Known for their beautiful blossoms, hydrangea shrubs can fill your yard with color all summer long.
Hydrangeas can flourish in sun or shade.
Varieties of hydrangea differ in size, flower shape, color, and bloom time.
Credit: Carol Freeman
These varieties have large, rounded clusters of blue, pink, and white blooms.
Mophead hydrangeas fall into two categories: old wood or new wood.
Old wood bloomers produce their spring flowers in the fall.
Credit: Carol Freeman
In the north, winters tend to be too harsh and will kill off these flower buds.
New wood bloomers produce buds on new growth in the spring.
Newer varieties of mopheads, like ‘Endless Summer,’ are a combination of the two.
Credit: Lynn Karlin
Panicle Hydrangea
Paniculata, or panicle, hydrangeas are less picky than mopheads.
These plants are typically larger in stature, and blooms are cone-shaped rather than round.
Panicle hydrangeas are also new wood bloomers, so you won’t need to worry aboutwinter hardiness.
Credit: King Au
Soil pH doesn’t affect panicle hydrangeas.
Most bloom white and, as nights get colder, the flowers will fade to pink or even red.
Plant panicle hydrangeas in full sun.
Credit: David Speer
These shrubs are moreshade tolerantthan the other types and have thinner arching stems.
Smooth hydrangeas bloom on new wood, so they can be pruned back to the ground each spring.
Flower color is generallywhite or creamand will fade to green as the blooms age.Pink-blooming smooth hydrangeashave been released.
Credit: Dean Schoeppner
Oakleaf Hydrangea
Quercifolia, or oakleaf hydrangea, is seeing a surge in use.
These rugged shrubs love the shade and make greatwoodland plants.
As the nights cool in the fall, the large leaves turn a deep burgundy color.
Credit: Mary Carolyn Pindar
Prune oakleaf hydrangeas back after blooms have faded, as they are old wood bloomers.
If you’re growing a new wood bloomer, prune it back in spring before new growth starts.
If you’re growing an old wood variety, prune after the blooms have faded.
Credit: Marty Baldwin
It features large clusters of flowers resembling snowballs.
‘Big Daddy’ Hydrangea
Hydrangea macrophylla’Big Daddy' features some of the largest flowers of any hydrangea.
The plant has strong stems, making the bloomsgood for cutting.
Credit: King Au
It grows 6 feet tall and wide.
It also bears dark green foliage and grows 5 feet tall and wide.
It grows 6 feet tall and wide.
Credit: Marty Baldwin
This variety also features fall leaf colors in red.
It grows 4 feet tall and wide.
It grows 4 feet tall and 5 feet wide.
Credit: King Au
It grows 3 feet tall and 4 feet wide.
It grows 5 feet tall and wide.
The long-lasting fuchsia-pink flowers fade to green.
Credit: Courtesy of Bailey Nurseries
It grows 3 feet tall and 4 feet wide.
It bears flowers on both old and new growth.
Compared to the original, it has bigger blooms, sturdier plants, and red stems.
Credit: Kritsada Panichgul
It grows 3 to 4 feet tall.
The blooms appear on new and old growth all summer and fall.
It grows 6 feet tall and wide.
Credit: Courtesy of Bailey Nurseries
It grows 5 feet tall and wide.
It grows from 6 to 8 feet tall.
‘Incrediball’ Hydrangea
Hydrangea arborescens’Incrediball' offers especially large, pure white bloom clusters on sturdy stems.
Credit: Marty Baldwin
It blooms on new wood and resists flopping.
It grows 5 feet tall and 6 feet wide.
Pink blooms in summer fade to a pleasant green.
Credit: Al Teufen
Stiff stems don’t flop.
This variety grows 3-4 feet tall and wide.
‘Lemon Wave’ Hydrangea
This ‘Lemon Wave’ variety ofHydrangea macrophyllais prized for its wildly variegated foliage.
Each leaf is painted with strokes ofwhite and yellow.
It bears blue or pink lacecap flowers on last year’s stems and grows 6 feet tall and wide.
‘Lanarth White’ Hydrangea
Hydrangea macrophylla’Lanarth White' is a longtime favorite lacecap variety.
Credit: Andre Baranowski
Its large flower clusters are faintly blushed with blue or pink.
The variety grows 4 feet tall and wide.
It grows 3 feet tall and wide.
Credit: Marty Baldwin
It bears flattened lacecap-key in flowers in shades of blue.
It grows 4 feet tall and wide.
It grows 5 feet tall and 6 feet wide.
Credit: Getty Images
‘Limelight’ Hydrangea
Hydrangea paniculata’Limelight' is a sun-loving selection with large green flowers midsummer into autumn.
The blooms deepen to pink in cool weather.
It grows 8 feet tall and 6 feet wide.
Credit: Bill Stites
It grows 6 feet tall and 8 feet wide.
It grows 8 feet tall and wide.
It grows 12 feet tall and wide.
Credit: King Au
The leaves feature wonderful shades of red and purple in fall.
It grows 6 feet tall and 10 feet wide.
It grows 10 feet tall and 6 feet wide.
Credit: Courtesy of Bailey Nurseries
It grows 5 feet tall and wide.
It grows 3 feet tall and 4 feet wide.
It’s a profuse bloomer that also features great fall color.
Credit: Peter Krumhardt
It grows 4 feet tall and 5 feet wide.
It grows 5 feet tall and wide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, these plants can be grown near your house.
Credit: Bill Stites
Hydrangeas will only be able tosurvive in containersfor 3-5 years.
Yes, these plants needconsistent moisture.
However, you don’t want to overwater them so you shouldn’t water everyday.
Credit: Dean Schoeppner
It’s best to water every 2-3 days or when the soil is dry to the touch.
Credit: Marty Baldwin
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Credit: Illustration by Mavis Augustine Torke
