Hydrangeas!

[Rosemaryandlavender1]

Hello all! I have a small border at the front of the garden which is approx 6ft in length and just over 1.5ft in width. I am strongly considering planting Hydrangeas there. For my lovely Hydrangeas who have experience with Hydrangeas which type were successful for you? I have been looking online and there are so many different types!
I have a south facing garden but this border is overshadowed further ahead by a huge hedge so it is in partial shade throughout the day.
This is the small area I would be planting them

I have some incrediball hydrangeas a which have taken a year to get going in a shady spot (on a shed wall) but look to be established now.

am also going to plant some paniculata “limelight” in a border now?

total novice here, but trying! So watching your thread with interest..

Shady area is fine, need damp soil all year round.

They prefer a slightly acidic soil, if you have that?

And they need watering when it's hot and they look a bit droopy.

But a mix of sun and shade is good!

@WhyamIinahandcartandwherearewegoing thank you! Very pleased to hear yours are doing well. This is one that I was considering that is called Hydrangea paniculata Phantom

These start off white and then turn pink in Autumn which has drawn my attention.

I pulled out all the weeds yesterday and the soil seems quite damp. Definitely compared to other parts of the garden.

@Rosemaryandlavender1 those are pretty! Hadn’t heard of those so thank you!

They'll do fine there but I'd go with Limelight or Little Lime (they also turn pink) rather than the one with the pointy panicles.

@BettyBardMacDonald i thought limelight were a bit pointy 😳 I love the colour change!
this is NOT mine, but I do aspire to it 🤣

Most Hydrangeas bloom from July till September is that right? Is there any that bloom earlier or for a longer period?
I saw somewhere that it's a good idea to plant them with Allium so the Alliums bloom first amongst the foliage and then the Hydrangeas get their turn

on a tangent - a lot of people plant Annabelle. Most of the mophead and lacecap hydrangeas are Hydrangea macrophylla, Annabelle is Hydrangea arborescens which has a different pruning regime. Just a warning to Annabelle owners to look it up on a reliable site and not rely on normal hydrangea pruning advice, which is based on macrophylla.

I’m not sure which group paniculata falls into.

Some of the mopheads’ bracts turn a lovely red when they die, which extends the “flowering” period into the autumn.

@MereDintofPandiculation thanks for the tips. There are some pretty macrophylla ones on sale on this website with good reviews but it doesn't mention the flowering period.

https://www.gardeningexpress.co.uk/hydrangea-macrophylla-magical-ruby-red-large-flowered-mophead-hydrangea

@MereDintofPandiculation thats so good to know! The Incrediball I have is an Annabelle variety I think..

Do you have a picture of how yours looks after a year by any chance

@Rosemaryandlavender1 it’s a baby!And it was slugged immediately after planting 😡Has bounced back this summer with some huge blooms though - it came from sarah raven I think 👍
havent pruned yet so it’s looking straggly, thought I’d let it establish?

@Rosemaryandlavender1 oops -,pic here

@WhyamIinahandcartandwherearewegoing oh I have many slugs in the garden too.. il have to look into how to keep them at bay.
Thank you for sharing the picture it looks very tall!

I rather like the lacecap hydrangeas. We have a pink one which has delighted us with both pink and mauve flowers all over it this year.

Annabelle has huge white flower heads, dinner plate size, prune hard in spring, flowers on new wood. Paniculata also flowers on new growth so treat the same. Macrophylla flowers on wood made this year leave flower heads on over winter until all danger of frost has passed.

In which case if I was purchasing a macrophylla type would it be better to wait till spring. I'm assuming whatever I buy online now would already be pruned.

Macrophylla type in local garden centre are still full of flower with their beautiful autumn colours so you could buy now and enjoy them over winter, even when the flowers fade the heads are still attractive.

My Hydrangeas have just arrived! So excited
I ordered two of the blue ones. They have come in two huge heavy pots
I'm wondering if the place I want to plant them in is too small now 😬

I have this one, it's just turned pink. It's not in an ideal spot, it's in a sunny border, but it does well with lots of watering.

Yes the ones that have come in do have some small flowers on them. I will try get a picture of them later next to the space I want to plant
This is the one I ended up ordering
They come in 10l containers and we're half the price