New Hydrangeas Bloom Longer
Some of the newer hydrangea varieties are both longer blooming and smaller in size. It is great to see these newer varieties which are extending our shrub blooming season. A few are available in a standard tree form.
The Endless Summer series was one of the first to introduce the re-blooming trait in hydrangeas. There are three Endless Summer Hydrangeas. Blushing Bride has pure white flowers that mature blush pink. Bloomstruck has 5 inch deep blue flowers on strong red-purple stems. Twist-n-Shout has blue lace cap flowers.
Limelight has large cone-shaped flowers that start out bright white, and then darken to lime green, and eventually to dark pink in the fall.
Blue Enchantress has ruby-black stems supporting big blue mophead flowers Flowers that age to a cream-splashed green color.
Bobo has the smallest plant of the long-blooming Hydrangeas. It matures at about 4 feet. It has cone-shaped white flowers tending to blue.
In addition to adding color to the landscape, hydrangeas make excellent cut flowers and dried flowers. Pick mature flowers and hang them upside down in a warm, dry location. Leaves should be stripped from the stems. Once dry they can be dyed with spray paint.
Allen Wilson
Allen has been writing about gardening for over 30 years. He is a retired professor of Horticulture.