Plant of the Month: Hydrangea

When you think of Hydrangea, is your first thought leafy bushes with huge bright blue flowers? Mid-summer you can find their bright blooms in almost every garden. Stop by Woodbridge Nurseries to see in person several varieties that are sure to delight. In addition to the original Endless Summer with its blue to pink colored flowers, we have lace-cap, white blooms, and the native Oakleaf which blooms white then graces your garden with fall color.

For early blooms, plant Quick Fire hydrangeas. They bloom about a month earlier than hardy hydrangea varieties. Since Quick Fire flowers bloom white, they are not affected by soil pH. Their blooms quickly turn pink, and by autumn will become dark rose-pink. Like most hydrangeas, they are produced on new growth and will bloom after even the harshest winters.

The Oakleaf Hydrangea gets its name from the shape of its beautiful large leaves. It is one of the few hydrangeas native to the United States.

The Oakleaf hydrangea is a dramatic, white-blooming shrub with four seasons of interest. The blooms of most Oakleaf hydrangeas gradually take on a pink tint as they age. The foliage is dark green above, silvery beneath and with cooling autumn nights, provide nice color. Oakleaf hydrangeas thrive with very little attention. Just be sure to keep it's soil well-drained, as it can get root rot in aheart-beat if it stands in soggy soil even for short periods.

Plant Lime Light for bright chartreuse blooms that hold their color right into autumn, then change to a rich deep pink...breathtaking. reliable flowering and flower color regardless of soil pH. The large flower heads range from 6 to 16 inches and are held upright on the shrub. It can grow 6 – 8 feet tall.

Pinky Winky's large summer flowers open white and change to pink, with new white flowers appearing on the same panicle (flower head) as older pink flowers. It has dark green foliage. Pinky Winky is adaptable to many soils, moderate moisture required, will bloom regardless of climate, soil, pH or pruning. It can be easily maintained as a smaller plant or trained into a small tree.

Little Lamb is a sweet compact hardy Hydrangea with pure white flowers with the smallest and most delicate flowers of any Hydrangea. These little flowers may turn pink in the fall. Use Little Lamb in bouquets either fresh or dried to make a unique floral design. This is an easy to grow plant with reliable flowering andflower color regardless of soil pH.

The repeat blooms of Endless Summer^® The Original truly offer gardeners an endless summer of incredible color. Endless Summer^® The Original has the unique ability to produce spectacular pink or blue blooms depending on the pH makeup of your soil. An alkaline soil produces pink flowers, while an acid soil produces blue flowers (you can buy a soil pH testing kit to test your soil). It is possible to manipulate the color of hydrangeas, but one word of caution: many people have killed their plants by applying too much aluminum sulfate. More is not better. Adding large amounts of organic matter, such as peat moss and composted leaves, will acidify the soil as it breaks down.

Also created by Endless Summer^®, Blushing Bride is a new Hydrangea macrophylla. Pure white blooms with semi-double florets gradually mature to a sweet, pink blush. Reliably blooming on both old and new growth, you can experience the beauty of again and again, all summer long. Remove spent flowers to encourage rebloom. The disease and mildew-resistant foliage is an attractive dark green, providing a striking background for Blushing Bride’s mophead blooms. Strong stems and branches keep the plant sturdy and upright in the garden, and make it a perfect flower for cutting.

This year Endless Summer^® introduced Twist-n-Shout, an extraordinary reblooming lacecap hydrangea. Twist-n-Shout’s gorgeous season-long blooms, vivid color, sturdy red stems and deep green foliage flowers steadily all summer.

Basic Hydrangea Care:

Most Hydrangeas bloom mid-summer and prefer full sun to partial shade. Pruning should be done in late fall or early spring, since they bloom on new growth. Dead head once spent flowers turn brown. Most plants will tolerate drought. So beautiful and easy to grow, Hydrangeas make excellent cut flowers, and dry easily as well. They require little care, other than watering for the first year to help their roots get established, plus end-of-season pruning.

Some Hydrangeas have a unique quality...you can change their color. Other than white and cream hydrangeas, flower color is determined by the plants consumption of aluminum, which is either helped or hindered by the acidity or alkalinity of the soil. For example, some old fashioned tricks include “mulching” with used coffee grounds to neutralize the acid level in the soil for pink flowers.

Click for a nice Hydrangea poem online:

http://fairygardenpoems.blogspot.com/2008/07/our-hydrangea.html