I have a white/green hydrangea that is probably 8 yo.
I grows in almost pure shade and has spread quite a bit.
I can't remember it's name, but it was one of the hardier ones.
It does need watering almost every day...wilts without it.

Hi BugDoc,

When I bought this house there was an 'Annabelle' already here! It had been put in by a landscaper, many/most of which don't have a clue! (My apologies to the good ones who really do try to do a good job!) Mine was planted in front of my house--which is SOUTH, in FULL sun for much of the day, AND, it was surrounded by landscape fabric (possibly the world's worst ever invention!), and ROCK on top of that! I guess they really wanted to keep it nice and toasty!!!

I kept it pretty well watered, and it DID actually appear to grow fairly well and bloom each year, but the stems were always VERY wimpy, and in spite of the fact that I kept it TOTALLY caged to try to support the huge flowers, each year the first time I got a moderate/heavy rain after the flowers started to open they totally broke down with the weight of the water and wound up laying on the ground. From SO pretty---to smashed! After three years I couldn't stand it anymore, and I had a friend come over and help me dig it up and she took it! I'm sure it didn't help that it was planted in some of the heaviest clay on my property--and I have some HEAVY clay. Cheryl, my friend, said she had never seen soil/clay that bad! The two of us together could hardly lift it to get it to her car it was so heavy! So if "they" had even considered improving the soil it "might" have helped "some!"

Cheryl is in Longmont, and she planted it on the north side of her house, and she also has some trees in her (front) yard. I don't know exactly how much sun it gets now, but I'm sure it's "mostly" shade, and I doubt that it gets any "hot" sun at all. I've never seen it blooming at her house (she has cats and I'm allergic so she usually comes here!), but I recently asked her about it and apparently it's doing very well for her! She used to be a grower at Paulino's so I didn't even ask her about this, but I'm absolutely, positively, certain she improved the soil considerably where it's now planted! I did specifically ask if she had any problem with the flowers breaking down when it rains and she said it didn't. Apparently being planted in the right place (mostly shade) and in decent soil has made all the difference!

One thing that really surprised me when it was at my house--had no idea Hydrangeas did this--is that it was "sending out new shoots" from the base of the plant! Not "far away" from the plant, but very, very obviously getting "bigger" every year! So if you put one in, put it somewhere where it'll have lots of room to "thrive!"

Here are the pics of mine in '07, shortly before she got it!

07.02.07

The day that the rains came down! 07.11.07 Now you see it, now you don't!
(I had it caged with twine above the metal cage!)

When the flowers can dry on the plant, they make WONDERFUL (huge) dried arrangements! Since these were knocked down and then cut down when they were in full bloom I was hoping they'd dry nicely if I hung them, so this is where they went the day of the rain. It didn't work! They just shriveled up!

I don't know if adding vermiculite out in the ground would do much good--at least not for long, but I'd recommend adding LOTS of organic matter. If you have it, partially decomposed compost, I have discovered, seems to help the most. Wrong time of the year for this, but even un-decomposed leaves that have been thoroughly saturated before mixing in the soil--especially maple leaves! Adding "stuff" that isn't completely decomposed, IMO, helps way more in adding aeration to the soil, and even more importantly, really gets the worm action going, which is Nature's Miracle Soil Improver! When I first started my compost pile I didn't use it till it was "finished," but by then all the Good Eats were gone so it didn't attract worms anymore, and it didn't seem to really do very much to improve the soil!

If you decide to get one, good luck! I really hope it works for you, 'cause they're absolutely beautiful when they "work!"

Skybird

I don't have Annabelle but I have another white/green one called Bombshell which has lived in a pot going on 3 years now. It does need watering nearly everyday. Mine occasonally gets a touch of rust but otherwise does fine. This fall it will finally get a home in the yard.

Thanks for sharing. I was gifted some of the 'new shoots' from someone in the Midwest. I didn't think they would make it around here, but I'm going to give them a fighting chance since they just showed up. They were bare root, so I potted them up to hold over until I figured out what to do with them and will stick them into their part shade/ shady spots later this week. They will each have two drip lines so hopefully will not get too thirsty.

Skybird-I try and dig down 6-8 inches and back fill with compost for each perennial. I don't plan to do so for annuals since they come and go. I hope the amendment will give the perennials a fighting chance. The only compost I have is from a worm bin this time of year so it will have to come from the bagged compost, but whatever works I figure.

Thanks again.