I want to plant a few hydrangea bushes.....when is the best time to plant? And should they be in full sunlight or partially shaded? I have an idea where I'd like to plant them...sort of in a corner next to the house. Do they require daily watering?

I just hate to spend $$ on purchasing and then have them die. It seems like the only plant that does well with me is a silk one!

Thanks for any suggestions!

Oh what a lovely thing to think about....under all that snow...there's soil. *grin

Hi Kitty,

In N. Illinois I plant them with morning sun only and they do well here. I would guess it would be similar there since you're warmer than here. I love hydrangeas and have four varieties and seven plants in my yard. One of them is a tree newly planted last fall and I can't wait to see how it does this year.

By the way, I plant them after all danger of frost is passed, about May 15th here.

Here's a site with a lot of info - maybe too much lol.

http://www.hydrangeashydrangeas.com/index.html

If you ordered it from a catalogue, they may have directions on their website for that particular variety, which would save you time figuring out both which variety it is, and what to do with it.

If you bought it from a store, look for a tag. They're not always too accurate and don't generally have a lot of info, but keep the tag if it has one and says anything. Any info is better than none.

For any plant, I would not water every day - unless it's in a planter and you know it's dry.

Water every couple/few days (unless it rains) for a couple weeks until it gets a grip on the soil. Then let the roots look for water, and only water when it hasn't rained in 4-5 days. Water them hard (meaning a lot) when you do.

Good luck, and post pix!