Hydrangeas

Hydrangea a.  petiolaris - Climbing Hydrangea, the Queen of Vines, likes part shade to shade, quite vigorous growing 20-40 plus feet once happily established.  I have seen this vine climbing to the top of big oak trees- a symbiotic relationship unlike bittersweet, and up the tall, north side of a barn- breathtaking when the white lace cap flowers are in bloom. The bark is cinnammon brown and exfoliates with age.

Hydrangea Annabelle – Smooth Hydrangea -  Z3, likes shade, grows to 4’ x 4’, blooms on new wood, a classic foundation plant in northern New England, will colonize over time into a fairly large area.

Macrophylla - Big Leaf Hydrangeas like afternoon shade and are the barometer for moisture in the summer garden.  For years Nikko has been the standard but unless we have a mild winter, they do not bloom reliably here in NH.  Most macrophyllas are pH sensitive with regards to their flower color.
Acid soil for blue flowers can be achieved w/  aluminum sulfate or plain garden sulfur but care should be taken not to over do it, due to the possibility of aluminum toxicity. 
Adding liberal amounts of peat moss and compost when planting will help as well as holly-tone for an acid organic fertilizer. 
Side dress with coffee grounds is also a way to add acidity to the soil. For pink flowers, add lime to the soil.  If you decide not to fuss with pH, generally the plant’ s flowers will be pink, blue, lavender – quite lovely.

Macrophylla hydrangeas are also really beautiful in container plantings- long blooming and attractive foliage.

Big Daddy - huge mophead12” flowers on a 5’ plant

Blushing Bride - from the Endless Summer breeding program, pink blushing to white mop head - Z4

m. Cityline Berlin - compact, pink mophead - Z4

Claudie - 3-4’, big lacecap flowers in blue or pink depending on pH of your soil

Endless Summer - Z4, part shade, 3-5’ height and width, from Minnesota, blooms reliably, pink or blue mop heads, a break through in blooming and hardiness, our #1 selling shrub

Lady in Red - red tinged foliage, pink to red tinged lacecaps, on a plant that will get 4-5’ tall and wide

m. Let's Dance Moonlight - Great repeat blooming mophead. Pink or blue blooms depending on soil. Outstanding Fall color! 3-4'

Hydrangea Paniculatas - a.k.a. PeeGee Hydrangeas also have been bred to be better and better. They like part shade to full sun and once established are more drought tolerant than macrophyllas. We have them in shrub form and a few select  tree forms. All are hardy to Z4/5

Limelight - grows 6-8’, Pale lime green flowers starting in August into the fall, glows at dawn and dusk , the flowers mature to white

Little Lamb - grows 4-6’ tall, covered in small pure white flowers, a Belgian Intro.

Quickfire - blooms earlier than Pink Diamond, but also colors up into a rich pink faster as well

Unique - grows 6-10’, more floriferous and better form at an early age than PeeGee, flowers are white turning pink-y bronze.

Quercifolia Hydrangea - dramatic, white-blooming shrub with four seasons of interest. It blooms best in areas where summers are somewhat hot, but it is winter hardy further north than the macrophylla (mophead). A tremendous advantage of the Oakleaf is that it can thrive in much dryer locations than its cousins.

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Big Leaf Hydrangeas - All Summer Beauty, Big Daddy, Bit o Lace, Blushing Bride, Coerula Lace, Endless Endless Summer, Glowing Embers, Lady in Red, Schenkenberg.
Native to Japan and best in afternoon shade and rich moist soil, this is the hydrangea that is pH sensitive with regards to color, add garden sulfur for blue flowers, and lime for pink flowers.

Panicle Hydrangeas - PeeGee, Limelight, Quick Fire, Tardiva,& Unique

We will have tree form PeeGee - Snow Mountian tree