HYDRANGEAS

If you have a garden then most likely there is a good spot for a hydrangea. There are so many different varieties, sizes and light requirements that there is something for everyone. Panicle hydrangeas are your late bloomers that can withstand full sun; mopheads are shade loving hydrangeas; there are dwarf options for smaller gardens; large ones for back of garden; and most of them do well in containers. Oak leaf hydrangeas are bee magnets and there is even a northeast native that provides a valuable food source for the hydrangea sphinx moth. Hydrangeas mix well in both the cultivated and natural garden with their broad leaves complimenting the finer foliage textures of other plants and shrubs.

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HYDRANGEA MACROPHYLLA

Big Leaf, Mophead or Lacecap

The genus name Hydrangea comes from hydor meaning "water" and aggeion meaning "vessel", in reference to the cup-like flower.

• A deciduous shrub with a rounded habit that typically grows 3-6’ tall and as wide unless damaged by harsh winters or pruned smaller.

• Mophead Hydrangeas produce ball shaped flower clusters

• Lacecap Hydrangeas produce small flowers surrounded by a ring of larger flowers

GROWING HYDRANGEA MACROPHYLLA

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• Best grown in rich, medium moisture, well-drained soils in part shade. Tolerates full sun only if grown in consistently moist soils.

• Soil pH affects the flower color of most cultivars except white (blue in highly acidic soils and lilac to pink in slightly acidic to alkaline soils). Add aluminum sulfate to the soil to make the flowers bluer or add lime to the soil to make the flowers pinker. Begin soil treatments well in advance of flowering, as in late autumn or early spring.

• Plants generally need little pruning. If needed, prune immediately after flowering by cutting back flowering stems to a pair of healthy buds. Prune out weak or winter-damaged stems in late winter/early spring.

• Best to mulch plants year-round with 3" of shredded bark, peat or compost.

• Winter hardy but planted in sheltered locations gives additional winter protection. Regardless of protective measures taken, most bigleaf hydrangeas simply will not bloom (or will bloom poorly) in some years due to a variety of winter conditions. Some newer cultivars have been selected that flower on both old and new wood.

  'Hydranges Bloomstruck' blooms on both old and new growth, has strong stems and is resistant to powdery mildew.

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HYDRANGEA PANICULATA

Panicle Hydrangeas

Panicle Hydrangeas are the no fuss hydrangea with long lasting blooms. They range in size from large to compact depending on variety, allowing for many planting options in the landscape. A late blooming shrub, they become the autumn stars when most other shrubs are no longer blooming. Triggered by air temperature fluctuations, hydrangea panicle go through a color transformation starting with an early summer white that fades to shades of pink or red before drying to beige in the winter. Their nectar-rich flowers attract butterflies and bees late into the season, providing them with a vital food source.

HYDRANGEA PANICULATA ATTRIBUTES

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• Panicle Hydrangeas thrive in full sun or morning sun, a place in the garden that mophead hydrangeas don’t flourish.

• Bloom on new growth each summer so there is no risk of flower buds being harmed by the cold winter or late frost.

• As the rest of the garden winds down, the fall panicle hydrangeas take center stage.

• Flowers can even be left to dry on the plant in the fall and can stay looking good into the winter.

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HYDRANGEA QUERCIFOLIA

Oakleaf Hydrangea

Oak leaf hydrangeas have beautiful large leaves similarly shaped to an oak leaf. The flower panicles are large, white and attract many bees. In autumn the leaves turn to a reddish hue. foliage transitions from green to maroon, falling off in winter to reveal beautiful exfoliating bark. Beyond its impressive foliage, the flowers also put on an exquisite show, changing from white to a stunning pink or red as the plant matures. Oak leaf hydrangeas prefer partial shade.

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HYDRANGEA ANOMALA PETIOLARIS

Climbing Hydrangea

“First it sleeps, then it creeps and then it leaps.” This old adage seems to speak directly to the climbing hydrangea. This vine is slow to start but once it gets establish after a couple years it leaps! A vigorous vine with lush green foliage blanketed by beautiful lace cap white blooms. This hydrangea has year round interest, with their long lasting summer blooms that dry beautifully on the vine in autumn and when the leaves have fallen gorgeous exfoliating bark is revealed. Climbing hydrangea can thrive in full sun to shade. It can be planted on sturdy structures, like stone or brick walls, chimneys, and houses

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HYDRANGEA ARBORESCENS

Smooth Hydrangea

Hydrangea arborescens, our native hydrangea, is found along rocky wooded slopes, ravines, streambanks, and bluff bases in the eastern United States. Smooth hydrangea is the host plant of the hydrangea sphinx moth and attacts butterflies, moths, pollinators and songbirds. The blooms are on new wood and can be pruned back close to the ground in late winter. Several cultivars have flowers that make a ball-shaped bloom. It is low growing and stacks well beneath taller trees and shrubs.

Hydrangea arborescens cultivars we carry:

Annabelle and the newer Invincible Spirit

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FERTILIZE HYDRANGEAS IN EARLY SUMMER

All hydrangeas tend to grow better when they are fertilized, even the native ones.

If you missed feeding your plants early in the season when you did your spring clean up, you can make up for that now (before August 1). The plants that respond best to fertilizer this time of year are the rebloomers: big leaf (macrophylla), mountain (serrata) and woodland/smooth (arborescens) varieties. You may want to help them produce those reblooming flowers to carry your garden through to the end of the season

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