garden flowers – Hydrangeas Blue

large white hydrangea flower — This is a BIG bloom

I didn’t know what to expect from my newly planted hydrangeas this year, and I am pleasantly surprised!
All types – Limelight, Endless Summer, Pinky Winky, Pee Gee and this gorgeous Blushing Bride, are flowering.

The Blushing Bride shrub must really love the dirt it’s growing in, because it is taking off. The leaves are large; the plant is sturdy and healthy looking, and the flowers are huge – this one is nearly 10 inches across. I am not doing anything differently with this plant than all the others.

I had to get the tape measure out to show the actual size of this bloom. The white petals are mixed with some pink and green now. It will be fun to watch how the colors change as the flowers age.

The Endless Summer’s blue flowers are really pretty, but only half as large. That poor plant got flattened early on by a freak rain storm we had. Apparently it’s not as sturdy as it’s sister with the white flowers.

I will be working on some new wedding stationery using photos of this flower and getting them up soon in my online store.

“Blushing Bride” The White Hydrangea (hydrangeasblue.wordpress.com)
Bloom Hydrangeas, Bloom !!! (hydrangeasblue.wordpress.com)
Taking Hydrangea Flower Cuttings (hydrangeasblue.wordpress.com)

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.