed to the new digs and see what happens. Hope you get good growth.

Please take a picture of the shrub, then a close up of the blooms and another of the leaves. If the blooms are blue then it is a macrophylla with either mophead ball/roundish blooms or lacecap blooms.

no blooms on plants right now. never saw the blooms.

;alskdf

You can edit to remove the first photo.

it is a Hydrangea macrophylla, AKA bigleaf hydrangea. It can be root hardy in your area but won’t be stem hardy most winters. Unprotected, I get blooms only some years. You can winter protect them by surrounding with a large chicken wire mesh circle and filling with leaves in the fall or plant in pots that you bring into a sheltered area such as a garage or enclosed porch, or you can do as I do and just take your chances that the snow will insulate the branches enough.

Yours is a rebloomer, so even if you don’t get spring bloom you may get fall bloom on the new growth stems if your season is long enough.

I have two of these revolution hydrangeas. They are very compact and slow growing. They bloom later than my other mopheads (Bloomstruck, Forever and Ever, and Let's dance), but the blooms last a long time. They should thrive in full sun in your zone once established. $2 is a steal!

Sorry but need to disagree :-( Bigleaf hydrangeas, H, macrophylla, do not "thrive" in full sun anywhere. They are woodland understory shrubs and prefer part shade.....at the very least, some shade from hot afternoon sun.

And I'd also have to comment that the "four season" appeal noted is rather misleading. There is little to no appeal in winter....just a collection of dead sticks showing (unless one provides winter protection and obscures that look).

xiangirl,

Read the instructions on the card the plant came with. Follow them exactly. You need to mulch this plant and water as on the card, which is very frequently after you plant it. Remember HYDRA means water, and it is in the name of the plant. When it is hot, like now, a little extra water won't hurt it. It seems to be a small plant, which is great. Good Luck on your great find!

Well, it depends on the zone and the cultivar. I have 3 bloomstruck in full sun (6am-7pm currently) and they are growing beautifully. Multiple blooms and no wilting. Revolution has even thicker and more sturdy stems, and she lives in zone 5.

Yesterday I saw some macrophyllas planted in full sun when I stopped at Subway..they looked AWFUL..the never removed dead stems were sticking straight up..they were wilted and only half as tall as they should be..made me sad..mine are in part sun (afternoon shade) and look fresh and happy..

Zone 5 can have very hot weather in summer......hardiness zones only apply to winter cold so not really a measure of heat or sun intensity. Although I live in a very mild winter climate, I also have rather cool summers....never gets very hot (90F is unusual) and with low humidity. And because of the very northerly location, weak sun intensity. Even under those conditions, bigleaf hydrangeas here will stress in full sun....even well established plants. And it really doesn't matter what cultivar - these are not by nature very sun tolerant plants and every hydrangea resource will suggest siting in morning sun and afternoon shade....or all day dappled shade.

And discussions about siting these shrubs here on this forum under those conditions are endless.

While some plants in some situations may do well under these conditions, it is not a great idea to broadly suggest a full sun planting site.

Phled..could you post pics?..I love hydrangeas but they don't bloom well in my area (but I have some anyway)..would love to see yours that are doing well..

Phled..your hydrangeas are gorgeous!!..if mine were that pretty I would plant 100's of them..

Thank you, nicholsworth55. I would, too, but I don't like looking at dead sticks all winter.. hah!

Phled - those photos look amazing! Are they the revolution? just bought two of those and each only have one bloom when I bought it :( I planted them in morning sun, afternoon shade (zone 6) so can’t wait to see how they look next year! How old are yours?

Original poster - I bought them $39.99 each, so $2 is a steal!

Leungkitty—the first photo is the revolution. I bought two 1-gallon revolution from a local nursery and planted them last spring. I think mine was about the same price (later I saw some at the Home Depot that were much less expensive...oh well), but they definitely had more than one bloom. I am also in zone 6. They seem to overwinter well. Most of the current blooms are on the old growth; a few smaller broccoli on the new growth are still developing. Hope you have more blooms coming!

Phled - awesome! Last question for you - you mentioned you bought the 1 gal ones... how big are they now? I planted them in a spot that is about 2ft by 2ft, so a little worried about the size!

They are about 18”x18” currently, although one is growing a bit taller than wide.