Hydrangea Flowers – Growing Hydrangea Shrubs for Shade Color

Hydrangea flowers are large, colorful clusters that will brighten any shade garden. When a gardener needs an ornamental shrub for semi-shade garden, container or foundation planting they often turn to hydrangeas. Flowers, bold foliage and long-lasting perennial power – what’s not to love?

Hydrangeas Flower in Various Colors

One of the most interesting things about hydrangea bush flowers are the way that flower clusters can change colors based on the acidity of the soil. To turn a blue hydrangea flower pink gardeners should raise the pH between 6.0-6.2, which can be done by adding dolomitic lime to the soil. To turn a pink flowering hydrangea blue the pH should be lowered to about 5.2-5.5 which can be achieved by adding aluminum sulfate to the soil. White hydrangeas cannot change colors the way that pink hydrangeas or blue hydrangeas can.

Hydrangea Plants are Stunning Part Shade Perennials

Hydrangea plants are popular shade perennials that are easy to grow. Most hydrangeas can tolerate some sun but do better in the shade during the afternoon heat of the day. Gardeners should avoid planting hydrangeas in deep shade as they do need some sun. In hot southern areas, more shade should be provided, while in cooler northern climates hydrangea plants can tolerate more sun.

Hydrangea gardeners should be sure to provide constant, moderate moisture to their shrubs as a hydrangea bush is not drought tolerant. Hydrangea flowers won’t develop as prolifically, and the leaves will not be as attractive. Each gardener should judge the amount of water needed to keep the soil moderately wet based on their micro-climate, gardening zone and weather conditions.

Types of Hydrangea Flowers

The bigleaf hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla) are the hydrangea bushes typically seen in garden nurseries. They are available with two different types of hydrangea flowers, mopheads and lace-caps. Mophead hydrangea flowers have petal-like bracts around each of the hydrangea flowers in a cluster creating a large, fluffy ball shape. Lace-cap hydrangeas only have bracts on the flowers around the outside edges of the flower clusters creating a very unique look that gardeners tend to hate or love.

Prune Carefully to Keep Hydrangeas Blooming

Gardeners who enthusiastically and heavily bloom their landscaping shrubs each spring may unintentionally destroy their hydrangea flowers for the year. Hydrangeas usually bloom on old wood, which means the stems grow one year, and then produce flowers the next year. Prune carefully, and in the fall, to allow the best blooms on the hydrangea bush the next spring!

Hydrangea flowers add a bright splash of color in the landscape. And with the tenacity of a perennial plant, this shade tolerant shrub blooms year after year!

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