There is no good reason why you shouldn’t have at least one of these in your garden. Hydrangeas are one of my favorite shrubs and lend themselves nicely to almost any garden theme or style.
For summer colour and interest they are lovely and indeed, there are some with spring, fall and winter colour and interest. They are not particularly fussy. Most preferring a moist, well draining, soil in part to full shade.
If you have purchased pink mop head hydrangeas and want to keep them pink add lime to the soil and a fertilizer higher in phosphorous. If you like the change to blue or purplish blue, our usual acid soil should do the trick as long as there is aluminum available in your soil or you can add aluminum sulphate to the soil which both acidifies the soil and ensures that needed aluminum is present.
Regular pruning is not needed with the exception of thinning or removing old wood or damaged branches to encourage an open habit. Regular trimming back of the branches in winter like the folks down the street with their mophead variety yields them a whopping 2 bloom heads at last count.
Many varieties of mopheads and lacecaps and of course the oak leaved hydrangeas bloom mainly on wood produced the previous summer, thus pruning them vigorously in fall or winter will often transform them from a lovely flowering eye catcher to a tidy green flowerless mound of a shrub.
Now, there are some varieties that can handle vigorous pruning…if you are one of those who feel the need to prune, you should have one of the ‘Endless Summer’ varieties of hydrangeas. If you do have one of the mophead, lacecap or oak leaved hydrangeas and need to shrink it a bit because you’ve got it crammed in to your garden too close to the other plants like mine is, you can do a bit of pruning to decrease size in July.
The panicle type hydrangeas such as the Pee Gee hydrangea are far more forgiving as they bloom on the current seasons wood and can be pruned lightly if needed almost any time, though I’d avoid pruning in the later spring.
Here is a list of my top 7fave hydrangeas for the landscape:
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Hydrangea 'Endless Summer'
A very popular mophead hydrangea with blue flowers. One of the first of 'Endless Summer' varieties which bloom on this years growth. (Most hydrangeas bloom on last years wood).
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Climbing Hydrangea
Hydrangea anomala petiolaris. This climber clings to stone, wood and other surfaces. It has lacy white flowers and looks just as lovely in the winter time when you can see the shredding cinnamon coloured bark.
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Hydrangea 'Lemon Daddy'
A new hydrangea variety with golden yellow foliage. A great way to liven up a shady spot in your garden.
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Hydrangea aspera Villosa
Which is a larger growing hydrangea with rich dark green, softy leaves (according to my daughter). The huge flowers are a magical purple blue with purple outer florets. It is an absolute marvel and I was sad to say goodbye to it when I moved. I will get another…just as soon as my two legged and four legged family matures a little from the garden wrecking gang they are currently. (not always available)
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Pee Gee Hydrangea
Hydrangea paniculata ‘Grandiflora’. An absolute stunner in full on bloom with those massive white panicles fading to a rose pink and then a copper in the fall along with lovely yellow fall leaves. Another tall selection, this variety can take full sun so long as there is adequate moisture available.
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Oakleaf Hydrangea
Hydrangea quercifolia. This variety is my most favorite in the fall, thought the mix of lace and white florets in the large blossoms are fantastic, the huge oak shaped leaves turn a spectacular scarlet, orange and deep rich burgundy in the fall.
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Little Honey Oakleaf Hydrangea
Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Little Honey’ All the plusses of the oakleaf in a smaller, to-die-for golden leaved plant. A definite must have for a shady spot!! (please call to confirm availability)
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Art's Nursery carries a large and diverse selection of hydrangeas and many other deciduous shrubs. Please call to confirm availability or come on by and find that perfect plant for your garden. We look forward to serving you!