Six thousand, five hundred, and seventy days have passed with only 28 more to go. The questions creep into my mind at all hours of the day and night. They range from the somewhat inconsequential in today’s society, (‘Does she know how to iron?’) to the abstract (‘How will our family structure be affected as we all feel the loss?’), to the very serious, (‘Have I emphasized strongly enough that she needs to guard her drink at social events?’).
August 18 marks the day that we drop off our oldest daughter at college. How do we best spend the next 28 days together? What last words of wisdom can I impart?
This summer a good portion of my daughter Mary’s wisdom has come through learning about plants. She has had a job since she was 14, but this is the first time she has worked regularly at our garden center. It is through being around flowers this summer she has developed a love for Hydrangeas. he is noticing them more and more in the landscape and makes a point to admire their beauty.
Hydrangeas are gorgeous! Their beautiful white, pink, or blue flowers practically shout joy! The types hydrangeas vary from vines, to shrubs that die back to the ground each year, to those that can easily reach 6’ tall. Each type of hydrangea does better with a certain type of care. This can lead to frustration due to lack of blooms or the plant not growing as expected. In this article, I will briefly describe a few types of hydrangeas. In the next article, I will address care and maintenance.
Hydrangea arborescens, also called smooth hydrangea, is one of the most popular families of hydrangea. The old-fashioned Annabelle Hydrangea, also called Snowball Bush, is characterized by large white flowers that appear mid summer. Invicibelle Spirit, the first pink blooming arborescens Hydrangea, is also part of this family. It is a plant with a cause. $1 from the sale of each plant is donated to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Hydragea arborescens reach about 3-5’ tall and wide. They tend to die back to the ground each winter. They do best in part sun to full sun. They do need to be kept consistently moist for optimum flowering.
Hydrangea paniculata, also called Panicle Hydrangea, is characterized by white cone shaped flowers. The flowers usually turn from white, to pink to a deep mauve color as they age. They are a woody hydrangea that does not die back to the ground. The varieties within this hydrangea classification range in height from about 3’ to 8.’ Limelight, Pinky Winky, and Bobo hydrangea are all within the family of hydrangeas. Limelight hydrangea is often tree form. This means that as the shrub was growing at the nursery the bottom branches were pruned off to develop more of a tree like appearance. They make small scale specimen trees.
Bobo Hydrangea is a new introduction. It only reaches about 3’ in height and blooms very consistently from mid-summer to early fall. These hydrangeas do best in part sun to full sun.
Hydrangea macrophylla, also called Big-leaf Hydrangea, is another very popular grouping of hydrangea. Endless Summer and the improved version, Bloomstruck Endless Summer Hydrangea, are two examples of Big Leaf Hydrangea.
Flowers usually appear in early July and continue through late August. The flower color can be changed through the use of fertilizers. This type of hydrangea does best with morning sun and afternoon shade. It can wilt pretty easily, but usually responds well with watering.
Oakleaf Hydrangea, Hydrangea quercifolia , is a very unique hydrangea. As the name implies, the leaves resemble that of an oak tree. It prefers a sheltered location and has white cone-shaped flowers that begin white but darken to pink with age. The foliage also changes as the season progresses from green to a bronze color in fall. The Pee Wee Oakleaf Hydrangea grows about 3’ tall and 4’ wide.
Climbing Hydrangea can be a very vigorous vine growing up to 15-20’ or taller. It needs a very sturdy structure on which to attach its root like tentacles. It does flower profusely in mid summer. It does best in part shade to full sun.
Hopefully, this column has given you a bit of wisdom with regards to hydrangeas. In keeping with the fact that I firmly believe that it takes a village to raise a child, if you would like to help impart wisdom to Mary during the next 28 days, please feel free to email me and I will pass your note along to her. My email address is Kathleen@thgrowingscene.com.
