When I grew hydrangeas in my New England yard, my favorite time of year was end of summer. The blooms would begin to fade and change color. Sometimes they didn’t look all that great, and at other times the Fall colors could be even more beautiful.
Fading pink bloom
I didn’t have pink flowering hydrangeas. Mine bloomed white (Blushing Bride) or blue (Endless Summer). Usually the blue flowers would turn an amazing green color, like the picture below.
Blue hydrangea bloom fading to green and pink
Even the dried flowers left on stems add beauty to a winter landscape.
Dried hydrangea bloom still on the stem as snow falls.Fading Pink Hydrangea Bloom
Fall is an awesome time to look forward to. Summer heat is gone, and changes in the yard bring new colors to enjoy. Don’t be sad. Spring and summer will come again and offer a whole new set of flowers to enjoy.
Pale green and pink hydrangea flower
All flower photos on this page came from the free, public domain site Pixabay.
Found this hydrangea photo and good information on one of my favorite photographer’s site. I never grew pink hydrangeas like this one. It has fun little pointy petals. Pete kindly allowed me to re-blog here, so enjoy! And go see his photos… they are stunning!
I have always loved Hydrangeas. My Nan and Grandad grew them at the front of their house, and so did my Mom and Dad. It’s amazing how when you see a certain flower they bring back such wonderful, precious memories. Because of my love for the abundance of showy blossoms this popular shrub produces, and because of the fond memories, I have grown Hydrangeas in my garden for some years. Although, for the first time ever, I made the most silly mistake of pruning then at the wrong time so I did not get a single blossom last year. But this year, they are back again, and in splendour.
Here are a few facts about this colourful flowering shrub, some I already knew, and some I didn’t.
Hydrangeas go back a long way, and were here before we were. The oldest fossil finds discovered in America go back 40 to…
I am not familiar with all types of hydrangeas, but I do know that almost all blooms change color at some point. These multi-color hydrangea blooms show how pretty the hydrangea flower can become along the timeline of it’s life.
This first picture is mine. The blue buds of Endless Summer hydrangeas come out as cream color then eventually turn bright blue, if the soil is acidic enough. As summer ends, the flowers may turn other colors, like green or pinkish purple. Eventually they will dry on the stem.
As a flower fades, or goes by, it can become most beautiful. The blue petals can turn purple and green. I am not sure if this is what happened in the picture below, but I’ve seen my own blue hydrangeas fade to the most stunning and unique colors. Late summer hydrangeas that have turned green are my favorite.
Late in the growing season – into fall – hydrangeas can dry right on the stem. Dried flowers can be just about as lovely as the fresh blooms.
All of the flowers pictured here are of the macrophylla variety, with big, round blooms.
If your soil is more alkaline, mophead hydrangeas can be pink instead of blue.
The long life of the hydrangea flower makes it a popular choice as a perennial for the landscape. Once it begins to flower, you can enjoy those huge blooms for months.
Thanks to Pixabay for most of these pretty floral images.
With the extreme heat and sun of Florida, it may be best to grow hydrangeas as potted plants indoors.
Since I moved to Florida last summer, I’ve kept a lookout for my favorite hydrangea shrubs in local garden centers. At least they are not in the “garden” area. I’ve seen hydrangeas in pots inside the Home Depot meant to give as gifts or use as indoor plants. And I think that in this hot and humid climate they may grow best inside.
Pretty Pink Potted Hydrangea
From what I’ve read, the Oakleaf hydrangea will survive outside in zone 9, so that is one option. It’s not exactly like any of the other types of hydrangea I’ve grown, so it will be experimental if I decide to buy it. Also it seems very leafy, without those big gorgeous flowers like the mopheads have. The Oakleaf seems suited to areas beneath trees where it would get filtered sunlight. And it doesn’t seem to be grown for it’s gorgeous flowers.
I miss my blue hydrangea (photo is mine)
What I do know is that a hydrangea will grow best getting some morning sun and then shade for the rest of the day. In Florida, during dry times, it will require a lot of watering also. I picture any hydrangea growing in the ground here needing a lot of water.
I’ve read in gardening forums that some people buy the potted hydrangeas that are sold around holiday time, and then keep them inside out of the direct sun.
I’ve never had a pink flowering hydrangea and this one is lovely.
The trouble with having hydrangeas in the yard down here is that most tropical plants remain lush and green year round. Hydrangeas are deciduous, which means their leaves will fall off for the winter months. For that reason, they will look out of place in a Florida landscape. In the north, everything goes dormant for the winter, so leafless hydrangea plants don’t stick out like a sore thumb. Or will they keep their leaves because of the southern climate?
