Hydrangea

‘Hydrangea’ is derived from Greek and means ‘water vessel’, which is in reference to the shape of its seed capsules. The special feature of the flowers on a hydrangea shrub is that they can change from blue to pink or from pink to blue from one season to the next depending on the pH level of the soil.

Hydrangea also sometimes known as hortensia is a genus of 70–75 species of flowering plants native to Asia and the Americas. By far the greatest species diversity is in eastern Asia. Most are shrubs 1 to 3 meters tall. They can be either deciduous or evergreen, though widely cultivated ones are deciduous.

Hydrangeas are popular ornamental plants, grown for their large flowerheads. Some are best pruned on an annual basis when the new leaf buds begin to appear. If not pruned regularly, the bush will become very ‘leggy’, growing upwards until the weight of the stems is greater than their strength, at which point the stems will sag down to the ground and possibly break.

Other species only flower on ‘old wood’. Thus new wood resulting from pruning will not produce flowers until the following season.Hydrangea can be an amazing indoor plant, it will also decorate your outdoor and be a sight of true beauty with its contrasting colours.