As the climate changes, bringing hotter drier summers, gardeners, like the RHS, will have to be more selective about where they plant hydrangeas.” During this 2021-25 trial, the shrubs faced challenging weather conditions including drought and record heat in 2022, heavy rain in 2024 and more hot weather in 2025. The garden charity plans to send more plants north as they suffer in Surrey, where they used to thrive. View image in fullscreen RHS Harlow Carr, in North Yorkshire, may take some plant collections from the south of England. Photograph: Danny Lawson/PASome plants are flourishing, with fig and almond trees doing well in RHS gardens.