Category: Hydrangeas

The Green Flowers of the Limelight Hydrangea

Hydrangea paniculata
Image via Wikipedia

The Limelight hydrangea (paniculata) is popular for it’s size and stunning, large white flowers that become light green.  The shrub will grow to be very large (8-9 feet tall and can be pruned into a tree) and the blooms last from mid-summer through Fall when the flowers may change color becoming pinkish.

The best thing about hydrangeas, besides their huge flowers, color variety (as if that wasn’t enough!) is their long lasting blooms.  Does any other flower last as long?  I can’t think of one.  And then in fall, the flowers can be dried to last all winter.  Show me something better!

I don’t know much about the limelight hydrangea, so I am finding out.

  • It is hardy in zones 3-8
  • Very hardy and can withstand drought conditions once established
  • Flower color can’t be changed by soil amendments
  • Flowers are held upright on the end of stems (no dragging on the ground)
  • Flowers bloom on new wood
  • Likes sun or part shade

See some photos and read more at this site.

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Pink and Cream Dried Hydrangea Bouquet

dried hydrangeas
Pretty Little Dried Bouquet

This little pink and white – or cream colored – bouquet of hydrangeas came from a shrub that was planted out near the woods in a house I once owned.

When I first moved to the northeastern U.S. from Florida, I didn’t know much about hydrangeas, or many northern flowering shrubs to be truthful. My new home had some very interesting and beautiful plantings, and I decided to find out what was growing in my yard.

Fortunately my next door neighbor was a big-time gardener himself, and his house was about 200 years old with huge flowering bushes growing all along the side of his yard. He came over and pointed out the Lilacs, hydrangeas and others for me, and between his help and visiting local nurseries, I finally figured out what I had.

The little hydrangea “tree” was (I think) a PeeGee and in the Fall the white flowers turned tan, cream and light mauve pink. So pretty! I cut a few and added them to a little vase and got a photo.

This little shrub was doing quite well neglected and tucked under a pine tree at the edge of the woods, so I might try growing one this year in my new, not-too-sunny, yard.

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Out of The Box And Into the Yard – Mail Order Perennials

New little hydrangea plant
One of The Hydrangea Plants

I was impressed with the packaging of the perennials I had ordered from American Meadows, and even though they were a little droopy, they bounced back.

Both Hydrangeas are planted in the backyard where they will get sun and the forsythia is out front. Unfortunately we got a freak 2 feet of snow the end of October, so they hadn’t been in the ground for long before they were covered. One of the long stalks of the forsythia broke off so it’s pretty small now, and the hydrangeas are droopy and partially broken. (The photo was taken before the snow – which may seem obvious, but the snow has all melted now).

I ordered from an online store because I was anxious to get my gardening started here at my new place, but I have my doubts as to how well these plants will do once Spring arrives. And more importantly, how much will they grow. I will be saving up this winter to buy some local hydrangeas and probably more forsythia so we’ll see how much of a difference it makes as far as growth.

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Got My New Little Mail Order Hydrangea Plants

mail order hydrangea plants
Mail Order Hydrangeas & Forsythia

I actually received these plants October 11th, but I’ve been busy with renovations to my house and didn’t have time to post.

I ordered two hydrangeas, a forsythia and some other perennials and bulbs from American Meadows (link on my sidebar) and the hydrangeas and forsythia came in pots wrapped in little cardboard boxes, which you can see in my photo here. I just took the boxes and “unwrapped” them from around the plant. It was a pretty cool way to ship them with little damage showing.

On the left, is the Limelight hydrangea which has greenish flowers. In the center is the “All Summer Beauty Hydrangea” which (as the tag says) is a hardier cousin to the Nikko Blue.

They were in pretty good shape and it rained for days after they arrived so I set them out on the deck to get watered and adjust to the outdoors during that time. Then I dug big holes and mixed in some Bonemeal with the dirt and watered them well. I planted the All Summer Beauty next to the porch steps and the Limelight at the side yard next to my new red, rhododendron.

