Over 75 species of flowering plants in the genus Hydrangea (/hadrendi/), sometimes known as Hortensia or hydrangea, are indigenous to Asia and the Americas. In eastern Asia, especially in China, Korea, and Japan, there is by far the greatest variety of species. The majority are 13 m (3 ft 3 in. or 9 ft 10 in.) tall shrubs, although some are small trees and some have lianas that can grow up trees to heights of 30 m (100 ft). Although the frequently cultivated temperate species are all deciduous, they can also be evergreen. [3]
In reference to the design of its seed capsules, the name “hydrangea” is derived from the Greek and meaning “water vessel” (from water + or vessel).
[4] The former name, Hortensia, is a Latinized version of the French given name Hortense and was given in honor of Nicole-Reine Hortense Lepaute, a French astronomer and mathematician.
[5] This statement is refuted on page 88 of Nicole-Reine Hortense Lepaute’s biography, citation 10, where it is stated: “Larousse considers this an injustice and remarks that it has caused many people to believe falsely that “Hortensia” was one of her names; it was likely only the Latin adjective from “hortus.”
What kind of plant is the hydrangea?
Popular shrubs called hydrangeas have vibrant flowers that bloom from the summer into the fall. They often flower in blue, purple, and pink hues, while some varieties also come in white, green, and red. The majority of hydrangea shrubs thrive in partial shade and are simple to grow in Zones 3–9.
Is hydrangea a type of flower?
Hydrangeas have huge bloom heads and exude an old-fashioned elegance. How to plant and take care of beautiful floral bushes is explained in our hydrangea growing guide. Additionally, learn the answers to frequently asked questions like “why aren’t my hydrangeas blossoming this year?”
About Hydrangeas
These elegant plants are simple to grow, withstand nearly any sort of soil, and produce an abundance of blossoms that are unmatched in the world of shrubs for their stunning flowers. Clear blue, vivid pink, frosty white, lavender, and rose blossoms sometimes grow on the same plant, enticing us with their colors.
From container gardens to shrub borders to group plantings, hydrangeas are great for a variety of garden locations. Breeders seem to give us more possibilities every year, and gardeners have countless expectations for bloom size and color. Varieties abound. Pay attention to the species listed below to get an idea of how your hydrangea will develop as some require different maintenance. The joys you experience will be enhanced when you know what to expect.
Enjoy this tribute to hydrangea beauty and read our guide below to discover how to grow hydrangeas.
Where to Plant Hydrangeas
- The majority of hydrangeas like fertile, moisture-rich soils that drain well. Compost can help improve bad soil.
- Hydrangeas typically prefer some sun. In an ideal world, they would receive full sun in the morning and then some afternoon shade to avoid the intense midday sun. The Bigleaf Hydrangea (H. macrophylla), with its huge, prone-to-wilting leaves, is a prime example of this. Some kinds can withstand more direct sunlight.
- Depending on the kind, place hydrangeas anywhere between 3 and 10 feet apart. Plants should always be spaced according to their anticipated mature size!
When to Plant Hydrangeas
- The optimum season to plant hydrangeas is in the fall, followed by spring. The cooler shoulder seasons are the ideal times to plant shrubs because they will have plenty of time to build a strong root system before the intense heat of summer or the bitter cold of winter.
- In the early morning or late afternoon, plant the shrubs. The plant is less prone to experience heat stress from direct sunshine because it is typically cooler.
How to Plant Hydrangeas
- Gently remove the hydrangea from its container and examine the root ball. Snip off any rotten or dead sections, and if the plant is very root-bound, pry the roots free.
- Make a hole that is two to three times as big and as deep as the root ball. The top of the planting hole should be level with the base of the plant, which is where the stem joins the earth.
- After placing the plant in the hole, add enough soil to fill it halfway. generously hydrate. Fill the remaining space in the hole with soil once the water has been absorbed.
- once more, thoroughly rinse.
How to Grow Hydrangeas from Cuttings
Cuttings of hydrangeas can be easily grown. They easily take root, and the process is a wonderful teaching tool for propagation. This is how you do it:
- Find a branch on a mature hydrangea that is fresh growth and has not flowered. In comparison to older growth, new growth will appear lighter in color, and the stem won’t be as firm.
- Make a horizontal incision 4 to 5 inches down from the branch’s tip. Make sure your cutting has at least three to four pairs of leaves.
- Trim the cutting’s lowest pair of leaves so that they are flush with the stem. If you can afford to remove more than one pair of leaves, do so. Roots develop more readily from these leaf nodes. But make sure to leave at least two pairs of leaves at the cutting’s tip.
