Hydrangeas

My favorite plant is the hydrangea and I have never had any success with them in the Florida heat and strong sun. Three years ago I planted one in the shade of our sycamore tree in our backyard. When we brought it home from Lowe's it had beautiful blue blooms all over. I loving cared for it but within weeks it started to look very sad. Our cat had had a litter of kittens in our yard and they seemed to really like that particular plant. The played under its large leaves, jumped on top of them, and even tasted them on occassion. Soon nothing was left but the stems sticking up from the ground. The following year the plant came back and I was happy. There wasn't a litter of kittens this time so everything would be fine. The luscious green leaves grew but never a flower. I waited all summer long but no blooms. I couldn't understand why. One day I noticed that our dog was peeing on it. It didn't kill the plant but it never flowered. A few months later our dog passed away. This year I was so excited when the plants' leaves filled out again and I started to notice flowers beginning to bloom. The beautiful blue flowers are starting to pop out all over and I am finally able to enjoy my favorite plant. We planted a second one under the shade of the sycamore and I am enjoying both plants.