A LOVE AFFAIR WITH HYDRANGEA

A Love Affair

with HYDRANGEA

Hydrangea have to be one of the most popular shrubs that we grow and sell. There aren’t many people who don’t like them, and for good reasons. There is a hydrangea for just about every spot in any garden. They bloom for most of the mid-summer until the first frost. They are tough and easy to maintain. They come in a multitude of sizes and colors. And their blooms are one of a kind — there aren’t many shrubs that have blooms the size of footballs! Really, the only “rules” when it comes to hydrangea is remembering which type you have and how to prune it. Otherwise, they are easy! We tend to simplify how we classify hydrangea so that you can easily determine which ones are best for you. Here’s some of our favorites — classified by type — and the best spots to locate them in your garden:  THE POM-POMS: This type of hydrangea is probably the most popular around here. “Annabelle” is an old-fashioned variety that most have, but the common complaint is that she flops over. In swoops “Incrediball” to save the day. “Incrediball” has sturdier stems, much larger flowers and is showy from June until frost. They can be grown in shade to part sun (or full sun with some extra water). There are some pink varieties available now — “Invincibelle Ruby,” “Invincibelle Spirit” and “Mini Mauvette” are three of our favorite new pink ones. These types do NOT need any soil amendments to change their colors. This type of hydrangea can be cut down each spring to about 12 inches tall. They grow from the bottom and bloom on new wood.

 THE CONEHEADS: The panicle hydrangeas are some of the largest and sturdiest of the hydrangea family. These types have large, cone-shaped flowers that range in color from lime green to pure ivory to blush pink. They are sun lovers and thrive in the heat. There are SO many new panicle types that I can’t list them all here, but some of our favorites are “Limelight Prime,” “Bobo,” “Fire Light,” “Little Quick Fire,” “Pinky Winky,” “Vanilla Strawberry” and “Zinfin Doll.” Some of them even come as tree form and make great small specimen trees! This type is NOT pruned to the ground in spring. Merely snap off any spent flowers left over from winter and trim to shape if needed. They don’t usually need to be trimmed hard. Their full-grown sizes range from 3 feet to 10 feet tall, so there is one for every spot.  THE OAKLEAVES: This type is a bit more of a collector’s item. They like to be planted in a part sun/shade situation and can take several years

to mature. They have a long, open cone-shaped flower later in summer. Their huge, oak-shaped leaves turn a deep burgundy in fall, so they are more famous for their fall color. The oak leaves are a bit bigger than normal hydrangea — ranging in size from 4 feet to 8 feet tall/wide. They rarely need trimming other than to remove spent blooms. In fact, they are best if left alone and only trimmed to remove dead tips or flowers. They have copper colored exfoliating bark too for some extra winter interest.

 THE COLORED POM-POMS: We have a love/hate relationship with this type. None of us can pass up those gorgeous, jewel-toned pink or blue flowers, but they are a bit tricky to grow. The colored types bloom on old wood so in the past, any trimming one would do could potentially remove flower buds for the next season, and you are left with a giant foliage plant with no blooms. Cold weather could also damage the flower buds. There are some newer introductions that are more reliable, but believe us when we tell you: DON’T PRUNE THEM AT ALL! The only trimming should be after they fully leaf out in spring and you can trim out any branches that don’t leaf out. That’s it. Never cut them all the way to the ground or you’ll never see any flowers.

They also benefit from some winter protection. This year, many people are experiencing a huge number of flowers and that is due to the snow cover we had all winter. They were buried under 3 feet of snow for much of the winter so that protected their flower buds from cold temps. That doesn’t happen every year, so it never hurts to pile leaves or mulch on top of them in the late fall and leave them buried until late March/early April. They also like to grow in a morning sun/afternoon shade situation. They can wilt a lot, but use caution when watering as they just get hot sometimes and perk up by the next morning. “Summer Crush,” “Twist-N-Shout” and “Bloomstruck” are some favorites.

Meagan is the Senior Landscape Designer at Wasco Nursery in St. Charles. She can be reached at 630-584-4424 or design@wasconursery.com. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!