- Remove the tip half of any leaves that are still pretty large by cutting them in half. This keeps the leaves from slamming into the sides of the plastic bag you’ll later use to cover the cutting (to keep the humidity up).
- (Optional) Sprinkle rooting hormone and a plant antifungal powder on the stem’s leafless area (both available at a local hardware or garden store). This will promote roots and deter decay.
- Prepare a small pot and put moistened potting soil inside. The cutting should be planted in the ground, buried down to the first remaining pair of leaves. Lightly water the area surrounding the stem to close any air spaces.
- Wrap a plastic bag loosely around the entire pot. To prevent the cutting’s leaves from rotting, make sure the bag is not touching them. The bag can be supported by chopsticks or other such objects to keep it off the leaves.
- Put the pot in a warm location that is protected from the wind and sun.
- Only rewater your cutting after the top layer of soil is dry after checking on it every few days to make sure it isn’t decaying. In a few weeks, hopefully, the cutting will start to root! If you feel resistance when you gently tug on the cutting, roots have grown.
Watering
- Make sure hydrangeas get enough water for the first year or two after planting and throughout any droughts.
- Over the course of the growing season, water at a rate of 1 inch per week. Three times a week of heavy watering is preferable to shallow watering. Root growth is promoted by this.
- All varieties of hydrangeas benefit from constant moisture, but bigleaf and smooth hydrangeas need more water.
- If the soil is too dry, the leaves will wilt, and there won’t be enough moisture for the flowers to bloom.
- To water thoroughly while keeping moisture off the flowers and leaves, use a soaker hose.
- The best time to water hydrangeas is in the morning to protect them from disease and get them ready for the heat of the day.
- Under your hydrangeas, spread organic mulch to help keep the soil cool and moist, gradually add nutrients, and enhance soil texture.
Fertilizing
You might not need to fertilize hydrangeas if your soil is rich. When fertilizer is applied in excess, blossoms are sacrificed in favor of green growth. A soil test is the most effective tool for determining your fertility requirements.
Apply fertilizer according to the type of hydrangeas you have. Every variety has varied requirements and will profit from applying fertilizer at various times.
- Several mild fertilizer applications in March, May, and June are beneficial for bigleaf hydrangeas.
- Two applications in April and June work best for oakleaf and panicle hydrangeas.
- The only time smooth hydrangea plants require fertilizing is in the late winter.
Winter Protection
- Cover plants with bark mulch, leaves, pine needles, or straw in the fall, at least 18 inches deep. If at all feasible, create cages out of chicken wire or snow fencing and cover the entire plant, including the tip, with the cages. (Avoid using maple leaves; they have a tendency to mat after becoming wet and may suffocate the plant.)
How to Prune a Hydrangea
Many of the queries from readers concern hydrangea trimming. It makes sense that it’s unclear because it relies on the hydrangea kind. Fortunately, identifying which type you have makes determining the best pruning strategy simple. Discover the fundamentals below, then read more about pruning different varieties of hydrangea here.
Pruning Common Hydrangeas
The Bigleaf cultivar of Hydrangea macrophylla is the most popular garden hydrangea shrub. (For more, see below.)
Hydrangeas with large leaves, such as Bigleaf (H. macrophylla), Oakleaf (H. quercifolia), Mountain (H. serrata), and Climbing (H. anomala subsp. petiolaris), are pruned AFTER the summer blooms have passed. On stems from the previous season, these kinds bloom (“old wood).
- Avoid pruning after August 1 since flower buds actually grow in the late summer and bloom the next season.
- Dead wood should only be removed in the fall or very early spring.
- To stimulate branching and fullness, trim one or two of the oldest stems by cutting them all the way to the ground.
- Pruning the stems all the way to the base is necessary if the plant is old, neglected, or injured. For the following season, you’ll lose the flowers, but you’ll also revive the plant for subsequent ones.
- The huge Mopheads should not be deadheaded (faded flowers removed); instead, you should leave them over the winter and trim them back in the early spring (to the first healthy pair of buds). Deadheading Lacecaps is OK; simply trim down to the second set of leaves below the bloom head.
- Avoid pruning unless it is absolutely required while growing H. macrophylla (and H. serrata) cultivars in Zones 4 and 5, and then only after blooming. If not, merely remove dead stems in the spring.
Pruning Other Hydrangeas
Hydrangeas called Panicle (H. paniculata) and Smooth (H. arborescens) are clipped BEFORE flower buds develop. On stems from the current season, these kinds blossom (“new wood).
- When the plant is dormant in the late winter, prune. The plant will therefore grow new buds in the spring that will result in blossoms even if the winter kills the buds.
