Since they're still not making roots much yet, I would dig them out and give them at least 20"+ away from the fence if your spacing allows. Or site it somewhere else. From the pic, you are right up on the fence...You might wanna give it more space or retransplant it down the road, but right now, you're just too darn close for next year already

As mentioned the current season's shoots seem to be very small and juvenile yet - as though they may not develop enough to bud well this time.

But based on your own comments as well as the post from amanda it sounds like these shrubs might not be successful in your area anyway.

"Easter hydrangea" doesn't mean anything to me as a type or variety name, maybe what you have seen is just that term being used as a reference to when they are being sold. With - as always - hardiness being a function of which particular cultivars have been bought. And some cultivars being more hardy than others. For instance the aforementioned The Original ('Bailmer') from the Bailey nursery Endless Summer collection which is sold specifically as a big-leaf hydrangea that will bloom in cold climates (many people still call what later became The Original by its earlier name Endless Summer).

I agree. Many of the hydrangeas sold at Easter and Mother's Day come with 1/4" plant labels that only say things like "hydrangea", "pink hydrangea", etc. The big majority (or all) of these varieties blooms on old wood, which simply means that they develop flower buds in July-August of the previous year (2017) and the buds open/bloom in Spring 2018. Many have aluminum foil covering the plastic pot.

I have also seen other early arrivals at places like Lowe's that come with elaborate plant labels (meaning with lots of info like the variety name, how to plant it, where to plant it, etc). These usually consist of Merritt Supreme (or similar) at Lowes. They are for sale here around March. They come in regular plant pots, with no aluminum foil and consist of hydrangeas that only bloom from old wood.

Then in early May, Lowes gets its "real" shipment of mophead hydrangeas that usually includes newer and reblooming varieties. Those normally bloom on old wood and new wood (stems that grow from scratch in 2018 but they have to attain a certain size and get old enough to bloom). Blooms from new wood open in June thru August depending on geographical location...

When the flower buds open from either old or new wood, you should see something that looks like broccoli forming at the ends of the stems:

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/3d/bf/87/3dbf87ab1d09343763bfd133acfdc807.jpg

Hydrangeas that bloom from old wood may not bloom reliably in cold zones (usually Zone 6 or lower). That is because cold winters can kill the stems that contain the flower buds from 2017's June-August. To protect the stems, some people apply winter protection techniques so the invisible flower buds at the ends of the stems will not get killed by cold weather. That usually entails putting chicken wire around the shrub in the Fall (when it goes dormant and the leaves dry out) and fill it with mulch or super densely packed leaves. In Toronto, you will need to winter protect, especially if the shrub you got blooms only on old wood. It will be soon developing flower buds for Spring 2019 so winter protect in the Fall and do not prune after the end of June. I would expect invisible flower buds in August but it can vary and you may sometimes get them in late July so play it safe. It grows about 1.5 meters here but should be slightly less in Toronto with a shorter growing season, especially if winter gets too cold and kills stems. Winter protection can help extend the life of the stems.

You should not need to prune ever if the shrub is planted where it can attain its estimated size at maturity. Plant label provide this size info. If there was none, you will need to see how things work out and prune by the end of June if it gets too large. Stems that do not leaf in Spring (by the end of May) can be pruned all the way down too.

There are some hydrangeas, not mopheads, that blooms only from new wood. They are more winter hardy and bloom hardy since they produce flower buds around the end of Spring (varies by geographical location) and then bloom in the Summer. They are called arborescens and paniculatas.

Any big-leaf hydrangeas not marketed specifically as being dwarf-growing selections should be expected to produce in time rather big tubby shrubs at least several feet across anywhere these are able to develop fully. Hence the one shown and asked about here being described subsequently as being too close to the fence.

Thanks everyone for the comments. I guess I’ll have to try and protect it in the winter and hopefully it will bloom next summer. The photo is misleading. Maybe it’s the angle I took the photo but it is actually 3ft from the fence. Either way, I will move it to another spot in case. Should I relocate it now or wait until the fall?

Just took another look at them today and saw some “Cauliflower” looking buds! Are these buds going to bloom this year or next year?

Try showing a picture of them here

If it looks like broccoli then yes, that is what you see when the flower buds open:

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/3d/bf/87/3dbf87ab1d09343763bfd133acfdc807.jpg

https://quarteracreblog.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/image26.jpg

Those cauliflower or broccoli looking buds should bloom this season.

Here they are... just found 2 so far but super excited to see them. These were “Easter” hydrangeas that I bought from Costco in April. Does that mean they are rebloomers?

The only way to know for sure is, for example, to somehow tag (use twine, etc) new growth when the shrub leafs out and then see if there is any bloomage in them at the end of the growing season (September-October).

It may be possiblle for some varieties to bloom late in the northern area of Toronto so this time could a late bloom from old wood or an early one from new wood.

If they are pushing out broccoli at this point of the year in Toronto, it is on new wood/this season’s growth. Because it is newly planted, you may not get the same behavior every year since sometimes what the nursery does as far as fertilizer and forcing early bloom messes up the plant’s calendar.

i do want to ask about how much sun this plant is getting and how wet the soil feels a few inches down, both in the original root ball and in the surrounding soil. It looks unreasonably stressed, even for a new plant. Or was this kept in the house for several weeks and then planted out without a gradual introduction to outdoor conditions?

NHBabs

These were purchased in April, stayed in the house until end of June. I cut out all the dead blooms and then replanted outside early July. It’s probably in a bad spot right now (morning shade, afternoon sun) but I just put it there temporarily, thinking I would relocate it in the fall. Would it be better to relocate it now where there is morning sun, afternoon shade? Or wait until the fall? I water it according to my water meter...

Leave them alone till very late fall when it goes dormant to transplant.

Alan is somewhere south, so his planting instructions are different.

I would transplant in early fall when temperatures first start to cool, taking a good sized root ball. The soil is warm and days are shorter. Then mulch well after planting and keep an eye on water until it loses its leaves. Winter protect if you want spring blooms.

Thanksn