Tag: hydrangea

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.

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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Are We Gardening Yet?

Anyone thinking about gardening yet? If you love getting your hands into the dirt like I do, then I’ll bet you are dreaming of seeing green now that Spring is on the horizon.

Somewhere under the mounds of snow are my hydrangea shrubs.  I long to see how my new little cutting from last year is doing.  I planted next to the steps and it was my fist try and propagating a hydrangea.

It can be a long wait to see our garden beauties again, but they somehow manage to come back looking just as lovely year after year (with perhaps a few broken stems) despite the igloos they inhabit in winter. I had noticed that the main, large shrub had another off-shoot, or new little plant growing up beside it last summer, but I never got around to digging it up. I plan to do that this year, but I’ll have to check with my landlady to see where she’d like to plant it since this isn’t my yard.

If you are thinking about buying a hydrangea for the first time to add to your yard, check out my Blue Hydrangea page which includes information about choosing a shrub, how to plant it and how to take care of it. They are very easy to grow if they get a good start and are planted in the right location. The blooms last a very long time on the bush, and they have some of the most gorgeous flowers you’ll ever see. Remember that the plant will end up being quite large so give it enough space to fill out in the years to come.