A tour featuring the most incredible variety of lavender, violet, blue, and pink blossoms
Few places are as vivid and abundant with hydrangea blooms as the island of Nantucket. A stunning variety of purples, blues, pinks, periwinkles, and lavenders are produced thanks to the soil, temperatures, and moisture levels 30 miles out to sea.
The final week of June through the third week of July is often the greatest time to witness the best and brightest of the season (or the end depending on the heat and rain throughout the month). On July 9, we went hydrangea-hunting, and this was the harvest we got to take home. Browse through our photo gallery to discover Sconset and downtown at their most vibrant.
When do hydrangeas bloom?
The type, cultivar, planting zone, and hydrangea blooming season all affect when they bloom. The majority of hydrangeas with new growth form buds in the early summer in preparation for blooming the next spring, summer, and early fall. Hydrangeas may stop flowering in the heat of the summer in hot locations, but they will blossom again in the fall.
How do you cut back hydrangeas?
Hydrangea plants don’t require pruning if they are allowed plenty of room to develop in the garden. Only the periodic clearance of dead wood is necessary.
Do you need to deadhead hydrangeas?
Your hydrangeas will continue to bloom into the fall if you deadhead them. Hydrangeas make wonderful cut flowers, so there’s no need to wait until the flower wilts. Leave the early fall blossoms alone so they can fade naturally. In the days leading up to your freeze date, you don’t want to promote new growth.
How do you control hydrangea color?
The distinction of hydrangeas is that you can modify their colour. But keep in mind that not all hydrangea varieties can change their colour. H. macrophylla, a species of bigleaf hydrangea, responds to changes in soil pH. Hydrangeas can absorb aluminium thanks to a low soil pH, which gives the blossoms a lovely blue hue. Reduce the pH of your soil by mixing in sulphur or peat moss to enhance the number of blue hydrangea flowers. Throughout the growth season, you can keep amending your soil with extra aluminium sulphate. When you add ground limestone to boost the pH, pink and red blooms shine.
You may precisely modify your hydrangea colour using a soil pH test. To avoid the plant from being harmed, keep the pH level below 7.5. In the fall, all hydrangeas will naturally fade regardless of the modifications you’ve made. Don’t worry, the plant will display vibrant, new blossoms once more in the spring.
Can hydrangeas grow in shade?
Although they won’t blossom in complete shade, hydrangeas prefer dappled or infrequent shade. How much sun do hydrangeas need is more important to consider than whether they love the sun or the shade. Your hydrangeas require more sunlight the further north in your garden you are. A general guideline is six hours of sunlight each day. However, southern hydrangeas can thrive with just three hours of sunlight per day.
Can hydrangeas grow in full sun?
While hydrangeas prefer morning sun, they struggle in the hot, afternoon sun. For these gorgeous creatures, partial shade in the later hours of the day is optimal.
Can you grow hydrangeas in pots?
Even if you don’t have enough room in your garden to cultivate hydrangeas, you can still enjoy these lovely blossoms by learning how to grow hydrangea in a pot. As long as you follow the fundamentals of caring for hydrangeas, the procedure is rather straightforward. Select a pot with at least an 18-inch diameter to accommodate the mature size of the particular hydrangea you are growing. In order to maintain the constant moisture level that hydrangeas demand, look for non-porous containers. Excess water will be able to adequately drain thanks to drainage holes. Consider growing dwarf hydrangeas like Buttons ‘n Bows, Mini Penny, and Little Lime.
How do you keep hydrangeas from wilting?
Morning irrigation on a regular basis can assist stop withering. Some hydrangea cultivars simply can’t stand the heat. No matter how much water you give them, they will begin to wilt in the afternoon heat. Mulch applied in layers can help soil retain moisture and stay cool. You shouldn’t be concerned if your hydrangeas bloom again once the day cools. A little midday wilting is preferable to overwatering and drowning your hydrangeas.
What variety of hydrangeas may one find on Nantucket?
A repeat flowering variety of hydrangea, the Nantucket BlueTM Hydrangea adorns homes on the island of Nantucket. In contrast to most hydrangeas, this one blooms continuously on new growth all through the growing season, maybe from early summer into early November. An exuberant summertime display of blue or pink flower clusters that endure until frost is contrasted by dense leathery green leaves. both fresh and ancient wood, near and distant from the coast, blooms. The ideal conditions for Nantucket BlueTM growth are midday shade or dappled sunlight beneath big trees. It also works well to plant towards the east or north side of a house. Use this plant as an accent, in bulk plantings, or close to ponds or water gardens.
What maintains the colour of a blue Nantucket hydrangea?
Under their Garden Debut brand, Greenleaf Nursery released Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Grenan,’ also known as the Nantucket Blue Hydrangea, a reblooming hydrangea that was adaptable and hardy. Similar to the well-known Endless Summer Hydrangea, Nantucket Blue blooms on both old and new wood from spring to fall, and, depending on how acidic the soil is where it is planted, either stunning pink or blue flowers are produced. It differs from Endless Summer in that its stems are much stronger and can better hold the enormous clusters of gorgeous blossoms it produces.
The optimal conditions for Nantucket Blue Hydrangeas are rich, moderately wet, well-draining soil and partial shade. They normally achieve a maximum height and spread of 4 to 6 feet and have a compact growth habit. Nantucket Blue Hydrangeas are particularly tolerant because they bloom on both old and new wood. This means that although they require very little pruning, if you do prune them to shape them or lower their size, you won’t have to worry about eliminating blossoms like you do with some other varieties of Hydrangea. They will also bloom even if there is extreme winter damage that causes die back.
