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It's hydrangea season at Hoerr Nursery! These summer stunners begin to flower in June with showy clusters of flowers that last for months. In big and small spaces, morning sun, afternoon sun or full sun, there's a hydrangea for almost every garden. But with so many types available, how do you choose? And how do you care for your hydrangea? Read on for the answers!
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If it's a spot in full sun and you are prepared to provide regular water for the plant, a Panicle Hydrangea is also a good choice.
In areas with less than 4 hours of sunlight, a Climbing Hydrangea will grow, but be aware that climbers have a special set of requirements. (Details below.)
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Next, measure the space to figure out how big around and how tall you would like your shrub to be. Hydrangeas come in a range of sizes, from less than 3' tall and wide to specimen shrubs measuring 8'x8' or bigger.
Now that you have a general idea of what type of hydrangea is right for you, we'll go over how to get the most out of these workhorse shrubs!
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THE SIX TYPES OF HYDRANGEAS
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Here's a quick rundown of the different hydrangeas that grow in our area and their needs, plus troubleshooting tips. You'll find pruning guidelines, soil pH details, and a downloadable chart farther down the page.
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Bigleaf Hydrangeas are the quintessential flowering shrub, blooming all summer long with large, round clusters of flowers that usually range from pink to lavender to blue, depending on soil pH. Some varieties, such as the double petaled Wedding Gown, have white flowers. There are also lace cap varieties such as Twist-n-Shout, with a combination of large and small flowers on the same flower head.
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Bigleaf Hydrangeas grow best in a sheltered spot with at least four hours of morning sunlight. Although their large, showy flower clusters are attractive, you need to be prepared to protect your Bigleaf Hydrangea over winter in order to ensure that it blooms well. As soon as the plant drops its leaves in fall, wrap the bare stems with burlap or encircle the plant with chicken wire and stuff the wire cylinder with leaves or straw.
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The majority of a Bigleaf Hydrangea's flowers are produced on old wood, and by protecting the stems, you protect the developing flower buds from frost damage. As we saw this year, we can get killing frosts as late as Mother's Day, so be patient, and don't unwrap your hydrangea until then!
Many modern Bigleaf Hydrangeas are rebloomers, meaning that they can also produce some flowers on new wood. If you have a Bigleaf Hydrangea that puts out a limited number of flowers in late summer, you probably have a rebloomer (such as Endless Summer,) that has suffered frost damage to its old wood flower buds. With a little winter TLC, your underperforming hydrangea can bloom all summer long!
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Mountain Hydrangeas have the same needs and the same summer-long bloom time as Bigleaf Hydrangeas. These elegant lace caps tend to be compact, with the smallest of all, Tiny Tuff Stuff, measuring 2'x2' or less! Like most Bigleaf Hydrangeas, the color of their flowers is dependent upon soil pH.
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Smooth Hydrangeas are reliable natives that bloom on new wood only. This allows them to put on a show every year, no protection required! They have tightly clustered white or pink flowers borne throughout summer. Unlike the Bigleaf and Mountain Hydrangeas, they prefer at least four hours of afternoon sun. In moist spots, they can take full sun.
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Panicle Hydrangeas are handsome, architectural shrubs with cone-shaped flowers that start out white and change to pink as the season progresses, typically still displaying their flowers in early fall. 'Limelight' and 'Little Lime' are notable for green-tinged blooms that blush pink in autumn, while 'Vanilla Strawberry,' 'Strawberry Sundae' darken down the length of the panicles for an ombre effect. 'Quick Fire' turns a dramatic shade of pink, and may display fall leaf color.
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Oakleaf Hydrangeas are named for their attractive lobed leaves, and are the only species of hydrangea to have reliable fall color in our area. Their cone-shaped flowers change color in a similar way to the Panicle Hydrangeas, and their flaking bark is considered an attractive winter feature.
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Like the Bigleaf Hydrangeas and the Mountain Hydrangeas, they need to be placed in a sheltered location with at least four hours of morning sunlight and protected over winter. They are particularly appreciative of wood mulch, both in winter and summer.
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Climbing Hydrangeas have vining branches that produce attractive cinnamon-colored bark and strong hold-fasts, enabling them to climb almost anything. These unique plants are ideal for covering a sturdy but boring wall, a well-built arbor, a dead tree, or even serving as a large-scale ground cover in a shady spot.
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They take partial to full shade and bear loose, white, lace-cap flowers during the summer. In autumn the leaves turn brilliant yellow before they fall, and during winter the interesting bark becomes visible.
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THE CARE AND FEEDING OF HYDRANGEAS
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Give your hydrangea regular water! The "Hydra" part of the word "Hydrangea" is the Greek word for "water," because these plants love water. Water all types of hydrangea regularly until they have an established root system, water them during periods of drought, and give extra water to any hydrangea growing in full sun, plus a deep wood mulch to help them retain moisture.
How do you prune your hydrangea? In all but one case, the answer is...you don't! Choose your variety with care so that it won't outgrow the spot you plant it in, and then leave it alone. You can remove spent flower heads after bloom if you prefer, but that's all most hydrangeas need. If you prune more drastically than that, you risk cutting off next year's flower buds.
The exception is the Smooth Hydrangea, which can be cut close to the ground each year in late winter or early spring. It will flower on new growth in summer.
Don't overdo it on the fertilizer. Too much can cause your shrub to produce more leaves than flowers. If you want to fertilize your hydrangea, use a balanced, slow release fertilizer, such as Osmocote in late winter or early spring.
Our soil in the Peoria area tends to be somewhat acidic or neutral, which means that the flower color of Bigleaf and Mountain Hydrangeas tends to be in the lavender range (unless it's a white flowered variety.)
If you want to influence the color of these plant's flowers, you can amend your soil. For more acidic soil and bluer flowers, add garden sulfur or aluminum sulfate. Apply garden sulfur or aluminum sulfate once you see growth in spring, and twice more every 3-4 weeks after that.
For more alkaline soil and pinker flowers, apply garden lime in spring or fall. Don't overdo it, or your hydrangeas may develop yellow leaves (called chlorosis) as the alkalinity of the soil makes iron less available to the plants.
Both products are available in Plant Pharmacy, and our horticulturists would be happy to help you choose the right one.
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To download a summary of this information on a handy reference chart, click here:
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This Father's Day, help dad check off that yard improvement list - get him a gift card from Hoerr Nursery! Available online and in-store. Visit hoerrnursery.com/gift-cards
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We appreciate all of the great feedback we've been hearing about Green Thumb! If you haven't had a chance to tune in yet, you can catch our Saturday radio discussion about all things gardening at 7am on 1470 WMBD.
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