85 Chief Justice Cushing Hwy ~ Rt. 3A ~ Scituate, MA 02066 ~ 781-545-1266

 

Hydrangeas produce some of the biggest and most beautiful flowers in the garden. New England is probably the hydrangea capital of the world. Take a drive through Cape Cod on a summer day, and most likely, you will witness a fantastic array of show-stopping hydrangea blooms.

Types:

Lace Cap hydrangeas are large leafed varieties with flat flowers. The flowers are small in the middle and around the outside they have larger, ¾ of an inch size flowers with four petals. This is type of hydrangea often seen Cape Cod. They prefer morning sun and afternoon shade, but will tolerate full sun or as little as 3-4 hours of sun.

Popular Lace Cap varieties:

The Mopheads

Mophead type hydrangeas have large leaves and large ball shaped flowers. The flower colors range from light blue to deep blue, to pink, to red, to white. These hydrangeas flower from late June into the fall. The flowers may reach as much as 12" wide on mature plants. They prefer morning sun with afternoon shade, but will tolerate full sun or as little as 2 hours of direct sun.

‘All Summer Beauty’ – A favorite for many years with large, rich blue flowers in acidic soils. Slightly more compact growth maturing at 4’ by 4’. (picture above)

‘Alpenglow’ – A nice, deep pink variety. Striking flowers can be seen from a distance.

‘Ayesa’ – Silver Slippers – Unusual pink or blue flowers. Very pretty, nice texture to flower heads. Grows 4’.

‘Big Daddy’- Large, 8-12”, blue to pink blossoms (depending on soil ph). Grows 4’ tall with 6’ spread.

‘Blushing Bride Endless Summer’- A new introduction with all the outstanding qualities of H. ‘Endless Summer’ yet with lovely white blossoms with pink blush.

‘City Line’ Series- A new group from Europe with a compact habit, growing only 2 to 3’and covered with large, showy, profuse blossoms.

‘Paris’-Deep red to violet-blue blue flowers age to attractive green suitable for drying.

‘Venice’-Showy, bright fuchsia colored blossoms

‘Vienna’-Lovely pink blossoms with touch of white.

‘Compacta’ –. Slightly smaller flowers and more compact growth than most mophead types. Blossoms are deeper tones ranging from pink, violet, and purple to dark blue. Grows to about 4 feet tall and wide.

‘David Ramsey’- Pink to blue 4-6” blossoms, medium grower.

‘Domotoi’ – Lovely 4” blossoms in pastel shades of soft pink to light blue. Compact habit to 4’. (picture on the left)

‘Endless Summer’ – A break through! A colorful hydrangea that blooms on its new wood. Flowers even after the coldest of winters. Blooms range from soft pink to blue. Grows to about 4’.

‘Forever and Ever’- Intense pink to blue blossoms on both old and new wood! Grows to 4’ tall and wide. The 2007 Pink Ribbon Plant to benefit breast cancer research. Others in the Forever and Ever Series include:

‘Forever Double Pink’- Unique, pink, star-shaped, double blossoms.

‘Forever Pink’ – A lovely, reliable pink, similar to ‘Alpenglow’. (picture above)

‘Forever Red’- Gorgeous red flowers with burgundy stems.

‘Lemon Daddy’ – Great new yellow leaf form of Hydrangea. Large lemon yellow leaves add shocking contrast to any shade garden. Large soft pink or light blue flowers. Grows about 4’ tall and wide. Hardy to zone 5.

‘Merrit Supreme’ – Another nice pink flowering type. Grows 4-5’ tall.

‘Mini Penny’ – There is not a lot of information available on this plant yet, but this might just be the Holy Grail of Hydrangeas. Penny Mac is similar to Endless Summer (blooms long and reliably). This is supposed to be a dwarf version of this. I think this is a big breakthrough in hydrangeas. Blue flowers almost guaranteed to bloom on a dwarf plant. I can’t wait until our Monrovia shipment arrives!

‘Nigra’ – The dark stems of this variety contrast nicely with green foliage and dusty pink or blue blossoms.

‘Nikko Blue’ – One of the most popular. Noted for its large flowers. Flower color can range from soft pink to light blue. Grows to 5’. (picture above)

‘Penny Mac’- A tried and true hardy variety that flowers on new wood too, pink to blue depending on pH.

‘Pia’ (also Pink Elf) – A true dwarf pink hydrangea. Grows to only 2-3’ tall and wide. Nice deep true pink flowers. (picture on the left)

‘Pink Beauty’- Reddish stems and green leaves with a hint of maroon. Foliage is very attractive. Flowers start white with a tinge of pink and gradually turn a strong pink, then to a wine-red in fall. A beauty! Grows 4-5’. The soil pH does not effect flower color.

‘Preziosa’ – Similar, if not the same as above.

‘Purple Majesty’- Deep green foliage serves as backdrop for large purple blossoms. Grows 4-5’.

‘Queen of Pearls’- An exciting new introduction developed by Dr. Michael Dirr and the research team at the University of Georgia. Flowers emerge a pale green before turning pure white and aging to an antique green. Grows 4 x4’.

‘Tovelit’-A nice dwarf variety with pink-mauve flowers. A prolific bloomer with compact, rounded form 3-4’.

Also know as the "P.G." hydrangeas.

These types are known for their large white flowers in late summer and early fall. These flowers turn pink or red as they age. They make great cut or dried flowers. P.G. hydrangeas grow much larger than regular hydrangeas and are available in both tree and shrub form. They can grow to 12-15’ in height and spread. However, with pruning, they can be kept to about 8’tall and wide.

