Landscaping Shade Garden with Hydrangeas

There are more than 80 species of Hydrangeas and with hybrid cultivation it could become even more. While there are so many species, the common ones are 5 to 6 varieties and that’s all, you need to remember. The colour of blooms depends upon whether they are placed in sunny location or shade. Decide where you want to keep the pants based on the colour you want. The colour of the blooms also depend upon the pH value of soil in which it is transplanted.

Growing Hydrangeas from seed can be time consuming and complicated. If you are one of the novice gardeners, I would suggest you to try a Hydrangea sapling. You still need to be patient. It will bloom when the weather and the soil is friendly. A good time to plant hydrangea is early spring or Fall.

Growing Hydrangeas can be fun and tricky. After an unsuccessful stint of growing hydrangea in the garden outdoors, I planted a new sapling in the garden pot indoors. My indoor garden has one side open and exposed to sun. It is similar to a greenhouse closed by walls on three sides and a roof on the top. So it offers protection from heavy rains and harsh sun. Although it hasn’t yet blossomed, it is producing large green foliage and I am hoping it will bloom one of these days.

So I am patiently waiting for my hydrangea to bloom and surely update this article when it is.

The reason hydrangeas do not bloom is too much of watering, shade or sun. So while you experiment what is best for your hydrangea, here are some points to help you upgrade your learning curve.

Some of the Hydrangea varieties can bloom in full sun. Hence one should definitely consider the amount of sun needed. It sure is not the scorching sun in dessert of 45 degree centigrade, it has to be mild and comfortable afternoon sun. Clearly, hydrangeas cannot withstand hot sun at noon, if the hydrangea is subjected to such weather, there is a high probability of the foliage withering and the new buds dropping dead.

While most of the hydrangeas grow perfectly well and are fine with partial shades, some of them like complete shade.

One of the basic needs and foundation for growing hydrangeas is the preparation of soil. Hydrangeas grow well in a soil that drains water well. Add peat moss and compost to the soil before planting the sapling or seed. Avoid overdoing it with manure, they do not like large amount of fertilizers.

While one cannot predict or control the colour of blooms, it suffices to remember the ground rule which is :

Acidic soil produces bluer blooms and alkaline soil produce pink Hydrangea blooms.

Pruning Hydrangeas is not that simple, some of the varieties spring from old wood, some of them from the new branches and still some from both the new and old. Although this sounds complicated, you can try those hydrangeas that allow blooming from both new and old. Wait and watch, you will learn as the time goes by.

Cut the stem from the blossoms that have faded.

The most popular species of Hydrangea is the Macrophylla which comes in 2 variations. Mophead and Lacecap. Macrophyllas produce large blossoms in white, pink, purple and blue colours in early summer. They are a favourite for most of the gardeners. The conspicuous and the prominence of the flower cluster is eye catching. They can grow as tall as 6 to 10 feet and blooms start appearing in the month of June. Lacecaps are identical to the Mophead hydrangeas except for the shape of flower blooms.

Hydrangea Panicle or Paniculata comes in limelight and vanilla strawberry shades. They are the hardy ones and can be differentiated from Macrophylla by the shape of the leaves and cone shaped flower blooms. The leaves of Paniculata are smaller, thinner and rougher.

While Macrophylla Hydrangeas are intolerant to drought and cannot survive harsh winter, Arborescens are tough and can withstand cold and windy weather.  They are native to United Stated and the most common variety is the white Annabelle hydrangeas that are loved and grown by gardeners all over US.

These are the beautiful Oakleaf hydrangeas that can change colour from spring and summer to fall. The leaves of these variety is like oak, this is where the name is derived from. The shade of this hydrangeas change from orange to red and finally to mahogany. These hydrangeas produce beautiful Fall colour and recreate intense drama from the blooms changing from pristine white to a combination of orange, purple or burgundy depending upon the type of hydrangeas grown.