It should be plenty. Paniculatas are the most sun tolerant of the hydrangea species but they do not require full sun to grow and bloom well.

That should be fine. Morning sun is perfect. The best tip I can give you is apply a 2-3 inch layer of mulch after you plant. This goes a long way in helping it retain the even moisture it requires for colorful blooming.

You are fine for full sun in my opinion. In the first growing season you want to keep a close eye on them since they don't have an established root system. Water them a couple times a week if there hasn't been any rain. Always check the soil moisture with a finger poke test by the drip line.

Thank you all for your responses! I think I feel comfortable planting these in this spot now. I think they are so attractive. Does anyone have a better suggestion for a flowering shrub in this type of spot? It’s in view of our house but far enough away that I’d like something that gets 6 or so feet tall with impressive blooms.

I think you'll be very happy with Vanilla Strawberries. Keep in mind it's not going to grow much the first growing season it's in the ground. Second growing season you'll have several feet of growth. I'm on my second season and I already have new growth in the 3 feet range and it's only end of June!!!. They are growing like weeds this season.

Someday in another spot away from house consider "quick fire" (not "little" qf.

It is big (mines 6 x 5') covered with blooms and very low maintenance. It's survived 6 years of variable awful NE winters and hot NE summers. Also amongst earlier bloomers.

I find VS to be very floppy,you might look into Fire-Light https://www.provenwinners.com/plants/hydrangea/fire-light-panicle-hydrangea-hydrangea-paniculata

Thanks so much Marie and hyed for your suggestions! I’ve been out looking for VS and haven’t had luck finding 4, so maybe I’ll look into one of the others. I’ve read about Fire-Light and Quick Fire, and they sound very similar. I read that one of them - I believe QF has beautiful fall foliage. Are there other differences anyone has noticed that would make either of them a preference?

Quick fire has open flower, VS and firelight flower more dense. quickfire will bloom about 3 weeks earlier. Nothing special about quickfire fall foliage compared to the others.

The deciding factor should be which flower do you like better. more open flower of quickfire or more dense flower of vs / firelight.

Thank! I think I prefer the sense firelight blooms. You’ve all been very helpful :-)

I have not seen the VS/FL Fall foliage but I like the Little QF Fall foliage here. It is a medium or strong yellow color. For even better colors, try the oakleaf hydrangeas. They are superb when it comes to Fall foliage.

Nice choice ! I have a firelight and seems like will be a great performer.

I bought two Little Limes that are dwarfs. The flowers are large, stay white longer and the stems are very sturdy and upright. I'm going into my 2nd season with them and they are just forming buds now. I'll try to take a photo when they bloom. I like these two and the Oakleaf Hydrangea better than other Hydrangeas I have.

We have several Little Limes that are very pretty! I underestimated their size and probably planted them too close but I do like them. We‘ve had them probably 6 years and the one that gets the most sun is about 5 1/2 feet tall, which is bigger than I expected. We have a Lime Soda which is the same age and is about 10 feet and impressive. Another one from that family is Phantom and it’s nearly that big and nice as well. I do love oakleafs in shady spots - we have at least 15 Alice throughout the property and they are beautiful this year. I think all the rain and mild temps so far in SoIL have been just what they like! Ruby Slippers is a nice small oakleaf that is a manageable size. We struggle to keep them all sprayed to deter the deer tho!

What does anyone think of ZinFin Doll?

RS and Pee Wee stay "down" but Pee Wee tends to get wider than taller. GG48 mentioned that she uses Plantskydd and that it does not need to be reapplied more than every 3-4 months (although if you have new growth/leaves, it may be necessary to reapply monthly). Zinfin has a nice light pink color but it gets tall, > 6', which you sounded like you did not want/like.

VS, and firelight both get quite big and so does zinfin doll.

If you are looking for a more compact hydrangea go with strawberry sundae. The size is very manageable 3.5-4 ft x 3.5-4 ft though it gets lots blooms so it still packs a punch. I have SS and i'm very impressed by the number of blooms it produces on a compact plant.

Take a lookhttps://www.houzz.com/discussions/5373783/vanilla-strawberry-vs-zinfin-doll

VS pruned to tree form

That’s beautiful! I haven’t thought of doing that Do you start trimming branches when they are young?

If you are worried about floppiness go with Berry White. Its a new hydrangea also by First Editions and step up in hydrangea breeding. Strong stiff stem keep the plant very upright..