Amateur Gardening – 21 May 2019

40 AMATEUR GARDENING11 MAY 2019

Hydrangeas

Joyouswhite,pinkandbluehydrangeabonnetsprovidea reliablefocalpointin any

garden.AnneSwithinbankexplainshowtofinesseyourmopheadsandlacecaps

M

ANYshrubsflowerfrom

springtomidsummer,

leavinga latesummergap

that’seasilyfilledbyplanting

cultivarsofHydrangeamacrophylla.

ThisJapanesenativeis representedby

manycultivars:some‘mopheaded’with

dome-like corymbs of sterile flowers;

otherswithcentralclustersoftiny,fertile

bloomssurroundedbylarger sterile

ones,calledlacecaps.

Theybloomin thelatterpart

of summer,reaching3-6ft(1-1.8m)

dependingonvariety,cultivationand

pruning.Famousforchangingcolour,

pink-floweredcultivarswillveertowards

blueonacidicsoils,whilethosemeantto

beblueturnpinkwhenthesoilis chalky

andalkaline.Bloomsalsoagegracefully,

movingthroughflushesof pink,mauve

andgreen,beforedryingtoa papery

parchment.Deadheadswillactasa

protectivewintercanopy,andareusually

trimmedawayabovethetopmost pairof

fatgrowthbudsin April.

Thesecommonhydrangeasareeasy,

if youremembertheirloveof moisture

yetgoodwinterdrainage;they’llnever

dowellin dryshadeora swamp.Where

soilis reliablymoist,somedirectsunis

tolerated,butlightshadeespeciallyfrom

a harsh mid-day sun is best. They flower

wellin containers,butonlywithplenty

of attentiontowateringandfeeding.

Wheresoilsaredrier,trytheNorth

AmericanH.arborescens, usually

representedbycultivar‘Annabelle’.

Large,sphericalivory-colouredflower

headsopenfromfreshgreenbudsin

summer on plants to 8ft (2½m) tall.

Incrediblelengths

Needa climberfora northoreast-facing

wallortoclamberupa talltree?Lookno

furtherthanH.anomalasubsp.petiolaris,

theclimbinghydrangeafromChina.This

sometimestakesa whiletoestablish

butoncethestemsclingandclimb,its

upwardprogressis fast– andtheearly

summerdisplayof whitelacecap-style

flowersis breathtaking.

Fortheautumngarden,showy

H.paniculatahybridsflowerlate,while

theAmericanoak-leavedhydrangea

(H.quercifolia) willgiveyoua show of

bronze-purple autumn tints.

How to grow...

DeciduousbigleafH.macrophyllaproduces

mopheadclustersofsummerflowersin hues

of shocking pink, electric blue and ultraviolet

H.paniculata‘VanilleFraise’,which
fl owers late for the autumn garden
All photography Alamy, unless otherwise credited

Cultivatetheplantingarea,

addinglotsof soilconditioner.

Diga generousholeandkeep

rootsat thesamelevelasin

thepot.Waterin well,treating

yournewplantto1½gallons

(sevenlitres)of water

at a time.

Exploredramatic

colourcontrasts,aswith

H.m.‘Alpengluhen’

and ‘Glory Blue’

Here,I’mtrimmingawaydeadstem

tipsona pottedhydrangeagrowing

in a north-facingposition.Springis a

goodtimetoweedandremoveold

surfacecompost;addslow-release

fertiliser and mulch with fresh compost