Garden Talk, Rated PG
This week’s show gets into hydrangeas. Since I cannot get Hydrangea macrophylla (the mophead types) to bloom, I’ve turned to a few similar Hydrangea serrata varieties, including ‘Preziosa’, (left, top), which turns from white to lavender to pink and finally red. My garden’s season is too short for H. macrophylla buds — formed this summer — to ripen — harden in order to withstand chilly winter winds. The emerging spring ‘Preziosa’ leaves are red, as is the fall foliage. The stems are the color of eggplant.
Hydrangea paniculata varieties are so easy to grow, and I always have blossoms since they flower on this growing-season’s stems. The best-known variety is the old standby H. paniculata ‘Grandiflora’, nicknamed “PeeGee.” A new one to me is ‘The Swan’ with very large sterile florets (left, center). I’ve also got a mystery H. p.(bottom) Anyone know what it is(kendruserealdirt@yahoo.com)? I think it might be ‘PeeWee’, but heard that one got taller. Perhaps I’ll call it “OK.”
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