Learning the Difference between Hydrangeas

Today I planted a Jacob's Ladder that I bought at Gerber's nursery on Friday. I was assured that it would grow in shade.  I took out one of the hydrangeas in this bed and moved it further down, then put the Jacob's Ladder in its place. I am so pleased with the fringed bleeding heart in this spot that I didn't want to disturb it. So I moved the hydrangea instead; they were too close for both to grow optimally.

This is the fringed bleeding heart, it was just a small plant last summer so it is doing great in its second year. This is obviously the right spot for it. It gets about 3-4 hours of morning sun in this location.

This is the hydrangea that was moved, further down the bed. I dug out another 2 feet of bed here; the spot was full of roots and was quite difficult to dig.

I was going to dig this hydrangea out, thinking that it didn't survive the winter. But there were a couple of small green leaves right in the middle. I didn't know if they were weeds or if they were the actual hydrangea coming back, so I left them.  And they are definitely the hydrangea emerging again. It is very late compared to the other hydrangeas. And growing like this makes me think it might be a hydrangea like Annabelle. It has no shoots coming off the branches and I am going to snip them off.

At last, I am beginning to understand the difference between hydrangeas. I was very confused by the advice available on pruning hydrangeas. But now that I can see how they regrow in the spring, I am starting to understand the difference. The panicle hydrangeas start to grow on the stalks that have remained through the winter. The other type, mophead hydrangeas, regrow from the ground each spring and these can be pruned down hard in late fall or early spring, depending upon whether you like the winter interest provided by the stems. This type are more recommended for areas with heavy snow coverage as they are tougher since  they start anew each year.  Their stems are also less woody than the panicle type hydrangeas.

Personally, I prefer the panicle hydrangeas with their cone-shaped flowers and the lovely shades of pink through red that they turn in the fall.

This particular hydrangea, pictured below, is very late in coming back and I wonder how it is  going to fare this season. The winter was a very tough one, that might have something to do with the growth rate, or perhaps it is just a late bloomer. But since hydrangeas  offer so much for such a long time, holding their blossoms long into the fall and even through the winter months, I think they can be forgiven for however they come back.

                                      

This is a close up of the hydrangea that I planted yesterday - a Little Quick Fire. It has a lot of blossoms starting up and it should be covered with blooms in a month or so. I didn't realise that I planted exactly the  same type at the other end of the bed last year, so there will be two hydrangeas the same close together, but that is okay.