- In general, avoid pruning to “shape the bush” and just remove dead branches.
What does a blossom from a hydrangea represent?
Symbolism. The hydrangea stands for appreciation, beauty, and grace. Because of the profuse number of blossoms and the wide spherical form, it also exudes abundance. Its hues stand for peace, love, and harmony.
What is the name for hydrangea petals?
About 900 plants, representing 20 distinct species and 200 different cultivars, make up the hydrangea collection. The Bigleaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla), which is the most common species in the garden, is also one of the many intriguing varieties that can be seen there.
The North American Plant Collection Consortium has classified the hydrangea collection as an Official North American Collection (NAPCC). The American Public Gardens Association and the USDA Agricultural Research Service collaborate on the NAPCC initiative. The Garden is dedicated to maintaining and expanding a collection of verified living plants in accordance with predetermined standards as part of this national accreditation. Additionally, plant collections approved by the NAPCC are accessible for breeding, taxonomic study evaluation, use, and other types of research.
THE HYDRANGEA FLOWER
The “flower” of a hydrangea is actually a corymb, which is a collection of blossoms. There are three main types: lacecap, mophead, and panicle. Usually, each corymb contains both fertile and infertile flowers. Although the sterile blooms lack petals, they have evolved incredibly spectacular sepals instead (part of the outer portion of a flower known as the calyx).
The corymb of lacecaps is flat and shaped like a plate. It features a row or two of sterile flowers with large sepals around the outside and a mass of small real flowers in the center.
Mopheads feature a solid head or dome consisting of a large number of sterile flowers with only a small number of fertile blossoms concealed inside. A hortensia type is another name for this shape. The fact that the blooms are sterile and do not need to produce fruits or seeds explains why the heads stay so long. Once pollinated, the majority of other flowers begin to produce seeds and shed their petals.
Some species of hydrangea, including Hydrangea paniculata and Hydrangea quercifolia, include panicles, which are cone-shaped corymbs.
HYDRANGEA COLORS
The level of aluminum in the soil determines whether hydrangea flowers are red or blue. The acidity of the soil affects how much aluminum is readily available to the plant.
Because the plant cannot absorb aluminum from the soil, alkaline or basic soil (a pH of 7-8) produces red blossoms. No matter the pH of the soil, the blossoms will always be red if there is no aluminum present, as in a sterile potting mix.
When the soil is acidic (with a pH of 6-7) and aluminum is available to the plant, blue flowers develop. Naturally acidic environments, like those found under pine trees, can lower the pH and transform cultivars like “Pink Beauty” into deep blue or purple hues. To preserve the red tint, the soil can be made more alkaline by adding lime, clam shells, or oyster shells.
Genetics also have a role in hydrangea bloom color, thus certain cultivars may undergo significant color variations, while others may not vary at all or barely minimally.
Although some cultivars may have a red or blue eye depending on the soil pH, white flowers are not impacted by acidity of the soil.
SPECIES HYDRANGEA
The majority of garden hydrangeas are Bigleaf Hydrangea varieties (Hydrangea macrophylla). There are plenty additional hydrangea species in our collection.
This is a more refined and finely textured Bigleaf Hydrangea with a lacecap inflorescence that originates from Japan and Korea.
This sun-tolerant species of late blooming shrub can reach heights of 20 feet. With each shape and cultivar, the proportion of the panicles’ creamy white sterile and fertile flowers changes.
Hydrangea that climbs (Hydrangea anomala subsp. anomola) This deciduous climber has a sluggish growth rate and can grow to a height of 60 feet or more, depending on the cultivar. It looks amazing when it climbs up a tree, covering the entire trunk with early-summer white lacecap blossoms. The roots do adhere to the surface like ivy, which could be problematic if the surface needs to be painted in the future.
This uncommon plant features fuzzy stems, leaves, and lacecap blooms, which typically have blue fertile centers and beautiful petals that are either white or pink. The shrub has a maximum height of 8 feet.
NATIVE HYDRANGEAS
Some hydrangea species are native to North America, despite the fact that most garden cultivars come from Asia. Hydrangea arborescens, Hydrangea quercifolia, and subspecies that are endemic to North America are all represented in our collection.
Native to the Southeast of the United States, from North Carolina to Louisiana via Florida. Panicles, which are triangular cones with creamy white flowers that bloom in the spring, turn rich crimson and purple in the late fall.
In the woodlands of eastern North America, this hydrangea is the most prevalent. Both old and fresh growth will produce flowers for it. Both lacecap and mophead blooms will grow on it. It may produce huge flowers, and two of the most well-known cultivars are “Annabelle” and “Grandiflora.”