All the plants are doing very well and I’ve finally finished planting all my tulip, daffodil and hyacinth bulbs.

Are you a mail order person or do you prefer to buy local – or maybe a bit of both.  I have written a page on Buying Perennials about my thoughts on this subject with pros and cons as I see them.

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Compact Hydrangeas to Grow In Pots

Compact hydrangeas to grow indoors in pots.

 

If your patio or living room needs some color and you’d like to add a beautiful flowering plant, why not consider growing a compact hydrangea in a pot. I have never grown a hydrangea indoors, but I may try it at some point now that I have a house with plenty of room.

The macrophylla (rounded blooms) hydrangea would be a good choice for pots. It can be trimmed down to a smaller size and will bloom on new and old stems.

Or find a variety that is meant for pots. HGTV has a post which lists the varieties that will do well in pots. They list the Limelight, but I must disagree with that! My Limelight plants grow a lot during the summer and have very long lanky stems with huge flowers at the end of each stem that are heavy. Not a good choice for an indoor pot, in my opinion.  You want to choose a variety that will stay compact, or can be trimmed to stay smaller.

Advantages to container grown plants;

  1. They can be moved around (use a stand with wheels for the big plants)- out of the sun if it’s too hot; or into the sun if needed.
  2. Use them to beautify areas that are dull and boring.
  3. Enjoy the flowers up close and not only when you walk out to the garden.
  4. It’s easy to provide nutrients to keep the flower color blue or pink (if you have the macrophylla type that changes).

Possible disadvantages to growing indoors;

  1. Controlling the soil moisture can be more difficult.  I tend to overwater.
  2. The plant could outgrow the pot and need re-potting
  3. Your cat / pet could eat the leaves!
baby carriage potted hydrangea
Baby Carriage as Potted Hydrangea Container (Photo credit: Richgold @ Pixabay)

(Photo credit: Pixabay, top image by congerdesign.)

Expect to Pay A Bundle For Large (Older) Hydrangea Plants

I’ve found that online shipping services will ship small shrubs at a relatively cheap price.   But if you want a big plant, head to the bank because you will pay lots for larger hydrangea plants.

If you’ve never ordered perennials online, you might be very surprised at what arrives on the truck. Because of the stress on the plants during shipping, the plants will be mostly dormant and without flowers – some may be just roots and not potted. In fact they could look pretty dead to you, but don’t worry, if you follow the instructions included, they will perk up once they are in the ground where they should be happy.

I’ve ordered plants other than hydrangeas, so this will be my first try. I ordered an “All Summer Beauty” hydrangea from American Meadows who says that shipping will be the week of September 19th for my area. It’s costing me $9.98 and will come in a 4 inch pot. They say I will get an e-mail telling me when to expect it.

If you are looking for the chance to choose from a huge variety of hydrangeas to purchase, check out Hydrangeas Plus.  You can search by planting zone, size (age), container flowers, biggest blooms and other.  I’ve never bought anything from them, but it looks like a promising site.

They sell hydrangea plants as “1 Year” “2 Year” and “3 Year”. Their one year, All Summer Beauty was out of stock, so I couldn’t check the price, but some of their two year blues were “$18.95. the three year old plants in blue (that were available) were priced around $39.95. In their FAQ section they explain what the age difference means and what to expect from each. (Check out the timeline photos of mine below.)

April 2010 Photo

Here are the photos from 2010 and 2011 of a new little hydrangea that I propagated from a large shrub in the yard at my old rental place.
I don’t have a picture of when it was first planted in 2009, but I cut it from a large plant where it had rooted itself from a branch hanging near the ground.
These pictures show it’s growth in the first Spring (2010) up to this summer (2011) just before I moved out.

small hydrangea plant
Summer 2010 Photo

There were no blooms during it’s first year in the new spot near the steps. Only two long stalks developed and I suspect that the roots were getting established.

hydrangea shrub with blue flowers
July 2011 Photo

Then, this summer, lots of growth appeared and bunches of small, light blue flowers.

Read more about the new “baby” hydrangea that I grew at my old rental house.

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