From sky blue to alight pastel , from intense and dismal to almost violet , puritanic hydrangeas are always extremely assay after in our garden . Their monolithic sky - colored peak bunch , reminiscent of clouds fallen from the sky , are adore worldwide .
These plants can showcase breathtakingly piano and calming bloom , desirable for sunny grand or shade , fresh hedges . They also boom in container or when mass - plant , creating a vista of Co , bright blue , or turquoise .
Fast growing and vigorous shrubs , blue hydrangea can transform your garden with their quixotic , former globe and also natural feeling , but they do n’t attract any punch also when it comes to their monolithic , globular and literally spectacular anthesis . leisurely to grow and shade patient of , they can bring the sky to earth , and bring bliss to your summer garden .
@mariagraziarughetto
But there is something of import we need to learn first , because blue hydrangea can be quite surprising , and you want to check that you get the ripe colour first …
For a hydrangea to showcase those arresting blue blossoms , you must found it in acidic soil , typically with a pH between 5 and 6 . But if the dirt conditions are n’t just ripe , or if they change over meter , those vivacious low hues can dislodge . Instead of the want azure , you might end up withpink or over-embellished flower .
If you ’re eager to explore and experience the most divine blasphemous - blooming hydrangea varieties on Earth , join us on this gardening journey !
@mariagraziarughetto
We ’ll usher in you to the proficient change for that ‘ True ’ gloomy bloom , and we ’ll portion out the secrets to maintaining their unequalled hues year after twelvemonth .
How to Make Sure that Your Hydrangea Is Really Blue
In fact , I do n’t want you to have a little surprisal and even be disappointed , and embed a blue hydrangea but see it blooming with pinkish flowers instead ! Yes , because the actual shade of the blossoms will look on thesoil pH !
When thesoil is acidic , ideally with pH from5.0 to 5.5,the blooms are really blue , but as it passes 5.5 , they will sour to reddish blue and mauve , and when it gets to indifferent ( 7.0 ) , then mildly alkaline , the flower will literally turn pink !
Now , hydrangea choose grime that are at least mildly acidic in general ( under6.5),because above that they have from branding iron deficiency . And the pigments change color , as you see …
So , if your dirt is not acid , you will need to make it so . Addingsulphuris the most common way , but you’re able to also do it by replacing it ( maybe lining it , as we do withRhododendron ) , and fresh coffee , black afternoon tea and lemon can give you natural ways of acetify the surface soil .
So , now you know how to keep your hydrangea flowering in sky or cobalt blue devil , we can fulfil the first miscellany on our list !
15 Blue Blooming Hydrangeas for a Garden in the Sky
And here they are , for large or small gardens , these heavenly hydrangea have lots of salad days in gentle , to see the sky even on a cloudy day !
1: ‘Big Daddy’ Bigleaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Big Daddy’)
We can tale flying into the celestial sphere of traditional looking garden with a genuine giant , the “ Boeing 747 ” of downhearted colored hydrangeas … Yes , because ‘ Big dada ’ bigleaf hydrangea has massive globular , almost spherical inflorescences are really monolithic , reaching a jaw dropping 14 inches in diameter ( 35 centimeter ) ! But their vast size is all but pall …
In fact , you will get turn a loss in its very generous floral exhibit , which can almost take the whole bush at peak time , because it has the exact , bright but easygoing , people of colour of the sky , in a vivacious but pastel key … The many flowers that pack the clusters have four baseball field regulate petals , and if you look closely , you may even see timid hints of reddish blue , reckon on the soil pH.
And this breathtaking spectacle will be with you from early summer to other fall , bringing freshness to your red-hot days with its dreamy personality . In fact , it will blossom first on old ontogenesis , and then again on new growth , with its dense mophead corymbs . While the blooms are on a monumental weighing machine , it is indeed a intermediate sized leafy shrub , with broad and bushy , quite glossy and on the dark side of green for this genus .
Maybe one of the most outstanding blue hydrangea you may ever originate in condition of blooms , ‘ bragging dada ’ can take center stage as a specimen shrub , or you may have it as a heavenly foundation plant next to your home , but it can also bring the sky to informal hedges , or even in containers . And yes , for cut flowers it is really magnificent as well ! It is also one of the unspoilt for deep refinement .
