Summer’s here, and the rhododendrons and lilacs have given way to hydrangeas. This very useful web site readily identified our two different kinds of plants and has lots of information about caring for them.
The shrub in the front yard is a lacecap hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla normalis). It’s planted next to the house, facing north and slightly east so it gets a little morning sun but is mostly shaded all day.
In the back yard, on the south-east corner of the house we have an arborescens hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens) aka “Annabelle.” As per the web site’s suggestions, it does indeed get morning sun and afternoon shade. Also, one of our gutter run-off spouts is next to the plant so it gets lots of watering that way. And it is HUGE. The web site mentions 10″ diameter heads, but a few of my bad boys are over 12″. Most of the heads look to be about 10″, though. Absolutely gorgeous. I’ve cut flowers for indoors and given bunches of it away, and you can’t tell I ever touched the plant.
I pruned the lacecap last winter with no ill effects, but was too timid to try the arborescens; it didn’t retain any green growth during the winter so I was afraid pruning might destroy the plant entirely. I haven’t had a problem with droopy blooms so I will be cautious again this winter. The web site suggests putting a little fence around the base of the plant, which sounds like a good idea. Eventually, when the east side of the house is transformed from a Mystery “Compost” Heap of Terror into a pretty walking path, we’ll want some space between the house and the shrubbery.
This entry was posted on Saturday, July 15th, 2006 at 10:44am
and is filed under flora and fauna.
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