Marvelous Hydrangeas Bloom All Summer and Fall

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Walking through residential areas these days makes me wonder what it would be like, if those lovely Hydrangeas would not exhibit their brilliant show of late summer and early fall bloom beauty.  Gardens would look pretty dull after all the summer blooms are spent.  So, why not plant more Hydrangeas in your gardens?  The don't require work and are reliable for years to come, and cost less in the long run than annuals.
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Hydrangeas at Wilkerson Mill Gardens
Last February I visited Wilkerson Mill Gardens south of Atlanta, GA, where they have a HUGE variety of Hydrangeas, possibly the largest in the country.  It was amazing to see them budding. Wish I could be there in  May when they start blooming in the South. If you are in the area, make the trip, here is a map, it's worth seeing. If not, the Wilkerson's are also shipping.

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What blooms so beautifully in yards across the country around June/July are big orbs of blue, white, green and pink balls of Hydrangea flowers on leafy shrubs. These so-called mopheads (a type of Hydrangea macrophylla) are staples in gardens around the country.  Many Hydrangea Macrophylla varieties can produce pink to deep blue blooms (even on the same plant), depending on the soil's pH.
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But there are also these delicate Lacecaps that have flat heads dotted with color and ringed with four-petaled florets, with climbing varieties that can cover house walls easily. And then there are Panicle Hydrangeas with white cone-shaped flowers.  However, not only shrubs grace yards, in the past years elegantly formed small Hydrangea PeeGee trees have been bred or better said trained into their shape, and became very popular.
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PeeGee Hydrangeas on the East Coast
These Hydrange paniculata 'Grandiflora' (PG or PeeGee) are very popular on the East Coast and around the Maritimes in Canada, where they often reach the size of Apple trees. PeeGee's  tend to turn pink as the blooms age.  There are many varieties and forms of H. paniculata such as 'Limelight' and 'Tardiva'. Limelight is an especially beautiful paniculata and is also one of the most popular.
There are also easy-care species native to the U.S., such as the shade-tolerant Oakleaf Hydrangea and cold-hardy smooth Hydrangea.
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The Origins of  Hydrangeas
Hydrangea has been celebrated for centuries, especially for their long blooming times. Imported from Japan, China, and Europe in the 19th century.
The Hydrangea most commonly known is Hydrangea macrophylla. In the U.S., the variety ‘Merritt’s Supreme’ was developed and is currently the most popular variety among Hydrangea growers.
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How to Propagate Your Own Hydrangeas?
Many well-established Hydrangeas, especially the Annabelle and Arborescens 'Bounty' variety send out shoots, which can be cut from the mother stem and planted to a moist, shady area with well-draining soil. Another method is to take cuttings.  Use a very sharp, clean knife, and cut from a branch of the hydrangea shrub about 5-6" long. Many experts say the cutting will work best if taken from a branch that did not flower this year.  Strip the leafs off - but leave two or three.  Dip cuttings in #3 Rooting Hormone, poke a  deep hole with a pen and insert the Hydrangea cutting into damp vermiculite, coarse sand or other sterile medium. Water pot well and allow to drain. Make sure soil is moist but not soggy.  Some people even succeed with rooting Hydrangeas in water.
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Dry Hydrangeas for Year-Round Pleasure
One of the easiest ways to preserve these flowers is to allow them to almost completely dry on the plant. On a dry day, cut the stems the length you need for making floral arrangements. Strip off all leaves and then find a dry place indoors where the flowers can finish drying.
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What about your garden, which Hydrangea varieties spruce up your late summer and fall garden? What are YOUR favored Hydrangea and which ones do you plan to plant this year.  Garden centers offer right now steep discounts, don't miss their sales.
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Tips on how to enchourage Hydrangea's to bloom
http://lakeviewnurseries.com/why-wont-my-hydrangea-bloom/

How to change Hydrangea Colors
http://www.hydrangeashydrangeas.com/colorchange.html

How to prune Hydrangeas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZbqpD1ihmQ

Answers to Hydrangea Questions
http://www.usna.usda.gov/Gardens/faqs/hydrangeafaq2.html

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Shade Gardens

Shade gardeners have a great number of gorgeous plants available to them. Here is a list of wonderful plants that will thrive in three to four hours of sun or less.



FLOWERS

Coral Bells (Heuchera)
For show-stopping color in the shade garden, coral bells are unbeatable. Recent breeding has produced plants with foliage in just about every color imaginable, from coppery orange to pure black; deep purple to chartreuse.
Coral bells do great in part to full shade, and form low mounds of foliage. They also produce flower spikes of delicate, bell-shaped blooms. Depending on the cultivar, coral bells are hardy in zones three through nine.

Astilbe (Astilbe)
Astilbes (hardy in zones four through nine) grow wonderfully in part to full shade, as long as they are in nice, moist soil. It produces feathery plumes in white, pink, purple, peach, or red in late spring through summer. Astilbe also self-sows readily, but the seedlings are unlikely to look like the original. In a naturalistic, informal setting, this can be a very attractive look.

Bleeding Heart (Dicentra spectabilis)
Bleeding Heart is an old-fashioned, absolutely beautiful plant for shade gardens. In spring to early summer, delicate, dangling flowers will appear, looking like rows of heart-shaped lockets. Bleeding Heart blooms in shades of white, pink, purple, and red, and grows up to four feet tall and three feet wide. It dislikes summer heat, however, and may go dormant if it is allowed to dry out. Not to worry--it will come back just fine in the spring. Bleeding heart thrives in part to full shade in zones two through nine. If it gets sun, morning sun is preferable to afternoon sun, which can be much too hot.


