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Just up the street is an exquisite blue hydrangea bush. It is September Sky blue, and its color intensifies as the blossoms mature.
I saw a man puttering around it one day, so I stopped to compliment him on his treasure. He did one of those half-laugh, half-snort things and said, “Oh, this is Mom’s Tinfoil Hydrangea.”
He said for years, his mom brought home an Easter altar flower for him to plant in her garden. One year she came back with a blue “Tinfoil Hydrangea.” Her son checked with several nearby nurseries and was told by one and all to “forget it,” because hydrangeas are forced to bloom at Easter time, in greenhouse conditions.
“It won’t survive,” they all said.
When he explained that to his mom, her comeback was, “Oh, of course, it will grow! It’s blessed!”
Big leaf hydrangea, or hydrangea macrophylla, is probably the most popular hydrangea today. Not only are the colors beautiful, but you have your choice of flower shapes. There are two groupings in hydrangea macrophylla: Snowballs and Lace Caps. You will recognize the Snowballs by their form, but you’ll love them for their joyous, exuberant blossoms. Lace caps have a flatter shape and more ladylike, delicate blooms, so they’re lovely close up, but not as striking from a distance.
Hydrangea macrophylla sets its buds in the fall and overwinters them. Tom Ford, a PSU commercial horticulture educator, says harsh cold, like the winter we’ve just come through, “will kill the flower buds on most big leaf hydrangea cultivars. If you want a big leaf hydrangea that will bloom every summer, regardless of the severity of the winter consider selecting a remontant cultivar like ‘Tuff Stuff,’ ‘Blushing Bride,’ ‘Endless Summer,’ ‘Mini Penny,’ ‘Oak Hill,’ ‘Forever & Ever’ and ‘Decatur Blue.’ They are called ever-blooming hydrangeas.”
In “Dirr’s Hardy Trees and Shrubs,” it’s the oakleaf hydrangea, or hydrangea quercifolia, that gets all the attention. Michael Dirr thinks the oakleaf is under-utilized in American landscapes.
The four- to 12-inch white flowers open in June and last for almost a month. Oakleaf grows well in full sun or partial shade and moist, well-drained soil, and it transplants easily from pots.
Dirr mentions cultivars like “Alice,” “Alison,” “Harmony,” “Roanoke,” “Pee Wee,” (usually half the size of the other species), “Snowflake” and “Snow Queen.”
Unfortunately, oakleaf hydrangeas start to set their buds soon after they bloom, so we might not see any blooms on this bush either. But a big part of the oakleaf’s appeal is the shape and color of its fall foliage. The robust leathery leaves turn a rich burgundy after the first hard frosts.
When you have a minute, go to www.sonneveldhydrangea.nl/en/index.html. Sonneveld grows and ships hydrangeas around the world. The company movie is beautiful, and the automation for their greenhouses is fascinating.
Coming up
* Garden Line opens from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 7. Penn State Extension Master Gardeners will be there to answer your questions. Call 940-5989 or 940-5996.
Contact Teresa Futrick at esroyllek@hotmail.com