Category: Hydrangeas

The Light Green Flower of the Limelight Hydrangea

limelight hydrangea shrub
The Limelight Green Hydrangea

One of the hydrangeas I chose to buy on my recent visit to the nursery was the Limelight. It is a large growing shrub with dimensions that can reach up to 8 feet wide and tall. The flowers are a pretty white to light green and they are more lacy looking than the ball type hydrangea flowers of the blue hydrangeas I am used to.

The limelight is a favorite with brides and they use this flower to decorate everything from their wedding bouquets to wedding cakes.  It’s one of the few flowers that is green naturally.

I’ve never grown the limelight (or any hydrangeas), so it will be a new experience, but I am looking forward to watching it mature and bloom.  It’s unlikely that I will see any flowers this year as it will be getting established, but hopefully by next year I’ll have gorgeous light green flowers to enjoy.

I need some photos of this flower to use in my wedding stationery line so it would be wonderful to have them growing right in my front yard.

For now I will settle for any of the hydrangeas blooming and some of my new plants do have buds.

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Time to Plant Hydrangeas Folks!

Time To Plant the Hydrangeas Folks!

Finally — it’s hydrangea planting time!  I’ve been waiting for the local nurseries to have their hydrangea shrubs out for sale and it seems that they all get them in and ready to go just before Mother’s Day.  So this week is an excellent time to shop for hydrangeas.

Hydrangea shrub in pot
Endless Summer Hydrangea

This is the first time I have bought the plants myself.  My yard is in desperate need of landscaping and color is a must so I hoped to find a variety of colors to choose from and I was not disappointed!

I bought six hydrangea plants at The House By The Side of The Road in Wilton, New Hampshire and I only stopped there (at six) because my cart was full!

They offered a wide selection with many plants to choose from in each group and most all of them looked very lush and healthy.  I expected to pay a lot since hydrangeas are popular flowers, but the pricing was reasonable I thought and ranged from $29.99 to $36.99 each and they are good size plants.

I have a lot of shade in my yard, but fortunately hydrangeas can take the shade – as long as they do get some sun.

I bought some bone meal and compost soil amendment at Agway and headed home to get planting.

The Nikko Blue Hydrangea

Nikko Blue Hydrangea
Nikko Blue Hydrangea Shrub

I’ve always heard the Nikko blue hydrangea mentioned when speaking of the blue varieties so I thought I’d look into it. First of all, the Nikko blue will only be blue if the soil is very acidic. If you buy a Nikko blue and plant it in dirt that has a lot of lime or high alkalinity your flowers will most likely be pink. Blooms are rounded and of the mophead variety.

As with many other types of hydrangeas, this one can grow in the shade and should actually be given some shade if you live in a hot climate. I think this is the type that was planted in the front yard of my rental. It would droop on hot days as the afternoon sun beat down on the yard and I’d have to water it often in summer.  They bloom in Spring / Summer and have long lasting bloom.  Be careful about pruning as the new blooms grow on old wood.  Don’t trim them up in Spring and remove all the new buds!

Many mail order nurseries carry this one as it’s one of the best known.  I suggest checking locally for a larger size plant, since the mail order ones are small.

Honestly, this type of hydrangea has tons of info.  Just google it and you’ll see.

Brown Spots on Hydrangea Leaves

wilted hydrangea leaves
What's Wrong?

I have not grown my own hydrangeas, but I did help care for the shrub in the front yard at my rental home. The landlady did not have a green thumb, and since the plant was not really mine, I generally just made sure it got enough water so I could photograph the blooms in summer and fall.

My last year living there, I noticed that part of the plant was not as green as the rest and some of the leaves were getting brown (see photo).

I no longer live there, but I’d like to know what this is for when I do grown my own hydrangeas.

Certain types of hydrangea shrubs can get diseases and have problems with powdery mildew, and mineral deficiencies. They can be affected by mites, aphids and Japanese beetles.

In fact the yard was full of grubs which turn into Japanese beetles and although I did seem some beetles on this plant, they didn’t seem to be doing much damage.

So why are the leaves turning brown? And only on a portion of the plant? Could it be Cercospora leafspot or some other similar fungus? Continue reading “Brown Spots on Hydrangea Leaves”

All About the Pinky Winky

Hydrangea 'Pinky Winky' The Pinky Winky hydrangea is not one you will easily forget. The flowers are pretty shades of pink and white and the shrub itself can be eight feet tall. Plant this one someplace where it has room to branch out. It is a paniculata and is a sister of sorts to the “Limelight” hydrangea which also has cone shaped flowers, but they turn a light green.

Paniculatas are hardy and the flowers form on new wood – or new stems, and that means the pruning – if needed – should be done in late winter or very early Spring before the new buds set. This shrub will bloom in summer and into Fall, like many hydrangea varieties.

As you can see from the photo I’ve added (not mine), the blooms start off mostly white and fill out along the tall spire, shaped like a Christmas tree.  Later the flowers will change color to pink.  See a good picture of them at the Proven Winners site.

Remember to plant this one in either sun or partial shade, but the ground should be moist and cool.  That is what most hydrangeas seem to like.

I look forward to growing my own this year, and then I’ll add my own photos.

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Propagating Hydangrangeas Could Be Easier Than You Think

blue flowers
Create another shrub easily.

Most people think of starting a new hydrangea plant from a cutting, but I am talking about propagating by root or ground layering here – and it’s especially easy if it’s been done for you by mother nature.

My new yard has no hydrangeas, except for the tiny ones I planted this fall. But the duplex I rented for three years had a large, beautiful bush right outside my front window.

As I was weeding around it one spring I found a low hanging branch that had rooted itself into the dirt. I dug it up (with permission from the landlady) and replanted it near the front steps.

The following year she had another little hydrangea shrub to decorate her yard – for free! All it took was digging and watering.  It’s an easy, and super cheap, way to increase the beauty of your landscape.  And you’ll know exactly what you are getting!

Read the full story with photos by clicking here.  And check those low lying branches this Spring – it’s coming.