2: ‘Cityline’ Hydrangea Bigleaf (Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Cityline’)
For a compact bush , one you may easily grow in containers , you may wish well to have a smell at ‘ Citilyne ’ bigleaf hydrangea , which only raise to 3 feet tall and in spread ( 90 centimetre ) . But do n’t be deceived by its petite sizing , it will still produce adorable spherical cluster of aristocratical flowers all the way from other summertime to former fall .
These corymb are not particularly bounteous , true , coming in at 4 to 5 inches across ( 10 to 12.5 cm ) , but they are fully pack with lots of florets , and the efflorescence is quite generous indeed . But these flower have yet another timber to beautify your garden …
They reach exchange deep shades of our color , poignant notes of lapis , cobalt and even admiral blue ! And they are quite vibrant as well , so , you will get a very intense effect . On the other hand , it will do the same on the diametric range , and turn rosy pink in alkaline soil … But once you have taken the right precautions , you could enjoy its long survive flowered display prepare on a mound of very dense foliage , which too has a style for depth , as it is of a blue Cd to British racing putting surface !
‘ Citilyne ’ is ideal for small gardens , terrace and container , but its intense blue bloom and dark light-green leaves can add profoundness also to flowering and herbaceous molding and even at the back of blossom bed . It is also a particularly healthy and sturdy dwarf shrub variety , and , despite being modest in size , the blooms will also give you lovely bouquets if you abridge them and take them indoors .
3: ‘Sumida no Hanabi’ Bigleaf Hydrangea
And now we cope with a really unusual variety of bigleaf hydrangea , with a very unusual name as well : ‘ Sumida no Hanabi ’ bigleaf hydrangea , which means “ fireworks of the Sumida river ” in Japanese . And you will understand why , when you look at its inflorescence …
In fact , the corymbs have large start shape twofold flowers , which are sterile , at the border that hang on long pedicles all around the really insipid clusters , and these will take on a very sick , pastel sky blue color … But in the center , you will see really petite , almost unseeable still double and fertile florets instead , but instead of being light and breeze , these microscopic blossom have a very vivacious and bright , impregnable ultramarine shade , with some aqua billet …
These open and airy clustering are about 10 inches across ( 25 cm ) and they will derive from former summertime to go down . place against the glossy and ample greenish , lush foliage with serrated margins , this flowered exhibit add together a lace like appearance to a slow and medium sized shrub . Its surprising beauty has not passed unnoticed though , as it has won the prestigious Award of Garden Merit by the Royal Horticultural Society !
‘ Sumida no Hanabi ’ will add a feeling of heavenly elegance with its unusual blooms to your garden where you may grow it in hedgerow or as an accent mark shrub , but it is also little enough to conform to in a container . Suitable to traditional and informal landscape , it will work well also in an orientally styled green space .
4: ‘Blue Heaven’ Bigleaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Blue Heaven’)
Of naturally we could not leave out a diversity call ‘ Blue Heaven ’ from our selection ! But it is not just for its name ; in fact , this bigleaf hydrangea has a very extra timber indeed ! It is a monolithic endurance contest bloomer ! wait to see the round and dense flowery cluster on both honest-to-god and new growing and even if the buds have suffered from some wintertime damage !
And expect this flowered video display to last all the way from early summertime to the first day of Robert Lee Frost as well ! The backpack corymb will reach about 5 to 6 inch across ( 12.5 to 15 cm ) and they will come in wave , but they have yet another plus to offer you and your garden …
They can touch really acute notes of blue air , including lapis and cobalt ! Vibrant in key , the blossoms are also brush up in shape , with four broad petals each . And if this was not enough to convert you , consider that the foliage is extremely lucullan and shaggy on this medium to modest sized bush , rich fleeceable and semi shining and with elegant serrate margin .
One of the best varieties of bigleaf hydrangea for acute sky discolor bloom to last till the terminal of fall , ‘ Blue Heaven ’ is also perfect for foundation planting , as well as in hedgerow or container . If you mass plant it , your garden will take care like a sunny sea till Robert Frost !
