Bigleaf Hydrangea : Hydrangea x macrophylla
Water: 💧 High Water Needs
Sun: 🌤️ Sun or Light Shade
Height: 3 - 6 ft
Soil: Humus-rich, moist, mulch recommended (keep the roots cool)
pH Notes: ↑ pH (acidic) = Blue cultivars thrive, ↓ pH (alkaline) = Pink cultivars thrive
Maintenance: When stems become thick and woody, you must cut the oldest stems to ground level during the winter months of dormancy
Zone: Most are Zone 7 or Warmer. Any cooler and roots will overwinter but the top growth will die back to the ground (this is a moot point because the blooms come from the buds from the previous year)
History: Carl Thunberg brought it to Europe after he discovered it in Japan in the 1770's
Hybrid History: Hydrangea maritima (Seaside Species) + Unknown Japanese Hydrangea (Woodland Species)
Popular Cultivars: 'Blue Bonnet', 'Pink Beauty'
Miscellaneous Notes:
- This hybrid has 2 types of forms: 1. Hortensia - Sterile, spherical flower heads 2. Lacecap - Flat fertile flower clusters surrounded by sterile flowers
- Very salt tolerant
- Thrives in cool seaside gardens
- In Latin, "Hydrangea" translates to "water jar" referring to the cup-shaped seed vessels (especially true for the water loving varieties)
- Hardy Zone 6 Cultivars: 'All Summer Beauty', 'Nikko Blue' (blooms from new buds every year)
- West Coast Cultivars: 'Seafoam', 'Altona'
- Usually sold as an indoor houseplant during Easter
Climbing Hydrangea : Hydrangea petiolaris
- Slow to establish
- White blossoms
- Beautiful winter interest
- Pruning: Not required unless you want to keep it compact or flat (prune after it has flowered)
- Location: MANY DETAILs
- Zone
Smooth Hydrangea : Hydrangea arborescens
History: A native plant discovered in 1736 in Eastern United States
Sun: Shade, Sun if soil is kept moist
Height: 3-5 ft
Flowers start off green and eventually turn white
Pairings: Silver-edged Dogwood (Cornus alba 'Elgantissima'), Black Snakeroot (Cimicifuga racemosa), Culver's Root (Veronicastrum virgincum)
Soil: Humus-rich, moist, slightly acidic soil
If the first set of flowers are deadheaded you will get a second bloom
Zone: 2b THE HARDIEST HYDRANGEA
Blooms on new growth
Pruning: Cut down to ground in early spring
Popular Cultivars: 'Grandiflora', 'Annabelle'
Peegee Hydrangea : Hydrangea paniculata
History: Native to Japan, Russia, and China
Forms: Shrub or small tree
Sun: Full Sun Morning Sun with Light Shade in the Hot Afternoons
Zone: 3b
White Flowers
Soil: Moist
Pruning: Early Spring, grows from current seasons growth. Unpruned PeeGee's will stop flowering all together if they are not pruned. Prune back to the 2nd or 3rd strong bud on last year's woody stems to promote strong flowers
Popular Cultivars: 'Grandiflora', 'Ruby', 'Praecox', 'Tardiva', ' Pink Diamond' 'White Moth'
Oakleaf Hydrangea : Hydrangea quercifolia
Zone: 5b
Height: 6 ft
Form: Shrub
Soil: Moist, Humus-like, Acidic
Pruning: Flowers on old wood, only prune after flowering,
Native: Florida, Georgia, Mississippi
Foliage turns a beautiful red in the fall
