This is because hydrangeas love the warm morning sun, but they dislike the heat of the afternoon. The best place to plant hydrangeas is in a sheltered location with sunny mornings and shady afternoons. You often find this on the north or south side of your home.

Hydrangeas do best in moist, well-drained soil and dappled shade – not too sunny and not too shady. Avoid south-facing positions, especially if the soil is very dry.

No hydrangea will do well in HEAVY shade, such as under a shade tree. The blooms will be sparse and will not develop fully. If your landscape is mostly sunny (and hot), you may wish to grow the PeeGee (paniculata) hydrangea, which thrives in all day sun as long as it receives adequate moisture.

Hydrangea Water Requirements Hydrangeas thrive in a partial sun area with cool, moist, well-drained soil. The soil they’re planted in should remain moist, but never overly soaked or to the point where water is standing. Maintaining this delicate moisture balance will help your hydrangeas thrive.

Hydrangeas will benefit from an all-purpose, balanced fertilizer, such as a 10-10-10 N-P-K, that contains equal amounts of each nutrient. A balanced fertilizer will encourage healthy foliage as well as bountiful blooms.

tomorite will help with green growth but don’t over feed as you will get all green leaf and no flower buds.

Top Fertilizer for Hydrangeas

• Miracle-Gro Water Soluble Azalea, Camellia, Rhododendron Plant Food.
• Osmocote Smart-Release Plant Food Plus.
• Jobe’s Organics Soil Acidifier.
• Flower Fuel 1-34-32.
• Scotts Super Bloom Water Soluble Plant Food.
• Espoma GSUL6 Soil Acidifier.
• Burpee Organic Bone Meal Fertilizer.

Shrubs To Plant With Hydrangeas Azaleas, hollies, yews, mahonia, gardenia, loropetalum and boxwood shrubs will look good planted in front of hydrangeas. Azaleas blossoms will provide early color. You can select your favorite blossom color since the azalea blooms will have faded before your hydrangea is flowering.

morning
The best time of day to water hydrangeas is the early morning or late evening, so the moisture won’t quickly evaporate in the heat of the day.

Hydrangea Pests Common pests for hydrangeas are aphids, Japanese beetles, spider mites and slugs. Of course there are several other bugs and animals that could be contributing towards the demise of your plants as well.

Potassium [ potash ] is for flowering and fruiting, Tomorite is high in potassium. Phosphorus is for root development. Potash will help your hydrangea to flower, although I would wait a while before giving it.

Most Hydrangeas are going to grow in an open sunny situation. However they prefer light shade. They grow in most soils and thrive in heavy clay soils. It means that they are ideal for most new-build gardens and compacted wet soils.

The reason for this is that the morning sun gives an ample light but the afternoon sun can cause the roots to dry out too quickly and burn the leaves so you want to make sure that the hydrangeas are protected against direct sunlight.

If your soil is rich in nutrients, you likely won’t have to fertilize your hydrangeas. In fact, if hydrangeas are given too much high-nitrogen fertilizer, they might grow full and lush but with fewer flowers. If your soil is not rich, apply a flowering shrub fertilizer in the spring.

To increase blue hydrangea flowers, lower your soil pH by adding sulfur or peat moss to the soil. You can also add additional aluminum sulfate to your soil throughout the growing season. Pink and red flowers shine when you add ground limestone to increase the pH.