In this blog we introduce the English classic that is the hydrangea.

Macrophylla or Mophead and Lace-cap

This is probably the most seen type of hydrangea, with the classic big ball flowers that are either white, pink, red, purple, or blue. The flower colour is really determined by the type of soil they are planted in; the more acidic your soil, the bluer the flower gets. These hardworking shrubs range in size from 1m to 3m and make an impressive feature in any garden.  A lot of websites and books will say that Hydrangea macrophylla can be planted in full sun or part shade. We disagree with this and urge you to only plant this type of hydrangea in part shade. If they sit in full sun all day, they will end up with sun-damaged crispy leaves. This plant needs a lot of water to keep it healthy so, with the hotter summers of recent years, we find they do so much better in partial shade and require less water.

These plants respond well to a good prune but do this in early spring to ensure big flower heads. They can be pruned back at the end of the year, but we find that this can shrink the flower head the following year. You can reduce the plant by 1/3 in size.

The lace-cap version follows all the same conditions as above, but the flowers are not ball-like in shape and instead have flat flowerheads consisting of a centre of tiny, clustered flowers surrounded by a ring of showy florets.

Paniculata or Panicle

Unlike their cousins, the paniculatas will thank you when planted in the sunshine! We have them planted all around the nursery and our garden and they never let us down. Their flowers are cone shaped and made up of lots of tiny flowers. They all normally start a lovely cream colour and then age to pink or red in the autumn. The leaves of these shrubs also tend to join the flowers and take on a pink or red hue in the autumn. They range in size from 40cm up to 3m. They flower on the current year's growth, so they should be pruned in early spring. You can prune hydrangeas earlier but the faded flowerheads do look beautiful over winter. Cut back old stems to leave around four pairs of buds on the stem. This will encourage vigorous new growth that will bear the largest panicles.

The bees will also visit this type of hydrangea as the flowers are so much more accessible and their flowers, unlike the mopheads, are not sterile. So, if you are planting a hydrangea for the bees, always go for the paniculata.