Hydrangea...Lady in Red

I purchased a Lady in Red this morning...gonna keep it in a pot until I find the perfect place. Does anyone have experience with this plant?

Char....I've been looking at them...am anxious to hear what folks have to say.
carole

It seems like you haven't gotten an answer to your question. I just came across it. Most hydrangeas like morning sun and afternoon shade. However, with good watering, you can put them in much more sun. Penny McHenry has hers in 4-6 hours of sun a day. They wilt with the heat, but she just says they're her Southern Belles, and need to have their afternoon naps.

thats so cute...thank you :)

I have read about 'Lady in Red', and she sure sounds interesting. A local nursery had them for something like $25 for 1 gallon plants. I recently saw some at a local Home Depot that were much cheaper.

I am curious about what other plants people are combining these with. It seems like the red would not stand out if they were in too much shade. I am also curious about how the flowers look in acidic soil. It seems like blue flowers would clash with the dark red.

- Brent

Actually, these hydrangeas should turn the most gorgeous purple (deep, deep purple) in acidic soil.

I would love to see pictures of the flowers in acidic soil. From http://www.ladyinredhydrangea.com/care_color.cfm...

I planted one earlier this spring and it's getting huge! Lots of little pinkish white blooms. It's at the edge of my pond which is under a magnolia tree so it's pretty much full shade. But I'll tell you what, I cannot let ONE DAY go by without watering it. She gets so limp I think for sure she's a gonner, but I give her a good drink and within an hour she is perky again. Very forgiving plant at least! The Endless Summer hydrangea on the other side of the pond was planted at the same time and is doing exactly the same as Lady in Red.

Jamie

I also planted one in May, and it's doing well. The instructions said full shade, though, so mine is in my hosta/fern bed. It hasn't bloomed much (not much old wood on it), but it's putting out lots of new growth for next year. Like Jamie, I have to water pretty often.

I planted Endless Summer last year...she gets alot more sun than my LIR.

MY LIR gets a bit more sun during mid day than I would like (but much less sun than ES) Boy does she (LIR) look pitiful around midday.

Will be interesting to see if this will be as bad next year when the root system is better established as I remember that ES did the same thing last summer when first planted but has held up much better this year.

Charlotte-

My understanding is they stop doing that whole wilty thing once they get more established. These are the first 2 I ever planted so I have nothing to compare it to! Mine are both full shade and both wilt equally at this point. But I have found ES "springs back up" faster than LIR after I water them.

Thanks....I know the ES is doing better than LIR so I feel confident that LIR will hold up bett next year.

BTW, the Home Depot stores around me have recently started getting a lot of these in. I have seen 1 gallon plants for $10 and 3 gallon plants for $20. This is very tempting...IF I just had a good spot to plant some. Hmmm...maybe I need to look a little harder.

- Brent