Popular varieties:

paniculata ‘Compacta’- Similar to H. ‘Grandiflora’ with more compact habit.

paniculata ‘Grandiflora’ – Large creamy-white flowers. Often droop in full bloom giving the plant a weeping appearance. Flowers turn a beautiful rusty pink with age. Grows 10-15’ tall and wide.

paniculata ‘Lime Light’- This unique new introduction displays large, classy, lime-green in late August. Grows 6- 8’ tall and wide.

paniculata ‘Little Lamb’- A compact new variety of floriferous plants with 6” tall flowers and deep green foliage. Mature size is only about half that of Hydrangea p.‘Grandiflora’.

paniculata ‘Pink Diamond’- White blossoms become pink with age. Nice habit, grows to 6’.

paniculata ‘Pinky Winky’- An improvement of the old fashioned PG Hydrangea. This variety is the pinkest variety to date with very strong stems. Starts flowering in late July and looks great even as they dry on the stem through the fall. Grows 6-8 tall and wide. Hardy and easy.

paniculata ‘Quick Fire’- New! An early bloomer with white flowers that quickly turn to bright pink.

paniculata ‘Tardiva’ – Similar to above with large white lacy flowers. Panicle tends to stand up straighter than ‘Grandiflora’.

Other worthy hydrangeas:

Smooth Hydrangea

arborescens ‘Annabelle’ – Large pure white ball-shaped flowers. Tolerant to pruning in early spring to control size.

arborescens’Dardom’ or ‘White Dome’- Sure to be a big hit in any garden, this new variety boasts plentiful, huge lacy, white dome shaped blossoms. Matures at 4-6’ tall and wide. Hardy to zone 4.

Climbing Hydrangea Vine

anomala petiolares –Nice dark green foliage when grown in shade. Pretty white flowers in June. Can be grown as a groundcover or shrub, but usually used as a shady vine. Useful for covering walls or growing up trees.

Schizophragma hydrangeoides ‘Moonlight’-This self-clinging vine has beautiful silvery foliage and lovely white lacecap-like clusters in late spring-early summer.

quercifolia ‘Little Honey’ - Bright, beautiful yellow spring foliage emerges in spring on this new variety of Oakleaf Hydrangea. The screaming foliage will hold your attention in spring until they fade to green and the white flower cones emerge in early summer. The flowers last a long time and fade to a pink color before the fall foliage turns a brilliant scarlet color. A nice plant for all four seasons because of the interesting exfoliating bark looks great in winter too. Grows 3-4’ tall and wide. Zone 5.

‘Pee Wee’ – Dwarf rounded variety. Grows 3-4’ tall. More refined than the other oakleafs. Red wine fall color is outstanding. Zone 5.

‘Snowflake’- introduction bears lovely, white 12-15” flower clusters. A new Brilliant crimson fall foliage. Grows 4 to 6’ tall and wide.

‘Snow Queen’- Large, creamy white panicles take on pink tones in late summer. Broadly pyramidal plant, grows 8’ tall and 10’ wide.

The general rule with pruning hydrangeas is "don’t touch them". Most mophead and lacecap hydrangeas flower off the old wood. This means the flower stems will come from the woody stems off last year’s growth. If these stems are cut back, you will also cut back your chances of seeing flowers. These hydrangeas can be "nipped and tucked" in late spring to clean up any stems that do not leaf out all of the way. Do not cut them way back if you want to see blooms. If the hydrangea is too big for the area it is planted you are better off moving it to another location and picking a smaller growing variety. There are a few exceptions to the no pruning rule. Panicle type hydrangeas like "Pee Gee" can be pruned in early spring to control the size or give it a better shape. Do not prune these after May. Do the same for ‘Annabelle’ hydrangeas. They can be pruned in early spring also. Sometimes an early to mid-spring pruning helps keep them from drooping when they are in full bloom.

Flower colors only vary on some lace cap and mophead hydrangeas. Many varieties are only one color such as ‘Forever Pink’ and ‘Sister Therese’. But most blue flowering varieties such as ‘Nikko Blue’ will produce blue flowers in acidic soil and pink flowers in alkaline soil. If your blue hydrangeas are flowering pink you can make your soil more acidic using Aluminum Sulphate fertilizer. This is the best way of turning your hydrangeas blue. Using an all-purpose fertilizer like MirAcid will maintain acidity but will not change the color very quickly. To turn your blue hydrangeas more pink, add lime to your soil. These techniques will work gradually. Lime, especially, take weeks or months to work in the soil.

Aluminum Sulphate is only useful for turning flowers of certain hydrangeas blue. This does not act as an all-purpose fertilizer. 5-10-5 Country Gardener is a good granular fertilizer that can be used every spring to give your hydrangeas a healthy start. Most liquid fertilizers are also helpful if you plan on doing it every two weeks. Do not use both a liquid fertilizer and a granular at the same time. Pick one or the other.

Getting hydrangeas to bloom:

We hear it often that hydrangeas have great foliage, but no blooms. How can this be corrected? 1. Do not prune your mophead and lace cap hydrangeas. See the pruning paragraph for details. 2. Fertilize them with Superphosphate 0-20-0. This will help promote flowering and nothing else. Avoid high nitrogen fertilizers that push heavy leaf growth. You want the plant to concentrate on flowering. 3. Plant hydrangeas in at least 3-4 hours of direct sun. If you have less than a half a day of sun you may want to move them to a sunnier spot. 4. Shock the root system. Take a shovel and push the blade straight down about 8-10" away from the edge of the plant. Do this all the way around the plant. This may trick the plant into to thinking it is going to die and it feels the need to flower in a hurry so it can produce seeds. 5. Insulate the roots and stems of the hydrangea with leaves or salt marsh hay. This will protect them from cold winter temperatures that can kill their flower stems.

[ Home ] [ Up ]

Last modified: March 29, 2008