5: ‘Cityline Mars’ Bigleaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophilla ‘Cityline Mars’)
And here ’s another little variety of bigleaf hydrangea ; however , this time , it come with a kink , and it is anticipate ‘ Cityline Mars ’ . And what is this unusual trait ? It is bicolor , of course of instruction !
The flowers have really encompassing flower petal that give them a round shape , and the perimeter are ashen , but then they start shading to blue , as if painted with a crayon , and this coloring intensifies more and more as you get to the center . There , it can pip very vibrant key , depending on the soil pH , from atomic number 27 to violet ( in neutral territory ) or ross ( in alkaline environments ) .
The clusters are round , almost spherical and about 6 inches across ( 15 ) , really densely packed with blooming , and they come repeatedly from early summer to former evenfall . come on sturdy stems , these corymbs also benefit from exceedingly lush and lustrous , very lustrous robust green and healthy leaves with a very finely furrow surface and regular serration at the margins . And all this will go on on a piffling shrub that reaches only 3 feet in height and in ranch ( 90 cm ) !
@mariagraziarughetto
‘ Cityline Mars ’ is a really striking bigleaf hydrangea variety to grow in containers , on a terrace or patio , but it will also bring vibrant blue and white color to your garden in foundation planting , or in inflorescence hedgerow , and you could have it as an accent shrub as well .
6: ‘Summer Beauty’ Bigleaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Summer Beauty’)
Just a bit bigger than ‘ Citilyne Mars ’ , bigleaf hydrangea ‘ Summer Beauty ’ is a really floriferous sort for your garden , or terrace if you like . Its blossoms come in globular clump , start up in other fall , opening on both erstwhile and raw growth , and they almost cover the whole shrub when this sky urge on flowered spectacle is at its most vigorous peaks …
The flowers that replete the corymb get going off in a vivacious and brilliant tincture of cobalt to cyan , and then they fade off slowly to lighter , pastel tonality of the same colouration . Despite the small sizing of the plant life itself , these cluster can be anything between 4 and 6 column inch across ( 10 to 15 cm ) . When you may see the foliage under the blossom , you will also appreciate its robust but brilliant to mid green and semi glossy foliage , with ovate rather than spear shape leaf , and very fine serrated margins .
idealistic for a small garden or container , ‘ All Summer Beauty ’ will give you very acute and generous blue flower also next to your home or wall as a foundation plant , but it can also take part in unfolding hedging as a small shrub . you may also mass plant it for a big low spectacle or take it indoors as cut flowers .
7: ‘Passion’ Bigleaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophilla ‘Passion’)
For a really spectacular effect , you should emphatically have a look at ‘ Passion ’ , a two-fold cultivar of bigleaf hydrangea … And you wo n’t demand to wait for long to see its amazing bloom , because it will start up spread its buds in mid spring , and it will remain till early fall !
The flowers have really graceful elongated and softly but clearly direct tip , and they form really ornamental rosette , almost like multi rayed stars … As this show starts , only some heads open up , and it may expect like a lacecap variety , but as time goes by , all the blooms spread out , and some are bigger , and normally paler , and others , focus in the centre of the cluster , are smaller but more intense in color .
The accurate shade will bet on the soil ’s acidity , but it can range from sky to almost cobalt , and the same is unfeigned if you originate it in an alkaline environment , but on the pink scale . pack large round clustering that reach out 8 inches across ( 20 atomic number 96 ) , they derive on sturdy stems on top of a plush cumulus of ample to dark green and finely serrate leaves .
@jackies_plant_haven
An ideal shrub to grow as an accent plant , blue flower ‘ cacoethes ’ is a really rewarding double variety of bigleaf hydrangea , with an extremely long flower season also for foundation planting , in a umbrageous herbaceous hedgerow or for cut flowers .
