One of my earliest childhood memories is my grandmother’s garden in England in mid Summer where she had a massive hydrangea hedge with flowers the size of dinner plates…..
image from theflowerexpert.com
Here in South Africa they’re known as the Christmas Rose (because that’s when they flower) but I’ve never managed to grow these beautiful plants myself.
I have, however, just taken a number of cuttings from a well established stock plant and am DETERMINED that they’ll survive. I want this in my garden next Summer….
image from hydrangeashydrangeas.com
So what’s the secret to getting these beauties to flourish?
From what I’ve read it would seem that Winter is the most dangerous time as frost or even very cold air will kill the buds, so covering during the coldest weather is essential. Wrapping in a cylinder of chicken wire and filling this with leaves seems to be the cheapest and most efficient option.
Although you could always buy them a nice parka jacket…..
image from hydrangeashydrangeas.com
Next problem is where to plant them?
Again, the concensus is partial shade although I’ve seen spectacular displays in quite deep shade.
I guess the main thing is NOT full sun (particularly here in South Africa where our summer sun can kill at 20 paces…..)!
I already have several shady places in my garden where I know they would be happy so my next question is how to plant them and what to feed them.
It would seem that they don’t like fertilizer until they are well established (4-8 weeks after planting).
After that they just need a regular dose of an all purpose fertlizer but PLENTY of water.
These darlings love to drink so they need watering whenever there’s an absence of rain or when you notice a bit of a wilt. Keeping control of this wilt is particularly important during the Spring months when the flower buds are forming.
image from dunwoodygardenclub.com
And now to the colour….
Should it be white which would show up well in shady spots….
image from uconnladybug.wordpress.com
Fabulous pink? (always a girlie favourite...)
image from free-extras.com
or that stunning blue ? (Yummy enough to eat….)
image from grumpygardener.southernliving.com
For me it would have to be the blue but that gorgeous colour doesn’t come easy – there’s work involved. You have to turn them blue!!!
Firstly, white flowers cannot be made blue or pink.
It seems the easiest way is to turn pink big leaf varieties blue.
To make the flowers turn blue they need acidic soil and a low PH. To this you can add any of the following:
aluminium sulphate (1 tablespoon per 4 litres of water)
eggshells
grass clippings
coffee grounds
ground up orange or grapefruit peel
Alternatively you can use a fertilizer low in phosphorus and high in potassium to achieve the blue colour.
A bit of a fiddle I know, but wouldn’t it be worth it………….
As for variety, well, there are loads. It’s all down to personal choice but personally, I think every garden should have at least one hydrangea.
Has your garden got one? If not, I hope I've persuaded you that it should have.……it really should.
