New hydrangea varieties to grow in 2018
Hydrangeas are the reigning celebrities of the shrub world — gardeners can't get enough of them. There are types for sun and shade, all boasting magnificent blooms throughout summer and fall when many other shrubs have finished flowering.
Plant breeders are trying their best to keep up with our obsession, creating more and more varieties every year. There are so many, in fact, it is impossible to try them all but gardeners like me, self-admitted hydrangea junkies, try as many as our landscapes or containers can hold. There are four new cultivars I am especially excited about this year.
Invincibelle Limetta and Invincibelle Mini Mauvette, two smooth hydrangeas (Hydrangea arborescens), are improvements over the classic Annabelle. If planted in well-drained soil amended with plenty of organic matter and given all morning sun but shaded from hot afternoon sun, their stems are strong enough to hold their large flowers without flopping.
They both grow 3 feet tall and wide. Invincibell Limetta shows off large orbs of flowers that begin jade green, brighten to greenish-white, and mature to darker green. Invincibelle Mini Mauvette displays large deep mauve-violet blooms — a new color for the species.
Consider these for foundation plantings, large containers and for planting in large drifts. Or plant them in partly shaded gardens with hostas and ferns. Cut them back by a third of their height in early spring as new growth begins to maintain strong stems and for the most impressive display of flowers.
I am most excited about Wee White smooth hydrangea and can't wait to plant some in containers for the season before transplanting them to their permanent homes in my landscape next fall. Wee White is a petite cultivar of Hydrangea arborescens, growing into a tidy, rounded mound just a couple feet tall and wide. Large, pure white flowers begin blooming in early summer and age to pale pink in fall. Sturdy stems don't flop under the weight of the flowers.
Besides a candidate for container plantings, Wee White would brighten the edge of a shrub border, take the place of a perennial in a partly-shaded flower border, or light up the landscape planted as a ground cover.
I am always on the lookout for shrubs to add bones to shady areas in the landscape, and oakleaf hydrangeas are one of my favorites to stand guard over hostas, ferns and other shade-loving perennials. Gatsby Star is the newest member of the Gatsby series of oak leaf hydrangeas (Hydrangea quercifolia).
A Proven Winners selection, Gatsby Star grows up to 8 feet tall and wide. It boasts large, cone-shaped blooms of double, starlike flowers. They begin blooming pure white in summer and mature to pink in fall, beautiful against its brilliant burgundy fall foliage.
Oakleaf hydrangeas grow best in areas with morning sun and afternoon shade or filtered light all day long. Utilize Gatsby Star like I do as vertical elements in shade gardens or plant them a little closer together to provide privacy from neighbors or to screen unwanted views.
Oakleaf hydrangeas rarely require any pruning. If shaping or cutting back to control size is desired, do it right after flowering to avoid cutting off next year's blooms.
These are just four of the many new hydrangeas waiting for us at local garden centers. Happy hydrangea hunting!
• Diana Stoll is a horticulturist, garden writer and speaker. She blogs at gardenwithdiana.com.