Your soil’s pH level will determine whether your Nantucket Blue Hydrangeas remain pink or blue, depending on your preferences. Simply add lime to your soil to keep it neutral or alkaline if you desire pink. If you want to maintain your soil’s acidity and achieve that deep blue colour, apply sulphur to the soil.
Why is Cape Cod covered in hydrangeas?
Bostonians may have swan boats, the Gardner Museum, and the Public Gardens, but they are unable to grow hydrangeas in the same manner that we can.
Mother Nature gave these lovely bushes to Cape Cod gardeners as a gift. Unfortunately, they’ve drawn criminals who prowl the night, gathering garbage bags full of flowers to sell to big city florists. For that, we may thank Martha Steward. But in addition to paying exorbitant sums for the flower, she also revived interest in gardens in this traditional, long-lived plant.
Mal Condon, who owns a hydrangea farm on Nantucket, at least gives that person credit. Condon spends the rest of the year propagating and cultivating up to 300 different species of hydrangea on the island while wintering in New Zealand, which is an even hotter location for hydrangea. How fortunate can one individual be?
When he and his wife Mary Kay operated an inn, the retired engineer and avid gardener gave away his plants. One was handed to each guest as a present after they made a big deal out of them. Condon had become an expert in hydrangeas by the time they decided to sell the inn.
I began to grow seriously after we moved into a new home, he claims. Only Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays are open at the farm on Madaket Road.
He grinned broadly and said, “I need to give time for fishing. The man is a wise man.
For the collector, Condon refers to his farm as a nursery. I basically gather things. I made the decision to sell my collections. He sells 7,500 plants annually, the majority of which are two-year-old stock in 3 1/2 by 5 inch pots. He ships all over the nation because of the Internet. He also sells plants up to seven litres, but the larger ones cannot be shipped.
Condon has spent 30 years learning which cultivars thrive on the Cape and islands. Climate is the key factor. The Cape has no spring, a mild summer, and a lengthy, spectacular fall, similar to Nantucket. Winters are less consistent. Thankfully, a large number of hydrangea cultivars enjoy chilly springs, temperate summers, and acidic soil. Greetings from Cape Cod!
The buds may swell in mild winters, but if it gets really cold, they may snap off, losing the flowers for the year. Condon advises enclosing plants in air-permeable Frostcloth, then stuffing the interior with pine needles. Alternately, surround the plant with four stakes, wrap, and stuff. The ideal solution is a chicken wire cage that has been wrapped and filled with needles. Given that they can survive for more than 100 years and become tougher as they age, the trouble is worthwhile. Wait until the plant has lost all of its leaves after a fatal frost (around early December).
early April for unwrapping. But be prepared to rewrap in case of early spring frost. When the earth is frozen and the air temperature is above freezing, water the plant if the winter is dry.
While most people associate hydrangeas with blue flowers, they are now also available in pink, green, white, blue-white, purple, and even red. They come in lacecape or mophead varieties, which Condon refers to as bulletproof.
Nikko Blue has reached maturity, according to Condon. He doesn’t much like Endless Summer either. He seeks out cultivars that are tough, reluctant to emerge from winter dormancy, produce blooms on both fresh and old wood, and are hardy to zones 5 to 6A. What does he suggest for the Cape, then?
Mademoiselle Emile Mouillere, a white mophead; Nantucket Nikko, Penny Mac, and David Ramsey for all blue-pink mopheads; Tokyo Delight, a white-blue lace cape; Lilacina, a blue lacecape; and Blue Deckle, a blue lacecape.
His next best options are Decateur Blue, a blue-pink mophead, Little Geisha, a white to pink mophead, Lady in Red, a red to white lacecap with dark foliage, and White Wave, a pink and white lacecap.
He also likes Red Sensation, a wonderful red mophead, and Paniculata Pinky-Winky, a plant with a lot of sterile seeds in panicle-shaped blossoms. These lovely flowers are not the hydrangeas your grandmother grew.
While Condon claims that the colour of the blooms can only be increased and that it only affects mopheads, people often talk about changing their colour. It all comes down to the soil’s pH, which should be between 5.0 and 5.6 for blue blooms and at least 6.0 for pink blossoms. Medium blue cultivars will bloom with a more intense blue/pink hue when exposed to aluminium sulphate. Use iron sulphate or elemental sulphur, then apply it in the spring after the land has been moistened. A lower pH can be maintained by using miracid.
Add dolomite lime to the soil in the fall to neutralise it and elevate the pH for pinks and reds. Add water after using half to one cup per plant. Additionally, compost improves soil neutrality. Strongly acidic soil needs a few years to become sweet.
Condon is a wealth of knowledge about hydrangeas. Avoid plants that are lanky and overgrown. Position them towards east.
He says, “They enjoy the morning sunshine but appreciate shade from the midday sun.
Prior to planting, aerate the soil. In the long run, it will be beneficial. And incorporate windbreak-producing plants like evergreens into your garden. While overhanging tree canopies offer shade and cold protection, foundations radiate warmth. Osmacote should be fed slowly, and if necessary, deer repellent should be sprayed.
Pruning, which Condon characterises as both art and aesthetics as well as technology, is last but certainly not least. Keep in mind that it should be finished in April for the next year. By eliminating wasted flowers and cutting to the new buds, older shrubs can be kept robust. Old canes with flaky bark should be disposed of completely. Branch out to allow light to reach the centre for fresh growth. Create the plant’s fundamental network. Learn what lies beneath the blossoms. Take note of the plant’s form. Don’t let aesthetics scare you; they are subjective.
This year, Timber Press released Michael A. Dirr’s excellent reference work, Hydrangeas for American Gardens. $29.95.