Hydrangeas bring colour
The beauty of the mid-summer garden is greatly enhanced with the company of hydrangeas. These beauties start flowering during late November and December and will continue right through into April. The colour comes at a time when the garden can be otherwise quite green, with spring blossoms well finished.
There are lots of hydrangea varieties that grow to different sizes and colours. The main colours are white, red, pink, dark blue, light blue and these often come in sizes that stay small at around 80cm, up to varieties that can grow to 1.5m or more. There are also “lace cap” and “mop head” varieties. Lace caps are a flatter flower form, with an equally attractive appearance of unopened florets on top of the blooms.
All varieties have a colour that is true to that plant; however, soil type can influence the colours of pink and blue. So much so that they can, in fact, switch completely. Acidic soil with a ph less than 7 will tend to alter flower colour to blues and purples, whereas an alkaline ph (greater than 7) will influence colours to become pink and red. To adjust (or keep) your hydrangeas to flower blue, apply aluminium sulphate (Tui Blueing Tonic) and to keep or adjust your blooms red and pink apply garden lime.
Strawberries and Cream is one of the most popular red lace cap coloured hydrangeas. It grows well in Whanganui, forming a bush about 1m tall by 1m wide. It is a small enough variety that it can be grown in small and large gardens, and also in pots and containers. Hydrangeas perform best in shady and part shade situations.