Hydrangea position advice

Hi there,
We bought this hydrangea yesterday and placed it in a pot on the patio for this year, with the intention of putting it in the ground next year maybe.
I’m a bit conflicted as where to position it, the plant label says no direct sunlight?? Yet after a google search, it says it needs up to 6 hours of sun otherwise the branches may go floppy?
I had positioned it in the shade, only getting about an hour of sunlight, but I’ve since moved it to a more sunny area where it is now, what would you advise? As we have had no luck with hydrangeas in the past.
Thanks.

 

Hi Grays
That looks a lovely one. I potted two Hydrangeas a few years ago and they are still going strong in their pots, I have them against an east facing fence which other than the fence is quite open and they get sun in the morning which they seem to thrive on. I rotate the pot & sometimes move them around the patio as I like flowers around the table and they get a bit of direct sun then but the shade from the parasol keeps the real heat off them. Mine are just coming into flower so a bit behind yours. I make sure they get plenty of water.

 

A picture always helps

 

A little morning sun is fine, but they do struggle with afternoon sun. If you have a shady spot that is not overhung with trees or other vegetation, that would be perfect, ie lots of light, but no direct sun. Water every day. They are thirsty plants and dry out quickly in pots.

 

Hi there,
Thanks for the advice, but that's got me confused again.....
If you look at the photo of the plant label, it says water twice weekly?
I would loathe to over water it, seems i've damaged, probably killed a small rhododendron we got earlier in the year by overwatering it, but like you say - I would also think it needs a daily watering?
Never easy is it.

Edit to say - the advice on the label about watering twice a week might be for when its in the ground and not a pot?

 

Plants in the ground tend to need less watering, once established, than those in pots as the roots can spread out more and the ground tends to remain cooler and damper than compost in pots.
My hydrangeas are all planted in the ground and have seldom needed watering after the first summer, that was in 2022, then one of them got watering can full every couple of weeks when the leaves started to flop a bit. The other two were fine, but they had less competition for water than the other one growing close to some Leylandii (now gone).
Reading the label I think that twice a week watering refers to the plant in the pot, even then I would adjust according to the weather and the feel of the compost.

 

I don't think you will overwater it, @Grays. If in doubt, feel the leaves. If they are springy and pert, they have enough water. If they feel even slightly soft or limp, the plant is thirsty.

Your Rhodo may not have liked tap water. They prefer rain water, so that might have been the problem.

 

Yeah, that was my thinking aswell.
Always water my two rhododendrons with water from the water butt, however I had just got a brand new expandable hose for the outside tap and got carried away using that on everything for the first time.
Since then it isn’t looking healthy at all.

 

I don't grow Rhodos or Azaleas as I can't supply them with rainwater through most summers.

 

That's one of those hydrangeas that's been forced - they're mainly done for the Easter market, but many will still be available. They wouldn't normally be flowering that early [mid to late summer depending on location] although the mild weather has certainly pushed some here into flowering much earlier than usual. Many have flowers, especially the common blue ones.
It's always about the prep and the site - whether it's in a pot or in the ground. Once established in the ground [if correctly prepped and in the right conditions] hydrangeas can be left alone, but a pot needs more attention, regardless of the plant. Rainwater doesn't get in due to the top cover of foliage, and they can dry out rapidly because of that, which they don't like, and then you have to work at rehydrating them, which isn't always easy. If the growing medium and drainage are right, you really can't overwater them.
They're always better with some dappled shade [the ideal] but the advantage of a pot is that you can move it.

Tap water is fine if you live in a suitable area - our water is very good here, but it isn't always necessary anyway, because very few people grow that sort of plant in a pot, and if they do, it's often just temporarily. In the ground here, they need nothing, as there's consistent enough rain - and even in our hottest, driest summer on record last year, we still had more rain than most areas further south.