Care & Buying Guide for Hydrangeas

If you’re looking for some midsummer blooming plants that last late into the fall, nothing beats the wide variety of Hydrangeas.  From 2 feet tall to 8 and from full sun to shade these versatile plants can be used in any part of the landscape.  In our area, you can basically divide Hydrangea into two groups, Hydrangea arborescens and macrophyla are one group and Hydrangea paniculata is the other.

The arborescens and macrophyla group contain the “Annabelle” and “Endless Summer” varieties.  This group stays in the 2 to 4’ size, likes part shade, and get large, dense flower clusters that can be between a softball and volleyball in size and shape.  Colors can be a bright white to dark blue or pink depending on variety and soil type.  These Hydrangeas tend to die back to the ground every winter and start fresh from the roots in the spring.  Use this group in mass plantings for shaded areas to get the best affect.

The paniculata group contains varieties that can be as small as 2-3’ and as large as 8’.  This group can have more of a dense conical flower as in the “Vanilla Strawberry” hydrangea, or a less dense oval shaped flower cluster as in the “Quick fire” variety.  Most of the plants in this group start out with a white flower cluster that turns to a pink or red as the season goes on.  These hydrangea do best in part to full sun to get the best flower color.  Hydrangeas in this group will have a woodier stem than the arborescens and don’t die back in the winter.  Because of this, they tend to get larger and can be pruned in the spring to maintain their desired size.

So whether you have a large or small space, shade or sun, there is hydrangea out there for you.  If you want to get a good look at all the different varieties, stop out to Oakridge 6th and 7th for “Hydrangea Happy Hour”.  There will drinks on Friday and our Hydrangea experts around all weekend to answer your hydrangea questions. For more event details, check out our Events page.