Hydrangea
at Digging Dog
Including Hydrangea serrata, Hydrangea quercifolia, Hydrangea paniculata, & Hydrangea macrophylla
Hydrangea (trees and vines)
Climbing Hydrangea
Hydrangea anomala ssp. petiolaris 
Climbing Hydrangea
Don’t be put off by the name; this climbing Hydrangea features broad white flower heads, reddish bark, and the glossiest leaves. It produces self-clinging, aerial roots that easily attach to just about anything: pergola, wall, fence or tree, and may need 10 years to reach its full height, but patience pays off with this spectacular deciduous specimen. Meanwhile, enjoy it on a north wall with an understory of Corydalis ‘Blue Panda’ and Geranium ‘Ann Folkard’. Large Band.
Blooms June–July. Size: 60'–80' high x 0" & spreading; hardy to zone 5. Hydrangea anomala ssp. petiolaris (T-0015)
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Hydrangea anomala ssp. petiolaris ‘Skylands Giant’
This sterling cultivar's lustrous, toothed greenery is dappled with choice cream-colored lacy blooms. A luminous standout amid eastward shadows, ‘Skylands Giant’ was selected at the New Jersey Botanical Garden in Skylands for its exceptionally large showy lacecaps, which feature soft-looking centers of tiny fertile flowers ringed by loosely arranged, larger white sterile florets. Large Band
Blooms June–July. Size: 30' high x 0" & spreading; hardy to zone 4. Hydrangea anomala ssp. petiolaris Skylands Giant (T-0250)
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Hydrangea (shrubs)
The name Hydrangea, means “water vessel,” given for its cup-shaped seed vessels.
A genus of diverse forms, Hydrangeas are commonly found throughout Asia, from the Himalayas to Taiwan and Japan, with the exception of two species, Hydrangea arborescens and Hydrangea quercifolia, which are native to North America.
Easily grown, this shrub’s lush deciduous leaves are best suited to loose, moist soil in the shade of tall trees or on the north side of the house. If, like us, you’ve tired of the commoner sort, these delicacies will be a welcome surprise. Hydrangea arborescens ‘White Dome’
Grounded by a tidy mass of sturdy stems that won’t flop, even after a downpour, and dark green serrated leaves, this elegant Hydrangea’s large, dome-shaped floral heads are wreathed in sterile, white blossoms.
Sharing the same hardiness and vigor as the species, which is an east coast native, ‘White Dome’s lavish lacecaps are borne on new wood, ensuring more flowers for colder climates. It brings lush, invigorating accents to a shrubby border, and the Victorian-esque blooms are ideal fresh or dried in arrangements. (PP#14,168)
Blooms July–September. Size: 5' high x 5' wide; hardy to zone 4.
Hydrangea arborescens White Dome (s-0611)
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Hydrangea aspera ‘Rocklon’
Large pink clouds of buds and pinkish bronze, downy new growth bring a soft look to this noble, rarely cultivated Hydrangea. Mounted on stout fuzzy stems, wide, hairy serrated foliage, with red-hued petioles, provides a graceful deep green foil for the enormous mauve lacecaps ringed by white bracts. Adequate water and bright shade will ensure ‘Rocklon’s prosperity, while Corydalis and Stylophorum diphyllum offer contrasting texture beneath.
Blooms August to mid-November. Size: 10' high x 8' wide; hardy to zone 7.
Hydrangea aspera Rocklon (S-0421)
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Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Lemon Wave’
The unusual foliage of this smaller statured Hydrangea will surely bring a “wave” of interest to a shady garden spot. Each leaf is uniquely marked: some are porcelain to cream with lemon yellow margins. Others are green, ranging from emerald through mint to chartreuse. The lacecap
flowers can vary in color as well, all the way from white to mauve to blue.
Blooms June–August. Size: 4'–5' high x 4' wide; hardy to zone 6. Hydrangea macrophylla Lemon Wave (S-0448)
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Hydrangea macrophylla var. serrata ‘Blue Billow’
This compact lacecap Hydrangea deserves center stage, where its broad, light blue flowers and dense green foliage can create a colorful splash. Handsome and verdant, the glossy leaves, which are narrower than those of the species, display a tasty reddish plum hue in late summer and fall. A drift
of ‘Blue Billow’ is irresistible next to Philadelphus ‘Innocence’,
while golden-leafed Hakonechloa skirts below.