8: ‘Lanarth White’ Lacecap Hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Lanarth White’)
No , I did n’t get the color wrong … You see , ‘ Lanarth White ’ is a hydrangea variety show that belongs to the lacecap group , and this has a very exceptional timber … The corymbs are usually flat , and they have two types of flowers in them … The sterile blooms are bigger and they grow around the edges of the cluster , and in our cultivar , they are almost star shaped , with four pointed petals and , yes , white-hot …
But it is the fertile short florets that cluster at the center of the inflorescence that can be puritanic , even in deep lapis shade , but again , this will depend on your dirt ’s pH. So , what you get is a very graceful , light and indeed lace like blossoms that part opening in early summer and keep coming like butterfly to other fall , with candid the ravisher of coke and sky …
They are peg as showy as with other bigleaf hydrangeas , but you should not underrate their cosmetic time value . The leaves are not very big , but they are lush and robust unripened with and semi shining , and the filling this medium little shrub with fresh leaf . And the dainty personality of this bushy but refined beauty has gained it the famous Award of Garden Merit by the Royal Horticultural Society !
‘ Lanarth White ’ lacecap hydrangea is the ideal variety to grow if you want elegant blossoms in blue and clean , rather than an overpowering flowered display , and it will look great as a backdrop to a flower seam , or in a herbaceous border , next to wall , or even in container …
9: ‘Early Blue’ Bigleaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea marcophylla ‘Early Blue’)
Yes , you guess it ! I would like to show you ‘ other Blue ’ bigleaf hydrangea for one main reason … As its name intimate , it is an early appetiser , and in fact , it will open up its first blooms in mid spring , but it also has the toughness to keep double its floral spectacle till early capitulation !
But this is not the only reason to develop it in your garden … In fact , its corymbs are really globular , almost like perfect spheres and 4 to 6 inches across ( 10 to 15 cm ) , but also peculiarly full . And peculiarly blue , strike eminence or sapphire , lapis and very vibrant and bright tonalities indeed .
But this , of grade will reckon on your soil pH , as you know . But there is yet another trait that urinate it really special … The flowers have broad petals , but if you look close at the margins you will comment that they are gently dented , almost frilled ! Floating on top of a semi glossy succinct pitcher of productive to benighted green leaf , its flower can almost track the whole shrub at time .
‘ Early Blue ’ is a fairly minuscule bigleaf hydrangea variety as well , so you could savor its super long lasting blue blossoms even in a modest green infinite or on a patio , in a container , but you also also mass industrial plant it , maybe next to a paries , to have the color of the sea and sky all through the season .
10: ‘Tuff Stuff Ah-Ha’ Mountain Hydrangea (Hydrangea serrata ‘Tuff Stuff Ah-Ha’)
‘ Tuff Stuff Ah - Ha ’ has a funny name , but also a cheerful and playful personality . In fact , its inflorescences like to integrate and match shapes and refinement … Starting in other summer , in fact , the sterile blossoms at the margins heart-to-heart , and they have long and pointed petals , elliptical and looking like the ray of stars .
And these are ordinarily pastel blue in color , though , again , it all depends on the territory pH. But at this early microscope stage , the modest and fertile florets are still in bud , and they have a lovely bright green color . Then they blossom as well , and they display deep key of blue , all the way to sapphire …
In alkalic soil , they will go on the pinkish range , as you know … These clusters are about 4 to 6 inches across ( 10 to 15 centimetre ) and they blossom forth till pass a small bush . But being a pile variety , the parting have very deeply serrated leaves , and in our case , they are semi glossy and quite morose as well .
If you like color combination , you’re able to have this little blue and light-green little bush in containers on a terrace or patio , but also at the front of herbaceous anthesis borders or , why not , in a perennial bottom …
11: ‘Zorro’ Lacecap Hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Zorro’)
‘ Zorro ’ is a very popular and compact variety of lacecap hydrangea , and , in fact , it has gain the much coveted Award of Garden Merit by the Royal Horticultural Society ! Four broad but point petals stretch out as the first infertile flowers blossom , in early summertime , and they will have a colour that ranges from sky to sapphire aristocratic , and they look a bit like butterfly wings .
The little floret that cluster in the center of the cyme are white when they are still in bud , but they will soon redden to blue as well as they bloom , but they will also expose lovely snowy filament in their center … About 4 to 5 inches across , these monotonous topped inflorescences look like landing feller for pollinator , and in fact they will attract them … Coming on strong stems that can be violet in some cases , this floral display shines with peaceful light on a dull backdrop with dark and showy green leaves .
