58 AMATEUR GARDENING 29 JUNE 2019Toby Buckland
Belle of the ball
O
NE thing I would never do
is name-drop. Not only is it a
shameless form of boasting,
but it’s also extremely tiresome.
Indeed, I said as much to Mary Berry
when I caught up with her recently at
the Chelsea Flower Show...
Truth be told, Mary and I talked quite
a bit about gardening and her big plant
passion of the moment – the hydrangea.
Being the type of capable person who is
good at whatever she turns her hand to,
she naturally had some tips on growing
them both in the garden and indoors.
Mary, a self-confessed ‘snipper’,
grows the classy white Hydrangea
arborescens ‘Annabelle’ in the garden,
and every spring she prunes the tops to
the highest, strongest buds. Although
such a light trim wouldn’t be enough
to prevent regular mophead and
lace-cap hydrangeas from become
floppy (they require pruning to waist
height every spring), ‘Annabelle’ isA happy encounter with plant-lover Mary Berry gives
Toby a chance to brush up on his hydrangea knowledge“They give you
lots of bloom
for your buck”
made of stronger stuff, and a very light
trim tidies but doesn’t delay flowering.
With the houseplant hydrangea – or
florist’s hydrangea, as it’s known – Mary’s
tip is to soak the roots regularly in bowls
of water (“overnight is good!”) and to
keep them in a bright but cool room.
As houseplants, hydrangeas have
become garden-centre bestsellers
and it’s easy to see why, as they give
you lots of bloom for your buck. Like
the garden hydrangea, the flowers
come in shades of pink, green, white
and purple, but the blooms are borne
above plants as short and stocky as
Russian weightlifters.
The reason for this change of shape isCultivation and pruning
elle of the ball
the application of performance-enhancing
hormones as the plants are growing.
These growth regulators encourage buds
and reduce the length of the stems,
thereby making it possible for plants in tiny
pots to carry candyfloss-sized blooms.
However, the treatment only lasts so
long, and once out of the nursery and fed
with regular fertiliser, the effects of the
hormones wear off and the plants start
to grow as nature intended.
So while, after hardening off, it’s
perfectly fine to plant florist hydrangeas
in the garden, make sure they are given
plenty of room at the back of the border.
And as Mary sensibly points out,
“Don’t spare the water!”THERE are 23 species of hydrangea, and
‘Annabelle’ is from the American arborescens
branch of the family tree. Unusually, ‘Annabelle’
wasn’t bred, but discovered growing near the town
of Anna in Ohio. Although its cool-white flowers
look delicate, this plant is anything but, coping with
drier soils than other hydrangeas. In moist soil, the
flowers can be as big as dustbin lids – so large, they
need staking to stay upright. Pruning also affects flower
size; a light trim gives lots of flowers, each the size of a hand-tied bouquet,
while snipping to waist-height doubles the final size, but delays their arrival.
All photographs Alamy unless otherwise credited
H. arborescens ‘Annabelle’ with
its spectacular spherical bloomsMary Berry, pictured at the Chelsea Flower Show,
gives her H. ‘Annabelle’ a light trim every springTo b y’s top tiptop tip
Both images TI Mediaflowers can be as big as dustbin lids – so large, they
need staking to stay upright. Pruning also affects flower
size; a light trim gives lots of flowers, each the size of a hand-tied bouquet,A light trim of
‘Annabelle’ creates
bouquet-size headsThe harder a hydrangea is pruned,
the bigger the flowers will be – but
you have to wait longer for them.
As well as trimming back to healthy
buds, remove any old, unproductive
wood down to the base, as this will
encourage new flowering growth
from low down. This can be tackled
any time during summer.Houseplant hydrangeas have
short, stocky stems to hold
their puff y bloomsTop inset: Flowercouncil.co.uk
Bottom inset: PA ImagesRemove older hydrangea
wood down to the base