Hydrangea is a garden classic that offers so many options from ground cover all the way through to trees – yes really! There is also a wide range of flower types offering a choice of styles to suit every situation. But why hydrangea is such a global favourite, is the fact that success is (virtually) guaranteed.
Let’s take a moment to look at the characteristics that makes this a number one plant. First up, bags of blooms are sure to show every year. Next, the newer varieties have an even longer flowering period (look our for Hydrangea arborescens ‘Incrediball’). Hyrdrangeas are also highly resistant to disease and need little care to keep on performing year after year – but do keep them properly watered in dry spells. This means getting out with the hose and soaking the roots if it hasn’t rained properly for a while. They are happy in a wide range of soil types, changing flower colour depending on the pH of the soil.
The ‘Big One’
Hydrangea macrophylla (meaning large or long leaved) is probably the best known of them all. One of the most recognizable of garden plants, they occur naturally in China and Japan but are known throughout the world now as a result of the dedication of gardeners and plant breeders.
Tips
- Put your hydrangea where you can enjoy it to the max.
- Make sure it is in full sun or partial shade.
- Smaller varieties of hydrangea can be grown in pots.
- At a maximum height of 1.25m they are perfect for the space-challenged.
Climbing hydrangeas are anomalies as they actually thrive in the kind of shaded and inhospitable locations in which most other plants would wither. Flowering is profuse with masses of lacy white flowers appearing in late spring/early summer. This hydrangea can also provide ground cover as it will happily grow along the ground if given nothing to climb.
Source: BBH