SHRUBS FOR SHADED AREAS

Kerria Japonica: (K. Japonica): If you have a wooded lot with dense shade, this is the summer shrub for you. This tough, disease free, small woody plant bursts into a mass of golden blooms in early summer, continues intermittently all summer, then explodes again in fall. Looks lovely under the trees in a woodland garden. A real show-stopper, the Kerria Japonica will give you years of pleasure, as it slowly grows to a mere 5 feet.
Kerria Japonica is evergreen all year, in all but the most northern gardens. Zone:5-8

Cornus racemosa (Grey Dogwood) zone 4 (1.5-3m) This easily grown shrub has white flowers, followed by white berries on red stalks and purple fall foliage.

Corylus spp. (Hazels) zone 5-9 (3-12m) These shrubs can have various forms from twisted corkscrews to regular pyramidal growth and they produce nuts in the fall.

Hamamelis virginiana (Common Witch-hazel) zone 4 (5m). This fall blooming shrub produces yellow flowers about the time other trees are losing their leaves.

Or plant the variety that blooms in February / March: Hamamelis mollis Boskoop - Chinese Hazel The best antidote to winter is a planting of Witch Hazels. This genus of five species of upright, spreading shrubs or small trees provides the first big display of color, beginning in late February or early March and continuing for six weeks or more depending on the season (the flower petals sensibly curl up if the temperatures plummet). They need at least four hours of sun.

Hydrangea arborescens 'Annabelle' (Snowhill Hydrangea) zone 2b-9 (1.3m) grows well in deep shade, and bears large trusses of white flowers in August and September.

Kalmia latifolia (Mountain-Laurel) zone 4 (10m) is an evergreen shrub with pink, white or red flowers in mid-June.

NEW TO GARDENING

Some tips for novice gardeners

Choosing the right plant for the right spot is important if you want your plants to thrive. Here are some "staples" of easy-to-grow perennials and shrubs in gardening zone 4 and 5 (Eastern Ontario):

Plants for Shade:

HYDRANGIA
Plant in spring or fall in a partly shady site with moist, well-drained soil and amend with well-rotted manure or compost. Monitor soil moisture all season. In dry periods, hydrangea leaves become distinctly wilted; water immediately when this happens. In spring and after flowering, feed with compost or a balanced fertilizer, following label directions. To increase the size of the decorative flowers, cut back the previous year's growth to 3-5 buds in spring.In early spring, remove any dead branches or, if necessary, old growth, making cuts at the base of the plant for best growing habit.

HOSTA

The most beautiful for me is Hosta Sieboldiana with its blue-green foliage. It requires shade and well drained soil. Large mound size at maturity.Like other hostas, it is easy to care for and will continue to flourish year after year. Hosta sieboldiana's heart-shaped foliage looks its best when grown in a shady spot.

WHITE BLEEDING HEART (Dicentra spectabilis)
Dicentra spectabilis "Alba" has two distinguishing features that set it apart from the regular pink form of the species. The most obvious feature is its white heart-locket flowers. But additionally the leaves are lime-green rather than green. It can easily grow to two feet high & fountaining outward to two feet.

ASTILBE

Shade to sunshine. The trick to growing this plant is to ensure it has adequate moisture. This is not a plant for dry soils. It will spread from 12-inches to as large as you want to allow it to grow. This means of course that you can propagate it by dividing it in the spring or fall. Compost added in the spring is all the fertilizing it requires. Varieties: Too many to list all of them, colors from white to pink, salmon and burgundy red.

CORAL BELLS (Heuchera)

These Heuchera are a terrific choice for adding a touch of colour towards the front of border. The maple-shaped leaves vary in all shades. Taller sprays of flowers appear in late spring. This lovely perennial came originally from the Rocky Mountains. Then the hybridizers went to work to add a touch of their magic here and there. Hardy to zone 4, but in milder areas the foliage colour can often be maintained through the winter. Heuchera is one of those very accommodating plants that will adapt to most any situation provided it is given a moist, well-drained location.Trim off any withered or tired-looking leaves in spring.

JAPANESE PAINTED FERN

This fern grows around twelve to eighteen inches tall and slowly multiplies to form a large clump. The fronds are approximately eighteen inches long and are a soft-grey metallic colour with hints of red and blue. The centre stem is red so the contrast is excellent. It is a lovely plant preferring partial shade rather than deep shade; grow it under the soft shade of a tree. If grown in a good soil, it will hold its colouring all summer long, from the earliest spring fronds right through late fall.

MOCK ORANGE (Philadelphus)

These shrubs flower on the previous year’s growth, so to keep them abundant, you need to remove all the branches which have flowered in the current year. If you do this in September, you can simply stick the old branches in the ground and most of them will break into leaf the next spring. Mock-oranges are very easy to propagate, take softwood cuttings in summer or hardwood cuttings in autumn or winter.The large, white, deliciously fragrant flowers from early to mid-summer are what earns mock orange a place in the garden. To keep plants in shape, cut back shoots to a strong buds every year after flowering. On older plants, also remove roughly a quarter of the oldest branches each year to encourage new growth.

ROSA GLAUCA
This rose was not widely grown in gardens until the end of the 19th century, when its refined wildness and beauty out of the flowering season first began to be appreciated. It has cinnamon-coloured arching canes 1.5-3 m tall. The most distinctive feature is its leaves, which are glaucous blue-green to coppery or purplish. The fragile, clear pink flowers are produced in clusters of two to five. The fruit is a dark red hip. Mature size: Height: 6 feet (2 m). Width: 5 feet (1.5 m). Flowering period: June, Rosa Glauca likes half shade, lightly prune immediately after flowering.

These are just a few of thousends of shade loving plants thriving in my garden.