Thursday, July 16, 2009

Hydrangea's

© 2009 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

The Hydrangea plant is one of my favorite flowering shrubs and blooms from early spring until late fall. If you travel to any summer resort in the north east of the Us they are usually very abundant. They remind me of summer cottages, sea air, pounding surf and tons of fun. They are surprisingly abundant in Switzerland as well. In Geneva, which is French speaking, they are known as Hortensia. Its quite an amazing flower. In most species the flower heads or balls are white but can run the gamut from pastel to brilliant pink, blue, burgundy, green, yellow and purple. The color depends upon the acidity in the soil. Acidic soils produce blue flowers, neutral soils produce pale, creamy colors and alkaline soils result in pink and purple. You can control the colors by more or less acid in your soil, particularly the presence of aluminum ions. Hydrangeas can grow to very large sizes and live a long time and in the fall they naturally dry and you can bring them indoors for a dried arrangement. If you plant a bush you will be adequately rewarded with very little fuss.

No comments: