Hydrangeas are many and varied

Asking if you like hydrangeas is like asking if you like dogs. There are so many types.

There are bigleaf hydrangeas, mountain hydrangeas, smooth hydrangeas, oakleaf

hydrangeas, panicle hydrangeas, and climbing hydrangeas, just to name a few.

Hardiness and adaptation vary somewhat among types. Smooth, panicle and climbing

hydrangeas are most adapted to cooler places. These types bloom on the current

season’s growth. They grow here but really thrive further north. I remember growing up

and picking white flower heads as big as volleyballs from the smooth hydrangeas in my

grandparents’ yard in Augusta, Maine.

Panicle (often called Pee Gee) and climbing hydrangeas must be planted where they

aren’t in the midday sun more than a short time in our climate. Further north it doesn’t

matter as much.

Panicle types have elongated clusters of blooms. Oakleaf can vary in shape and often

have a pink blush. Climbing hydrangea flower clusters tend to be flat. They also are

more shade-loving than most hydrangeas.

The most common types are the bigleaf hydrangeas, often called French hydrangeas.

They flower on both this and last year’s growth. These are the blue and pink types. They

flower blue in acid soils and pink in neutral ones. Sometimes they bloom purple or even

red.

If flower clusters are uniform, we call them mophead types. Lacecap types have broad

sterile flowers around the outside of the cluster and tighter fertile ones toward the

center.

Mountain hydrangeas are often grouped with the bigleaf types and also flower largely on

the previous season’s growth. That’s one reason they are somewhat less adaptable

further north. They are also pink or blue but are normally much shorter than bigleaf

varieties. Pretty much all other hydrangea types have white flowers.

All hydrangeas benefit from deadheading. They also thrive in soils with high organic

matter. On sandy sites, it’s often necessary to incorporate organic matter or mulch

heavily. These plants are not especially drought tolerant and will usually wilt on hot

afternoons.

Also, while some folks like pink hydrangeas, adjusting the pH too high can be

detrimental to their health. Even slightly acid soils will yield pink hydrangeas. Soil pH

should be 5.5 or slightly less for blue blooms. Purple flowers often result from soil pH

levels around six.

As well as being a great colorful landscape shrub, hydrangeas are great in cut-flower

arrangements, both fresh and dried. Sometimes there is no substitute for a huge flower

cluster and hydrangeas fit that bill.

Another tribute to their versatility is their use as medicinal plants. Smooth hydrangea is

the major species used, and the most common maladies addressed are urinary tract and

prostate problems. Teas and other preparations act as diuretics and cause a loss of

water.

Those taking lithium should refrain from using hydrangea for these problems. Roots

and rhizomes are the parts of the plants most commonly used medicinally.

One thing I like most about hydrangeas in the landscape is that they don’t usually

require much pruning, and they can’t really be hurt by pruning. I like forgiving plants

with multiple uses.