Mopheads for Mother's Day
Stopping to smell the flowers

Arlene Marturano

Arlene Marturano is a master gardener, writer, and educator. As an advocate of gardening as a tool for learning, she helped develop the Carolina Children's Garden at the Sandhill Research and Education Center. She is an education consultant with T.E.A.C.H.

marturano@yahoo.com

Many gardeners remember hydrangeas from their grandmother's garden; the snowballs, pink cotton candy, and blue powder puff blossoms.

Today's selection of hydrangeas is much larger than it used to be. The nectar- rich flower heads still come in three styles: rounded, flat- topped, and panicle.

Flowers of traditional hydrangeas are white, pink, and blue. New bolder cultivated varieties appear in flaming red and wedgwood blue.

Hydrangeas are native to eastern and southern Asia and North and South America. Such a wide rootprint yields a broad selection for climate and soil conditions. All hydrangeas will grow and bloom well in morning sun and afternoon shade and need well- drained soil. They like water but wet feet causes root rot.

When pink mopheads first open they are white or a greenish- white.

Four main groups of hydrangeas are readily available to homeowners: paniculata, macrophylla, arborescens, and quercifolia. Hydrangea paniculata Grandiflora reaches eight- 10 feet in height and width. The white blooms are so large and numerous they dip toward the ground. Often called peegee, the cultivar is one of the most popular of the paniculatas.

Mopheads and lacecaps are macrophyllas, and Mophead hydrangeas are a gardener's litmus paper. This most common blue or pink hydrangea changes color depending on soil conditions.

Blue hydrangeas indicate an acidic pH; pink indicates alkaline pH. Lacecap hydrangeas have a flat flowerhead, and they are used in wildlife gardens and under and around trees and shrubs.

Oakleaf hydrangeas, Hydrangea quercifolia, are native to the United States. The oakleaf can thrive in sandy soil, heat, sun, and in drought unlike other hydrangeas. The large oak leaves turn red, orange, yellow, and burgundy in the fall, which makes for a spectacular finale to the growing season.

This is the mature blossom of a mophead hydrangea.

Hydrangea arborescens is another native and the attractive Annabelle that produces white to greenish- white mushroom shaped flowerheads 10 inches in diameter. It has a long blooming season and resists frost and drought.

Nursery grown hydrangeas can be added to the landscape year round, but transplanting should be done when they are dormant.

Hydrangeas should be fertilized in May and July by spreading compost, manure or slow release commercial fertilizer at the drip line.

Common diseases of hydrangeas include powdery mildew, leaf spot and root rot.

Hydrangeas have many uses beyond the garden. They have been a popular choice for dry arrangements and wreaths and are finding center stage in wedding bouquets. After the ceremony, brides are placing bouquets in vases and planting the romantic cuttings for at their new home. Mopheads are also a traditional Mother's Day gift.

These hydrangeas were used in a bridal bouquet.

Propagation of hydrangeas is easily achieved through cuttings in water or by layering of a low branch.

The American Hydrangea Society is located in Georgia and can be contacted at www.americanhydrangeasociety.org.

These mopheads have turned pink after they opened up.