Another excellent smorgasbord for small garden , ‘ Zorro ’ lacecap hydrangea will bring elegance and racy tone to your summertime days also in containers or as part of a herbaceous boundary line . If hoi polloi planted , it can give you a really fine and rough-textured showing .
@olya_ola
12: ‘Spike’ Bigleaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Spike’)
Now , envisage merge the gloss of the sky with the moving ridge of the ocean … What you get is ‘ Spike ’ another thick diversity of bigleaf hydrangea for your garden or patio … Yes , because the corymbs are rotund , spherical and about 4 inches across ( 10 centimeter ) and starting their floral showing in early summertime , then repeating till other fall .
And , so far , it does not differ too much from other varieties . But if you reckon at the actual bloom themselves , you will notice that their four broad flower petal are , indeed , quite crinkly , add elegant and sympathetic front to the blooms , and they also tend to stay rather cupped , instead of go around flat out , sometimes with a cream white center .
This take shape a very sinuate and almost frilly constellate with an old world look , and a natural fragrancy , which rests on a dense pitcher’s mound of lush , semi glossy and bright to mid dark-green leaves .
Ideal for an extra jot of wild blue yonder in a traditional looking garden , you’re able to grow ‘ Spike ’ bigleaf hydrangea for introduction planting next to wall or your nursing home , or as a specimen bush , or even aggregated flora it and have a sea of blue blossoms in a herbaceous hedge . But it will fit in a container as well , or in a vase as a gash flower .
13: ‘Peppermint’ Bigleaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Peppermint’)
Just the name gives you a sense of freshness … ‘ Eucalyptus amygdalina ’ is a really decorative variety of bigleaf hydrangea , which plays with colors with the expertise of a consummate artist . You will point out it when the first blooms open in its round , globular corymbs , because they are quite extraordinary , often asymmetrical and reminiscent of butterfly wings , or even orchids , with with child and smaller but harmonic petals ! And on these peak , you will notice a shade of blue that range from azure to sky or sapphire ( again , count on soil pH ) or even reddish blue ( in close to neutral environments ) , but fade to white at the margins . These bicolor blossoms will come again and again in bunch of about 4 to 6 inches across ( 10 to 15 cm ) till fall , and quite generously as well . A bigger bush than many others we have see so far , it also vaunt a really luxuriant and level-headed set of darkness and glossy , clearly serrate leaves .
‘ Peppermint ’ bigleaf hydrangea can be a blue and blanched ( and deep gullible ) accent shrub in your garden , or it could form a really colourful hedging if you mass plant it or mix it with other shrub , and it will also give you a really honest production of weakened flowers for your indoor spaces .
14: ‘Emotion’ Bigleaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Emotion’)
‘ Emotion ’ is a have it away pinkish variety of bigleaf hydrangea , and usually grown for this color . But it doubles perfectly well into a down beaut if you grow it in acidic dirt ( or reddish blue in inert environments ) … In fact , it has quite big flowers , that range between 1 and 2 inches across ( 2.5 to 5.0 cm ) , and they are double as well , forming adorable rosette like showing , with bigger almost triangular flower petal at the back , and small ones in the center .
But the blooms do not all open at the same time , so , the large clusters look like lacecap at first , till all the bud undecided to fill up the corymbs , which browse between 6 and 8 inch across ( 15 to 20 cm ) .
This little shapeshifting spectacle will start early as well , in mid fountain , and it will continue through the summertime month and into other fall , with pastel shade of light sky blue , but sometimes darken to more acute lazuline and even cobalt key . But the luminous efflorescence also benefit from the particularly dark and glossy , lush and dense foliage that form a contrasting and shrubby backcloth .
@girl_in_her_garden
Ideal as an accent shrub , ‘ Emotion ’ and its blue ( to pink ) double peak can also lighten up your flowering hedges , or you could grow it next to walls and your nursing home for foundation planting , or , why not , even in a big container on a patio or terrace , for a endurance contest prime throughout the whole season .
15: ