Known for their colorful, clustered flowers, hydrangea plants are among the most popular flowering plant. Depending upon their species they can be deciduous or evergreen. Keep reading to get more information about this colorful variety of plant.
Hydrangea comes under the category of popular flowers around the world. Their colorful bunches of flowers last for the entire spring and give your garden and lawn a beautiful look. The Hydrangea plants have about 70-75 species, among which, most are shrubs and the rest of them are either small trees or lianas.
They can be either deciduous or evergreen, depending upon the species. Hydrangeas are natives of North America, South America, Southern and Eastern Asia. Find out some more interesting facts about this plant in the paragraphs ahead.
Classification and Description
Scientific Name: Hydrangeas
Family: Hydrangeaceae
Common Name: Hydrangea or Hortensia
Distribution: Hydrangea plants are natives of North America, South America, Southern and Eastern Asia. In Asia, they are specially found in Japan, Korea, China, the Himalayas and Indonesia.
Description: These are one of the most beautiful flowering plants with more than 70 species with different colors and patterns. Among all the species, most are shrubs about 1-3 meters tall, some are lianas which are climbing hydrangeas and can be 30 meters tall.
Apart from these, you can also find small hydrangea trees. They have two types of flower arrangements: mophead flowers and lacecap flowers. The former have a clustered mop head and the latter has a flat flower head. The plant bears flowers from early spring to late autumn, and are found in clusters.
Some hydrangea plant varieties have small fertile flowers in the middle of the bunch and sterile flowers surrounding them. In the rest of the species, there is a uniform distribution of flowers. The color of the flowers may vary from white, pink, purple, blue, etc.
Hydrangea colors totally depend upon the soil. The soil which is acidic in nature produces blue flowers, basic soil gives pink or purple flowers, and neutral soil will give cream colored flowers.
How to Plant and Care for a Hydrangea
Hydrangea can be planted in the spring. It is not difficult to plant a hydrangea. You just need to get a small plant in the right season from a local gardener or nursery.
Decide a place where you want to grow it and gather the planting tools. Give the soil some compost and fertilizer and just get it planted. Water it daily and keep it moist. Take care of the plant and its growth.
If you are just concerned about the hydrangea pruning, then don't worry as most of the hydrangeas can produce flowers without regular hydrangea plant pruning. Some species may require it on annual basis but it depends upon the variety of the hydrangea.
If you have decided to plant hydrangea in your garden then just follow some of the hydrangea plant care tips to get healthy flowers throughout the season. So here are some of the hydrangea care tips.
✦ Maintain the amount of light. The plant requires soft light, hence can grow better in partial shade, morning light, etc. But afternoon light may harm the flowers and can hinder their growth.
✦ They require excess of water. Water them properly and regularly. It will help them to grow fast and healthy with beautiful flowers.
✦ The pH of the soil changes the color of the flower. Hence, if you have brought blue flowers and want them to stay blue you need to check the pH of the soil.
Hydrangeas are mainly used as ornamental plants. They will beautify your garden and makes your lawn colorful. As they can blossom throughout the spring, they are loved by many. One of the species of hydrangea plants is used in Japan for making tea.
So, if you are looking for some good hydrangea varieties, then you can get them in any nearby plant shop, as they will definitely have healthy hydrangeas plants for sale. Make your garden beautiful and colorful with these flowering plants.