Hi MiSuk — yes that sounds like a great idea to give your Pinky Winky more sun. And planting it near a stream sounds pretty, as long as it doesn’t get water-logged from the stream — which I know you said you’ll plant it away from too much moisture. I think it’s a smart idea! And now is a great time to transplant your Pinky Winky too!
I hope this helps!

My Pinky Winky is have not flowered well for 2years and I am considering transplanting it to a sunnier location. Also, could I plant it near a stream, but away from too much moisture?

Hi Marilyn — wow this sounds very surprising! After almost 13 years, you expect the Pinky Winky to be problem-free and return every year! Perhaps it could be from a late freeze. I know for me — for the first time — I had some dead stems on my Pinky Winky shrubs, which I didn’t even notice until I saw no leaves on them. I’m sure it’s from the darn freezes we had.

What should be happening for you is new growth coming up from the base of the plant, i.e. from the soil. Do you see any sprouts in the middle of the shrub coming out of the ground? I hope so! Also, if you prune some of the stems, is there green inside or on the edges of the inside of each stem? That means they are still alive.

Nitrogen would cause there to be less blooms, and more leaves. I’m doubtful it would be the cause of dieback. Let me know what you see! (And I’m crossing my fingers they are still alive, just slow to wake up!)

Hi Matt, I get the spinning head! Did you happen to see my article about black spot on mophead hydrangeas? I discuss EXACTLY what you’re going through. Been there, done that. I tossed out my mophead hydrangeas as I just couldn’t take it anymore. And it felt SO GOOD to throw them away! I replaced mine with Little Quick Fire Hydrangeas which are doing MUCH better in that same area. You want to purchase hydrangeas that are in the Panicle Hydrangea family. These hydrangeas GREATLY differ from mopheads. They can handle heat and humidity MUCH better, and I haven’t seen black spot at all! They are also hardier too. Mopheads just seem so sensitive, don’t they? I have several varieties of panicle hydrangeas: Little Lime Hydrangeas, Quick Fire Hydrangeas and Little Lime Punch Hydrangeas. Each of these three grow between 3 and 5 feet tall and wide, so they don’t get too large for a space. (Check out my “Little Lime Hydrangea Garden” video on my Garden Sanity YouTube Channel, to see how mine look in Summer. I’ve had them since 2014, and they stay between 4 and 5 feet nicely.)

I also have two taller varieties: Pinky Winky Hydrangeas — which I cover in this article above these comments. They grow between 6 and 8 feet tall and wide. But if they’re happy — and mine are — they can grow up to 8 to 10 feet tall! (I have a video showing them on my YouTube Channel too.) I also just planted this year a Fire Light Hydrangea, and expect this to grow very similar to Pinky Winky in height and spread. What I already love about Fire Light is their blooms are pinkish-red and right now in the Fall — they are glowing! I have high hopes for this particular variety!

Actually, now that I think of it, I have videos showing the Little Quick Fire Hydrangeas too — both in Summer and now in Fall. All of these videos should help you get a sense of the colors they have.

It really depends on the height you want for your hydrangeas in your front garden. Do you want the shrubs to remain “below” the porch area or grow up higher? Whatever you do, don’t purchase Limelight Hydrangeas. They are definitely floppy and drive people nuts with trying to control the floppy-ness. Stick with Little Lime if you want that shade of flowers. Proven Winners’s website has many panicle hydrangeas listed there with a lot of good descriptions about each one. They also have a chart — at the bottom of any of those pages — showing you which panicle hydrangeas bloom when, as some are earlier blooming than others. And that also may be something you want to consider.

Once your panicle hydrangeas are settled after a couple of years, you’ll find they don’t need 1/100th of the care that your mopheads did! I hope this helps?

PS — the Little Lime Punch were just planted a couple of months ago, so no blooms yet. However, these are supposed to be stunning with Hawaiian Punch red-pink-white-lime blooms! These will probably be show-stoppers!

Hi Rand, Congratulations on your new Pinky Winky! I had the same thing happen to me this year: I ordered a Firelight Hydrangea, and it was pruned down pretty far before it was shipped. It looks great, but small and green and I’ll have to wait until next year to see any blooms. That’s ok, because I tell myself the roots are getting established and next year this shrub should begin to look wonderful!

In terms of the cool nights? Mostly no. There are some hydrangeas that definitely benefit from cooler temperatures for changing their colors to more pink. Pinky Winky however will start turning pink while it is still hot and humid out — I’ve got the proof! LOL My Pinky Winky — as I type this — has the pink color on the bottoms of the flower heads, whereas last week everything was white. Coincidentally, as the color continues up the flowerheads, and we go through the month of August, the weather will more than likely begin to get cooler. (I can only hope, but that’s another topic.) And what is wonderful about Pinky Winkies, is the color will continue changing into the Fall season, as you most likely saw in my Fall photos in this article — a beautiful deep color! But I don’t think this color change would happen any faster if we lived further north in New England — other than to say that their Summer seasons are shorter, and perhaps the cooler temperatures do usher in the Fall colors more quickly than we experience here. (I’m in southern NJ, zone 7.) I hope this makes sense. We don’t get cool nights in the Summer either. The amount of sun your Pinky Winky will get is good, just make sure that this Summer and next year it gets a lot of water while it is still getting established. These hydrangeas LOVE water, but the good thing is they won’t wilt as easily as other hydrangea varieties. Give it a good fertilizer next Spring, and you probably won’t even need to prune it either if it is small and no blooms. I hope this helps!

You’re so welcome, Simone! Glad I could help from across the pond! Like you said, I’m sure they’ll be ok together for a year and look quite nice, and then once they each have their own homes — they will thrive! 🙂 Definitely keep me posted!