‘Haas’ Halo’ smooth leaf hydrangea’s flowers are about 14 inches wide. Photo courtesy Plants Nouveau
Clamoring for our attention in the summertime are hydrangeas. They wrap around our porches or adorn the deck or patio for a beautiful declaration of the season.
Perhaps a hydrangea stands loaded with blousy flowers as a focal point among other shrubs and trees. Or one of the new, smaller varieties could anchor a flowerbed to provide several seasons of beauty. Creative gardeners may have planted one of these small varieties in a pot for the patio, porch or balcony.
Hydrangeas have white or pink flowers and sometimes, the enviable blue. Flat flowers are called lace caps and those that look like balls are mop heads. Some have cone-shaped or panicle flowers. One popular species is an Indiana native and another hails from the southeast U.S.
Native hydrangea
In this blog, we’ll talk about native hydrangeas. In the next blog, we’ll look at hydrangeas that come from other lands and talk about how they do in the landscapes of Indiana.
‘Annabelle’ smooth leaf hydrangea is a variety of an Indiana native. (C) Photo Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp
Smooth Leaf Hydrangea
Probably the most well known native hydrangea is ‘Annabelle’ (H. arborescens). ‘Annabelle’ is prized for its large, white mop head flowers. It gets about 4 feet tall and wide and does well in shade or sun. It does well in sun or shade. The flowers turn from white to green to buff. The flower heads remain attractive even in winter. You can cut them and use in winter arrangements, or spray paint them for holiday containers. Because this type of hydrangea blooms on current season growth, Holeman’s experts say it can be cut back in late winter or early spring, and the plant will still bloom in summer.
Invincibelle Spirit is a pink version of the native smooth leaf hydrangea. Photo courtesy Proven Winners/ColorChoice Plants
The Indiana native hydrangea that gave birth to ‘Annabelle’ has lace cap flowers that pollinators love. ‘Haas Halo’ and White Dome, are good selections for a large white, flat flower. A few years ago, Invincibelle Spirit, the first pink-blooming ‘Annabelle’-type hydrangea hit the market. Since then, breeders have improved this plant tremendously with stronger stems, better flower color and a bit quicker to establish, making it worth considering if pink is your color. Breeders have also introduce a ruby and blush Invincibelle.
Oak leaf hydrangea
Although native in the southeast United States, oak leaf hydrangea (H. quercifolia) does perfectly fine in the Indiana landscape. This plant is a four-season winner: It starts blooming in late spring and early summer; as the cone-shaped flowers age, they turn pink; in fall the leaves take on a leathery wine-color and persist well into winter; and in winter you can enjoy the rich, cinnamon-colored bark that flakes from the branches.
Snow Queen oak leaf hydrangea has 8-inch cone-shaped flowers. (C) Photo courtesy Doreen Winja/Monrovia
The native oak leaf hydrangea gets 6 to 8 feet tall and wide and does best in a sunny to partly shady spot. Snow Queen, a popular variety, is covered with upright, dense, 8-inch cone-shaped flowers. ‘Sike’s Dwarf’, ‘Pee Wee’ and ‘Ruby Slippers’ are smaller versions – closer to the 3-4 foot tall and wide range – with all the same great attributes as their larger siblings.
Fall color on Sike’s Dwarf oak leaf hydrangea, a southeast U.S. native species, lasts well into winter. (C) Photo Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp
If oak leaf hydrangea needs to be pruned, do so in midsummer. Removing branches later in the season runs the risk of cutting off next year’s flowers.
Here’s more about hydrangeas for the garden.