Too much sun for these hydrangeas?

Brand new to gardening, first post here...after years of neglecting and killing plants, I'm trying to reform myself. I find it's not the physical labor I've been avoiding, just my sheer overwhelming ignorance of all things plant-related that's been holding me back - but I'm determined to educate myself and turn over a new leaf!

Starting with these sad, neglected hydrangeas in the front of my house. A few weeks ago I moved them, before a new landscaping project began out there. I replanted them in the back yard, but removing a couple of small pine trees nearby has made that area much sunnier that it used to be. It now gets sun all afternoon. I think the hydrangeas are getting burned; the leaves have brown edges and some holes. There are hostas nearby suffering the same fate. Should I move them all to a shadier location? I don't know which kind the hydrangeas are; they haven't bloomed in the 2 summers we've lived here.

And if an area gets sun in either the morning or the afternoon, but not both, is that considered "part shade"?

Thanks!

chefchick


This message was edited Jun 26, 2008 1:46 PM

Hope this helps,

Full Sun: At least 6 full hours of direct sunlight. Many sun lovers enjoy more than 6 hours per day, but need regular water to endure the heat.

Partial Sun / Partial Shade: These 2 terms are often used interchangeably to mean 3 - 6 hours of sun each day, preferably in the morning and early afternoon.
- However if a plant is listed as Partial Sun, greater emphasis is put on its receiving the minimal sun requirements.

- If a plant is listed as Partial Shade, the plant will need some relief from the intense late afternoon sun, either from shade provided by a nearby tree or planting it on the east side of a building.


Dappled Sun: Dappled sunlight is similar to partial shade. It is the sun that makes its way through the branches of a deciduous tree. Woodland plants and underplantings prefer this type of sunlight over even the limited direct exposure they would get from partial shade.

Full Shade: Less than 3 hours of direct sunlight each day, with filtered sunlight during the rest of the day. Full shade does not mean no sun. There aren't many plants, except mushrooms, that can survive in the dark.

Hostas that have more yellow tones can take more sun than the other varieties.

The hydragea may need more shade, hard to tell if you don't know the variety, keep it well watered. The previous owners here put a hydrangea in full afternoon sun, I may have to move it also, the flowers always bloom first facing the house on the backside of the shrub.
( I always think) to hide themselves from the harsh sun.

Your hydrangea looks like Hydrangea macrophylla, which will typically do fine with morning sun but afternoon sun will probably be a bit too much for it. If it is in an area that only gets morning sun, that would be OK for it in the long term, but in the short term you might want to rig up a little extra shade and get it used to the sun gradually. Moving a plant suddenly into an area where it gets a lot more sun than it's used to can cause sunburn, so it's best to adjust them gradually to having more sun.

As far as why they haven't bloomed--do you know what zone you're in? Most macrophyllas bloom on old wood, and if you're in zone 5 or 6 and aren't protecting it over the winter all your buds are probably freezing off, so if you want blooms you'll have to protect it. Many people build a wire cage around it and fill it up with leaves for the winter, that'll protect your buds. The other possibility is if it had too much shade where it was before that'll prevent them from blooming too, but I think the cold is probably more likely, I don't picture MA being warmer than zone 6 so I suspect that's your problem.

Hydrangeas need lots of water. If my memory serves me, hydrangea (in some language I can't recall) means "waterpot." I love them but couldn't find an area they could survive down here in our blazing hot summers (couldn't keep them watered enough either!). I finally bought a small one and started it in a pot sitting on the east end of my front porch (covered porch) where I'm able to keep it sheltered from the intense sun and well watered. So far it's growing great. I agree with ecrane--since it's not a good time of year to move plants, I'd try to rig up some shade for it where it is and wait to move it in the fall after it goes dormant. They seem to like east sun much better than west. It gives them enough to bloom but not burn up.

Thanks everyone. ecrane3, I'm in zone 6a, and definitely didn't do anything to protect it over the winter. Is it a bad idea to move them now? (Perhaps into a pot, since I really don't have any east-facing or morning sun areas...) I don't see a way to add shade to the area where they are now...thanks!

When I mentioned adding shade, I was thinking something along the lines of stick a couple bamboo poles in the ground around the plant and use them to suspend a bit of shade cloth, something along those lines. The middle of summer is pretty much the worst time to transplant anything so if you do move them I would definitely put them in a pot in a shady area until the weather cools down. Then if you want to increase your chances of getting blooms in the future, I'd build a wire cage around it in the fall and fill it up with leaves, then take the cage down in the spring after all chance of frost/freezing is gone. With all the transplanting there's a chance it might take a year off from blooming regardless of if you protect it or not, but if you do the wire cage thing that gives you the best chance of having blooms.

Thanks ecrane; I'll try rigging up some shade I think and then do as you suggest in the fall. Appreciate the advice!