Someone suggested growing camellias instead of hydrangeas. I’ve grown camellias before and they are lovely plants with a variety of flowers to choose from.
Camellia
Easter and Mother’s Day are both coming up and I suspect the local stores will be offering some hydrangeas for both of those holidays. It could be the best time to find new hydrangeas to grow in my southern home.
In the north, the blue hydrangeas and Pinky Winky were my favorites, but it might be a nice change to have a true pink potted hydrangea.
(Photo credits: Pixabay.com)
I Purchased a Potted Hydrangea in Blue
Now I own a potted blue hydrangea. The local Home Depot had them for sale and they were small enough to not cost me a fortune, so I decided, why not?
What better time to share my end-of-summer flower photography than in the freezing cold month of January? I began this post back in September but got side-tracked. So now I can post my photos of one of my favorite flowers.
I happen to love the bloom of the Pinky Winky shrub. The flower is so interesting with it’s combination of open and closed petals in colors that range from dark pink to white. The cone shape grows longer and longer as the coloring changes.
This perennial has consistently created the most blooms of all the types I grow. We’ve had a bit of a drought here in the northeastern US over the summer, but the plant never wilts. Bees love the flowers of the Pinky Winky too. For this reason it might be best planted away from sitting areas. I don’t mind bees, but some people like to avoid being near them. I feel good having such a lovely bee-feeder in my yard.
Pinky Winky Flower
I had a tree fall and get stuck up in neighboring trees and I had to have it taken down for safety reasons. It was near my driveway, and when the guys cut it and pulled it down, it landed partially on my Pinky Winky! A branch broke off, and a few flowers, but otherwise the perennial survived. This poor plant always seems to be in the wrong place.
Now that summer is behind us and we’re in the midst of winter, it’s nice to be reminded of what waits for us in spring. Seeing the first green stems burst through the ground, and early flowering plants like the Lenton Rose, remind us of the big hydrangea blooms to come.
The huge blooms of the limelight hydrangea change from white to pale green to pink.
One hydrangea that has cone-shaped, panicled flowers is the limelight variety. I’m using my own photos on this post to show the stages of the limelight hydrangea flower, as it grows from spring through the fall season. All pictures on this page were taken from the same flowering shrubs in my front yard, but throughout their growth period.
Hydrangeas can produce some of the most spectacular light green flowers, and the limelight does not disappoint. Brides love this flower to accent any wedding theme, and it’s often chosen to create stunning centerpieces.
In spring, this perennial sends out tall stems. Eventually buds form, with many little clusters of flowers shooting out along the end of the branch. This is the panicle, which makes this a hydrangea paniculata. These tiny clusters will each grow and merge to form a resulting, huge single bloom.
Panicle Hydrangea Buds
The flowers are the greenest when they are first growing. The buds open from the bottom to the top, creating a flower that is a combination of soft white to light green.
Filling In, The Flower Expands
My limelight shrubs are fairly new to the yard. They were planted in 2012, and I am still learning about how to prune and grow them successfully. Fortunately hydrangeas are very hardy, and even if you do something ‘wrong’ they will continue to grow nicely.
White Hydrangea Flowers
Once the blooms fill out they are mostly white, and big and puffy looking. This hydrangea creates some of the most stunning blooms you’ll ever see.
As summer passes, the white flowers begin to turn pale pink and become darker during the autumn months. They can be cut to use in an inside arrangement, or left to dry on the bush (see my last photo on this page).
Big White Limelight Bouquet
My photos above and below show the pink-tinted hydrangea flowers as they appear in the fall season. The flowers are massive, and the petals that were once a creamy white are now turning partially pale green and mauve pink.
Fall Limelight Blooms
My plants are fairly young. As the plants age, the stems will fill in and become stronger. I’ve seen them staked to hold the flowers upright, as they are heavy and tend to flop downward.
The Limelight hydrangea can be pruned into a little tree, but that takes skill and patience. I have never tried to create a hydrangea tree, but they are stunning accents to any landscape. The flowers hold up well into fall and become dried garden decor.
October Limelight – Dried Flower With a Late, White Bloom
Hydrangeas are fun to grow. You just never know what they may do, like pop out a new bloom in October! When all the other flower heads were dried and brown, suddenly a new white flower emerged from my Limelight (photo above).
I hope you have enjoyed my photos, and maybe I have inspired you to grown one (or more) of these lovely hydrangea shrubs.
Now, would you like to see the stages of the Pinky Winky blooms?
Hydrangeas Blue 