Blooms June–August. Size: 4'–5' high x 4' wide; hardy to zone 6. Hydrangea macrophylla var. serrata Blue Billow (S-0200)
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Hydrangea paniculata ‘Burgundy Lace’
A wonderful selection by De Belders of Belgium,this seedling of ‘Unique’ has large, broad, pale pink panicles, which turn mauve and light violet as the season progresses. ‘Burgundy Lace’ is stunning with nothing but a blue autumn sky as its backdrop and like ‘Unique’, it is virtually trouble free.
Blooms mid-July–September. Size: 8'–10' high x 6'–8' wide; hardy to zone 5. Hydrangea paniculata Burgundy Lace (S-0335)
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Hydrangea paniculata ‘Limelight’
An awe-inspiring beauty whose blooms first open in creamy white elegance, transition to lime-green until fall, and finally turn deep pink, this vigorous Dutch cultivar deserves to be in the limelight. Strong, upright stems cloaked with handsome greenery shoulder the elegant, cone-shaped trusses, which impart a crisp, refreshing sophistication to the shrubby border or a bouquet. (PP#12,874)
Blooms late July–September. Size: 6'–8' high x 6'–8' wide; hardy to zone 4. Hydrangea paniculata Limelight (s-0612)
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Hydrangea paniculata ‘Unique’
Left to its own designs, this vigorous Hydrangea has a natural upright and arching form, but it also responds well to pruning, making ‘Unique’ an effective choice where space is scarce.
The enormous flower heads are spectacular and abundant, and true to name are unique in shape, being quite broad at the base and bluntly rounded at the tip. They begin the season a creamy white and gradually darken to a buff pink.
Blooms early July–October. Size: 10' high x 8' wide; hardy to zone 5.
Hydrangea paniculata Unique (s-0348)
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Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Alice’
We have Mike Dirr to thank for this vigorous selection. Tall and fast growing, ‘Alice’ displays large, very delicate, lacy looking white flower heads, and the show continues when the broad green oak-shaped leaves turn deep carmine in autumn. For contrast, try planting an understory of Persicaria ‘Red Dragon’.
Blooms July–September. Size: 10'–12' high x 8'–10' wide; hardy to zone 5. Hydrangea quercifolia Alice (S-0323)
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Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Little Honey’
With a namesake that pays homage to the honey-gilded new leaves garbing its diminutive close-knit frame, this distinctive new ‘Pee Wee’ sport was discovered by British plantsman, Peter Catt. Handsome, oak mimicking foliage transmutes chartreuse shades as the season progresses and bleeds brilliant scarlet-red tones at the season’s end.
Appealing nearly year round and perfectly suited for a large terracotta vessel or the frontlines of a shrubby border, ‘Little Honey’ entertains a splendid showing of 6 to 8 in. long, snowy white conical trusses. (pp#15477)
Blooms July–August. Size: 3'–4' high x 3'–4' wide; hardy to zone 5. MIDSPRING SHIPPING Hydrangea quercifolia Little Honey (S-0673)
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Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Sikes Dwarf’
Sikes Dwarf Hydrangea
We have Sarah Sikes to thank for this new low growing Oak Leaf Hydrangea. Hailing from Alabama, it’s half the size of most quercifolias, rendering it a mainstay in the smaller garden. Lobed and closely spaced, the handsome broad foliage shows off abundant ivory-colored conical blooms. Surround with leaves of like shapes such as Anemone and Kirengeshoma to complement
‘Sikes Dwarf’s unparalleled foliar texture.
Blooms July–August. Size: 3' high x 4' wide; hardy to zone 5. Hydrangea quercifolia Sikes Dwarf (s-0566)
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Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Snow Queen’
Though its name might make you think otherwise, this shrub is a showcase of earth tones. Its 8 in. long panicles of white flowers, which later take on a pinkish hue, stand out like snow against the beautiful cinnamon-brown, exfoliating bark and the large dark green Oak-like leaves that turn reddish purple in autumn.
Hardy and undemanding, ’Snow Queen’ offers a fantastic fall display full of similar colors and contrasting forms when matched with Panicum ‘Warrior’.
