My Hydrangea Obsession

I’ve written about why I became interested in growing hydrangeas and I wonder now if it has gotten a little out of hand! Yesterday, I walked my three-quarter acre property and tallied up my hydrangea collection.  Ninety-one (2022) and counting! Here’s the list!  Select photos below. To see all of my hydrangea photos visit my Flickr site. All of the photos have a Creative Commons license

4-Little Limelight – local nursery. Not so little!

3-Macrophyllas lacecap 2 blues, 1 purple

1-Purple lacecap from above, successful layering

1-Forever and Everyone “Peppermint” 2011 a rebloomer

6-Schnee balls macrophylla, (white blooms, ruffled blossoms) 2011

1-Schnee ball successful layering and blooming 2021

1-Limelight panicle

1-Mom’s hydrangea (funeral bouquet 2001) – transplanted to full shade in 2021. 

2-Mom’s hydrangea (clumps that got divided in 2021 and set new growth in 2022)(20)

1-Oak-leaf unknown (2004)

4-Mariesii variegated

1-Little Quick Fire Proven Winners (2016) local nursery

1-Oakleaf Syke’s Dwarf

3-Blue Billows Mountain Hydrangea – original parents Wayside Garden

2-Endless Summer (ES) Let’s Dance Blue Jangles (2019)

6-Macrophyllas  – likely Mathilda Gutges – propagated from cuttings (2018)

1-Walmart rescue (purple) (2018)

1-Gift macrophylla propagation (2019) (40)

1-Vanilla strawberry (2017)

3- Proven Winners Tuff Stuff Ah ha, double bloomer (2019)

1-Annabelle (2015) MG Plant Sale

3-Macrophyllas unknown variety, traditional

2-ES variety unknown. Slow growing. Has a very tight, pagoda shaped bloom.

8-Blue billows mountain by propagation from original parents

1-hydrangea serrata kiyosumi turns all kinds of colors. Small dainty lacecaps or a “Greywood” Purchased at Wayside Gardens in 2002.

1-Oak-leaf Snow Queen (2017) (60)

1-Mystery layering

1-Pinky Winky (2018) Local nursery

2-Nikko Blue (2002)

2-Incrediball h.arborescens

2-Pistachio – wayside gardens. From 2004. Very slow growing. Moved to a third spot a bit sunnier and is starting to grow

2-City Line Rio (transplanted from sun to shade in 2018. Currently growing but not blooming). (70)

1-Merritt’s Supreme (2017)

-2-Oak-leaf “Snowflake” double bloomer (in transit 2019) Did Not Survive

1-Summer crush (2020) purchased at Lowes post-season. Bloomed very pink in 2021.

1- “Alice” Oakleafs Hydrangea. Purchased at Willey’s Farm, Townsend, Del. postseason in 2020. Looking forward to blooms in 2021.

1-Bloomstruck macrophylla

1-Strawberry Sundae (2020)

1-Bobo panicle hydrangea (2020)

1-Gatsby Star Oakleaf hydrangea (2021) Proven Winners purchased from UDBG plant sale

1-Shooting Star (double-bloomer) lacecaps macrophylla Lowes

1-Proven Winners Tuff Stuff serrata “Red” (2021)

1-Haas Halo – native arborenscens lacecap recommended by Mt. Cuba Center as a pollinator favorite (80)

1-ZinFinDoll h. paniculata

1-Limelight 

1-Oakleaf that is a complete mystery where I got it or if I propagated

(2021)

2022

1-h.macrophylla Pistachio “Horwack” Hooked on Plants, Route 9, Delaware

1-h. Monrovia Seaside Serenade Series “Cape May” a lush mountain seratta with purple in the leaves

1-Proven Winners Incrediball Blush

2-Mathilda Gutges macrophylla

1- macrophylla “Rhapsody”  a mostly lime green variety 

1-Ruby Slippers oakleaf from Lowes. (90)
END

1-Lacecap “Bethany” a gift from a Master Gardener (91)

Five layerings in progress. We’ll see how many make it! 

