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The Hydrangea Is Deciduous But Can Create Sensational Colors In A GardenThe Hydrangea is such a wonderful deciduous shrub to use in many different styles of landscaping. This plant specimen creates a mass of color during the late spring, summer and early fall months. Their colors range from a soft white to mellow pinks and purples. The Endless Summer is noted for its vibrant blue tones. I decided to incorporate this shrub page into the garden project section. This plant family is versatile and some varieties will grow in zones three through nine. The main ingredient to successfully growing this plant family is having the right soil conditions. The soil should be slightly acid and very well drained. Some people plant a specific type of Hydrangea and are looking for a particular color. If their soil is too acid base, the shrub may turn pink tones. It is a good idea to know your soil conditions when planting these shrubs. The other ingredient that is important is giving the plant ample room to spread out. When I use this plant family in designing, I like to create them as accent plants. After the growing season they will die out and due to the area you will need to plant them, you will end up with a lot of dead space.
There are several varieties available today and lets take a look at a few of the most popular. Feel free to search in Google for your favorite variety of this plant specimen. You can also search this website for other shrubs or trees to accent with the Hydrangea. The Oakleaf is a brilliant specimen that will grow well in zones five through nine. If you have a large area around your driveway or in need to border a garden, the Oakleaf would be perfect. It does best if you space each shrub at least six to eight feet apart. In warmer climates the Oakleaf should be planted in partial shade but in cooler climates and up in the mountains, it can be put in full sun. A great idea is to create a back drop of evergreen trees such as Arborvitaes, Leyland Cypress or Hemlocks. The Oakleaf will grow anywhere from three and a half to ten feet tall and the width will run about eight to ten feet. Below are two pictures of a mass of Hydrangeas. One is a landscape open garden and the other is using this specimen along a pathway.
The Snowball is a very popular shrub in colder climates and does well in zones four through eight. The large white clusters of flowers appear in the early summer months. The Snowball reaches three to six feet tall and two and a half to three feet wide. The Snowball is one that I recommend to my clients for a more relaxed or informal look. You can mass plant this shrub or intertwine it throughout a landscape area. It can take sun to part shade conditions. The Snowball is an older shrub and has been a great accent plant for years in many gardens. The Hydrangea Collection The Annabelle is a great shrub around walls and other masonry features. It does great in zones three through nine. The Annabelle will mature to three to five feet tall and the also three to five feet tall width. The clusters are large and emerge in the summer throughout the early fall season. This is a great Hydrangea for a small area or narrow pathway. It likes part shade conditions and may burn out if given to much summer sun. The Annabelle is a little different when pruning as it should be done in the early spring or late winter months.
Examples of landscape designs
will give you a wide variety of detailed color drawings of many different landscape areas and gardens. Browse through the designs to get some ideas of where to plant the different Hydrangeas. The Peegee is another cold weather shrub that does well in the harsher climates. The Peegee will thrive in zones three through eight. This is a larger shrub as it will grow anywhere from nine to twenty feet high and eight to ten feet wide. The flowers reveal a mass of white clusters in the peak of the summer months. This shrub can be pruned back a couple of times a year to prevent its mature height. The Peegee is wonderful to create a non focal staggered or row in a larger garden or around an open area with a trellis near by. Plant smaller evergreen shrubs such as Mop Cypress, Globe Arborvitaes, or Indian Hawthorns in front of the Peegees. One of the reasons I wanted to do the Hydrangeas now was to show you a couple of pictures we shot this past weekend. The first photo is of a flower still in full bloom in the beginning of November in the south. The second picture is of the same bush, and one of the flowers are changing into its fall colors. Notice all the different soft shades and colors. Many of these flowers are as beautiful in autumn as they are in their peak time of spring and summer. The French is best known in the warmer climates as it loves the heat of the summer months. The growing zones are a little more narrow as the French does well in six through nine. This is a classic example of soil conditions as the French will definitely change colors in different soil conditions. If your soil has more acid, its appearance is a rich blue color. The less acid soil will reveal a pink color. This shrub does well in part shade and will grow three to six feet tall and three to six or seven feet wide. You can prune the French after it blooms. The French variety looks wonderful surrounded by other ornamental shrubs such as Viburnums and a few evergreen solid color plants. A nice touch is to plant a mass planting of this variety with a few Camellias and the color in your garden will continue throughout the fall and winter months. The last variety is one of my favorites to design with. The Climbing Hydrangea is brilliant along a trellis or fence. This vine has tiny white flowers that blossom in the mid summer months. It can grow fifty to sixty feet, so I recommend to place it in an area you will have access to trim back. Natural settings such as rocks, decorative stone or brick walls can work really well. The climber will grow in zones four through seven. I love putting an arch trellis behind a bench and training this climber to show off. It is a slow grower, but if patient this is a great show case for any garden. Look at the different colors in this one shrub. The Hydrangea family can be used in so many zones as well as a variety of garden projects. Their massive cluster of flowers create a truly spectacular view for you and your family to enjoy.
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