Blooms July–August. Size: 4'–6' high x 6' wide; hardy to zone 5. Hydrangea quercifolia Snow Queen (S-0201)
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Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Snowflake’
It was a fortuitous moment when Hydrangea enthusiast Eddie Aldridge and his father happened upon this sumptuous Hydrangea in the woodlands of Jefferson County, Alabama. Premiering enormous 15 in. long white panicles that can extend upward, outward or pendulously, the coarse textured, leathery anchor of large, oaklike foliage burnishes deep burgundy come fall and holds its handsome leaves well into December. The unique, two-toned double flowered effect is created when numerous tiered sepals first emerge white, while older ones below develop dark dusty pink shades with age.
Considered by Michael Dirr to be the most beautiful of the sterile flowering cultivars, ‘Snowflake’s blooms open a little later, seem to last longer than the single quercifolias, and should be showcased in a favored location.
Blooms late July–September. Size: 6'–8' high x 6'–8' wide; hardy to zone 5.
Hydrangea quercifolia Snowflake (S-0124)
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Hydrangea serrata ‘Beni’
Japanese Mountain Hydrangea
Beni translates “red” in Japanese, and red, specifically a darkly imbued red lacecap is what this small rounded shrub delivers. Originally collected from a wild clone, its graceful form cushions dainty flowers that first emerge blushed white and gradually deepen to rubescent shades, the rich, stop-in-your-tracks color persisting on the sepals well into autumn. With cool green leaves and ardent inflorescences, ‘Beni’ is a dynamic choice for a tight space.
Blooms mid-July–September. Size: 4' high x 4' wide; hardy to zone 6. Hydrangea serrata Beni (S-0643)
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Hydrangea serrata ‘Blue Deckle’
Japanese Mountain Hydrangea
A sterling, highly sought after progeny of renown horticulturist and Hydrangea expert Michael Haworth-Booth’s breeding efforts, this low growing Hydrangea lulls us with cool, light blue lacecaps. The central fertile flowers are encompassed and sometimes hidden by prominent serrated sepals that later transmute sea-green and lilac-purple in sumptuous, glimmering shades. Compact and closely set, red-dashed green stems shape its attractive dwarf frame, while launching a fiery autumnal pageant of purple-rimmed, cardinal-colored leaves soon after the prolific blooms begin to fade.
Blooms July–September. Size: 4' high x 4' wide; hardy to zone 6. Hydrangea serrata Blue Deckle (S-0632)
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Hydrangea serrata ‘Kiyosumi’
From its leaves to its lacecaps, this sensational Japanese cultivar is hallmarked by plush florid colors. Glistening ruby-red buds reveal a central cluster of pink fertile flowers encompassed by rosy pink sepals picoteed in red. Turning white as they age, the sepals’ deep-hued edge remains, etching splendid luminous eyes. The distinctive bicolored blooms are loosely arranged and poised amid prominently spotted stems and burgundy-tinted foliage, whose rich hues embellish the new growth and persist through summer.
Blooms July–September. Size: 3'–5' high x 4' wide; hardy to zone 6. Hydrangea serrata Kiyosumi (S-0657)
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Hydrangea serrata ‘Miranda’
Japanese Mountain Hydrangea
With unmatched delicacy, these exquisite inflorescences are defined by loosely spaced sepals wreathing around several separate, distinctive clusters of light blue, centrally arranged fertile flowers. The lacy, long lasting drama unfolds in varying shades from soft blue and mauve to nearly white to pale pink, sometimes donning streaks and swathes of different colors, depending upon the pH. Yellow-tinged green foliage attires this small-sized Hydrangea, and come autumn tints of claret warm the margins, veins and eventually the entire leaf.
A seedling selected by M. Haworth-Booth, ‘Miranda’s diminutive profile can be spotlighted in a patio vessel or anywhere its elegance is easily appreciated.
Blooms July–September. Size: 3-1/2'–4' high x 3-1/2'–4' wide; hardy to zone 6. Hydrangea serrata Miranda (S-0631)
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Further reading about Hydrangea:Hydrangeas for American Gardens by Michael A. Dirr Hydrangeas A Gardener’s Guide (Revised Edition) by Toni Lawson-Hall and Brian Rothera |
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