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Three very different Hydrangeas
I am very fond of Hydrangeas.They make substantial fillers in the garden and flower through the summer period when few other shrubs are flowering.As long as they have adequate water or are planted where they are protected from the hot afternoon sun Hydrangeas will grow without any fuss or bother. Their shallow fibrous root system doesn’t allow for competition from weeds and animals don’t seem to like the taste of their leaves so they can be grown on boundaries without too much predation.
I have written about Hydrangeas in the past and listed many of the varieties available for sale.This article features three vastly different varieties, so dissimilar that few would recognise they are related
 Hydrangea Marvellous Blood
The only one of the three to have traditional Mop head Hydrangea flowers.This is a very distinctive and highly decorative variety with its shiny purplish coloured leaves.The flowers open a glowing deep red and mature to wine purple.Even in our acid soils the flowers on this Hydrangea are red but sport blue eyes.It is a fantastic cut flower with smaller to medium sized flowers atop very long stems. The bush is upright to 1.5ms.I would love to see a hedge of this variety. It would be a stunning sight.
 Hydrangea Annabel
This species is much more cold hardy than the mophead varieties .Also more drought tolerant. The thin heart shaped leaves are pale green leaves and are covered in tiny hairs. The heavy flowers are borne at the tips of stick like stems. They do not stand up well to strong winds and require staking when young.
Hydrangea Annabelle produces very large heads of flowers made up of dozens of small wide open white flowers. They begin flowering in early January. Being sterile the flowers can not set seed so in the garden these flowers last for weeks. Mature flowers turn an exquisite lime green. At this stage they are superb as a cut flower and also easily dried.
Cut this variety back hard every winter as the new shoots produce the flowers. Grows around 1.2ms. This is a truly beautiful summer flowering shrub .I grow mine on a bank where I can appreciate the arching stems with their heavy flowers cascading forward. I like the contrast between the mature green flowers and late new flowers of pristine white.
Dichroa versicolor Blue Stars
This is an evergreen Hydrangea relative from Burma. Being evergreen it is not as cold hardy as other Hydrangeas but still is proving an excellent shrub in temperate climates. The leaves are large and glossy with bluish overtones.
Dichroa is a strong upright growing shrub up to 2ms.It tolerates a range of conditions including dry shade, full sun ( but not dry sun )and wet conditions.
Once established Dichroa produces its denim blue starry heads of flowers all year around, with the best flush through summer and autumn.
Cut back hard when required to keep bushy and the flowers at eye level.
As this shrub has a tropical appearance it associates well with Pongas and ferns, other large leafed shrubs and natives and brightly coloured flowers such as Rhododendrons.
This really is a very worth while addition to the garden as there are few shrubs with such true blue flowers.Regardless of the acidity or alkalinity of the soil Dichroa produces the same blue coloured flowers .But there is a lilac pink flowered version available as well
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