Mopheads can have bloom reliability issues so consider either reblooming mopheads, pink colored arborescens hydrangeas (Incrediball Blush, Invincibelle Ruby or Ruby 2, Invincibelle Garnetta, Invincibelle Spirit or Spirit 2, Invincibelle Mini Mauvette,etc) or compact paniculatas (they bloom white and turn shades of pink after a month or more; Little Quickfire, Little Lime, Bobo, Strawberry Sundae, etc)

In addition to the ones Luis_pr listed, look at Firelight. It's a paniculata as well and supposed to produce lovely pink cone-shaped flowers heads.

Adri, Be warned, that hydrangeas - bloom colors depend on the soil in your garden. I would suggest starting out with one of the plants suggested by Luis and then waiting at least one year to make sure it stays the color that you want. The color depends on the ph of the soil. It is not the ph that determines the color but the ph affects the amount of aluminum that is absorbed by the plant - and that is what determines the color. There are many myths (none work) on how to change the color by adding all kinds of things but even the commercial products take up to several years and need constant attention to maintain the color! One sure way to control the color is to plant the hydrangeas in pots! I have many hydrangeas in my garden and all the pink ones turned blue, the red turned a fabulous purple and the blues are blue! lol I am watching a couple of serratas, that are red and pink that have been planted in the garden and so far so good! lol It is a fact of life dealing with hydrangeas. The paniculatas may be more stable and I have one new one and we will see if it turns - sold as red, but this will be its first year in the garden and in bloom. Blue is just a elusive in other gardens! The only partially pink plant is Presioza, a serrata that does get up to 5-6 feet and in pink for a time and then turns red, blue and white and then maroon! It is a beauty and mine is in almost full sun but we are in the PNW, 7b-8 so the sun is at an angle. Presioza also has fabulous fall colors in the foliage. If you can't find it locally, Joy Creek Nursery and HydrangeasPlus Nursery are two west coast sources.

The spot I'm thinking of here gets maybe and hour of morning sun then minimal dappled sun for the rest of the day. I'm concerned there is not enough sun for any? Even the mopheads?

luls_pr, I just planted a Quick Fire in a similar spot but I worry it will not be enough sun. Someone said Macros/bigleaf hydrangeas are the most shade tolerant. I just wonder how much shade is too much. I also just planted Invincibelle Spirit or Spirit 2 in a pot where it gets more sun.

pop_moma I love the look of FireLight. It's similar to Zinfin paniculata which may be my favorite but that seems to require 6 or more hours of sun to look really good if I'm not mistaken.

ophoenix, thanks for all that info! I didn't know they could be such a challenge to control the color. It's interesting that most people seem to want blue but I prefer the deep pinks. I never heard of Presioza. Some photos look amazing. I like yours.

There are just so many to sort through, it's a bit overwhelming.

It’s funny how everyone wants something different. I’m always striving for purple!

Macrophyllas will be questionable in your zone. To realize any sort of reliable flowering, they will require winter protection.....certainly doable but an added complication. Even reblooming or new growth flowering macs are unlikely to put on much of a flower show without winter protection until later in the season and then typically only after the plants are well-established. And it is my understanding that much of NJ has pretty acidic soils so a pink flowered mac will be also harder to achieve....provided you can get it to flower in the first place.

OTOH, paniculatas will bloom well regardless of climate or zone and many - if not most - will turn pink as the flowers mature....some quite intensely pink. And these are not the slightest bit influenced by soil acidity or chemistry. I'd consider cultivars like Pinky Winky, Vanilla Strawberry, Strawberry Sundae, Firelight or Quickfire.

oursteelers, I like purple too! So maybe a blue would turn a nice purple in our acid soil. Have you had much success?

gardengal48, I definitely don't want to have to fuss over it in winter. I already do that with other plants I grow for hummingbirds. I want an easy hydrangea lol. Vanilla Strawberry and Strawberry Sundae look very similar to Zinfin doll. I just don't know if I'd get decent flowering in so much shade. I like all the others you mentioned too. Do you know which is most shade tolerant?

You have gotten a lot of good plant suggestions above. If you want a pink macrophylla that will boom reliable in your zone I'd suggest, Tuff Stuff (lacecap), Bloomstruck, Let's Dance Big Easy, and Let's Dance Big Band. The LD series was bred and selected, and bloom reliable in Michigan.

LD Big Band shown below as a pink and as a blue.

.

Here is Big Easy

Bloomstruck as a pink.

And Tuff Stuff

Neither Bloomstruck nor LD Big Band will be pink in acidic NJ soils. And the reliability of flowering will also be up for grabs for any mac, reblooming/new growth flowering or not, in that zone. It is probably the most common complaint we get here on this forum.....lack of consistent and heavy flowering on any mac in colder (below 7) zones without winter protection.

Have you tried Phosphorus? It ties up aluminum? I’m in zone 5 and those varieties have been reliable for me. Not so with ES, which only flowers sparingly in October.

You may be the exception rather than the rule. I can't think of any other members of this forum in zone 5 (or even zone 6) that report reliable flowering on any mac without adequate winter protection. Even a lot of zone 7 members have difficulties.........

I have two pink arborescence varieties, Incrediball Blush and Invicibelle Ruby. I’m in zone 3a and Blush is performing better (bigger and more blooms) in my garden, but it’s a light pastel pink. If you want a darker pink, Ruby is a better choice.

I bought Ruby instead of Blush, but it grows so slowly! I like the color better than Blush, but I now wonder if I should've selected Incrediball regardless of the blush pink color.

@lovemycorgi z5b SE michigan: I’m relieved to know you’re experiencing the same slow growth with Ruby, I’ll be more patient with it!

Basing the performance of a plant on the input from people that voluntarily post on a forum is not necessarily representative of true performance of that Variety.

Summer Crush Zone 4b MN. No protection.

pennlake, I don't exactly know what you are saying. 'Basing the performance of a plant on the input from people that voluntarily post on a forum is not necessarily representative of true performance of that Variety.'

The posters are reporting how the plants perform in their gardens! Hydrangeas as well as other plants are different in different growing zones, sun/shade environments and soil conditions! We are not trying to be dogmatic but are here to share our experiences with these plants. Your Summer Crush grows in your garden without any protection - I can only say, 'good for you!' But, warning a new gardener that she might need to winter protect is information to help her and will probably save her time and money. Some of us are professional growers and propagators and your dismissive words are not helpful.

Adri, I’d say some luck but not much luck! I can get them to start to turn and that does look really lovely but what I truly want is a giant hyrdrangea with huge deep purple blooms.

I know it can happen because I’ve seen it in my neighborhood but the owner who planted it has moved and the new owners don’t know anything about it. So it’s happening in their yard without being messed with. Wouldn’t that just be too easy?

Invincibelle Ruby is a gorgeous deep pink in my very acidic soil. It also blooms early - in full bloom now, while the paniculatas are broccoli.

Paniculatas Quickfire, Little Quickfire, and Firelight are in full bloom for me in zone 5b. LQF is mostly white but has some pink creeping in already, while Firelight is still all white. Limelight and Little Lime are broccoli still, but it shouldn't be long now!