I’ve obtained these specimens from local nurseries, mail order, propagation from friends, and those I have created myself from layerings and cuttings! I currently have a dozen cuttings in a tub and it looks like all but two will make it!

The challenge now is to find a place for all of these. I would say half of my collection is small and in that “getting established” period of its life.

Back when I did not know what I was doing, I planted some macrophyllas in high heat, strong sun locations. Most are doing okay, but take daily and sometimes twice-a-day waterings. I doubt at this stage they would take to transplanting, but in leaving them where I have, I am creating additional work for myself down the line. I have taken layering and cutting samples from all of these, as I may try to replace them with paniculata.

Here are some of my favorite photos:

Proven Winners Little Quick Fire panicle

Variegated Mariesii. This layers very easily. Much of the new growth is not variegated.

Peppermint It was purchased pink and now blooms in this beautiful, bright blue!

Another view of peppermint

Wet and white! Schnee or Snow along the fence line. They are a macrophylla with deep, dark green foliage.

Oakleafs hydrangea Endless Summer. I wish I knew the variety. These blooms are very tight, curled and never form round shapes. They stay in this flat pagoda shape.

Limelight has become one of my most favorite plants. I heavily prune in early March.

I love to bring hydrangeas indoors. Here I have limelight arranged with a base of Philodendron Selloum. Both last a long time in a vase.

Various vases of my hydrangeas!

I transplanted this Strawberry Sunday from a container to the ground. Doing this interrupted its bloom schedule. But the plant sent me a message with this one, singular bloom, that I had made a good decision and I can look forward to more blooms like this in 2021.

Unknown variety of oakleaf earlier in the summer. Compare the spacing of the florets to the Snow Queen below. Bees love this hydrangea!

Oakleaf hydrangea. Either Sykes Dwarf or Snow Queen

This was a pink florist hydrangea bouquet that was purchased for my mother’s funeral in 2001. It took 3 years to grow before it bloomed this deep, purply blue! I have since moved this to almost full shade. It broke into two pieces and I discovered a natural layering so I have 3 of this now doing well after transplanting.

 

Unknown blue macrophylla in foreground. Oakleaf “Syke’s Dwarf” in background.

 

For me a “generic” macrophylla, planted before I knew to record the variety! I am guessing this is Mathilda Gutges.

Pistachio. This delicate little thing is a slow grower, but has stayed in the pink and rose hues. 

Proven Winners “Incrediball” hydrangea arborescens. These can be pruned heavily in the early spring.

A young Merritt’s Supreme blossom! It shifted from pink to lavender purple its first year,

Unknown big leaf lacecap. Maybe blaumaise?

 

Oakleaf, I believe is Snow Queen is decidedly lime in July first summer bloom!I love the early lime color! 

 

Pinky Winky

Pinky Winky first year in the ground! Wiley’s Market Middletown, Delaware

Little Quick Fire July

Vanilla Strawberry or Strawberry Sundae from Wayside Gardens mail order order

hydrangea mariesii

Ruby Slippers oakleaf. Last year, I did not water this faithfully and it went from white to brown quickly this year I am watering it every day and it helps sustain the pink part of its season.

Little Lime in early July. Despite its 4 foot maximum height, mine are shooting up stems that are over 5 feet! Mislabeled perhaps? It received a shaping pruning in early March.

hydrangea Pistachio “Horwack” $30 Hooked On Plants in Milton, Delaware

Monrovia Seaside Serenade “Cape May” a Mountain Hydrangea

H. Macrophylla “Rhapsody” From Lowes.

I usually don’t plant in containers but I want to try it. I will overwinter these Mathilda Gutges in the garage. Purchased from Lowes.

My two incrediballs from Proven Winners in mid-May. I pruned these down to 24″ give in mid-March. They bloom on new wood so the pruning invigorates them. They are now topping off at over 5 feet.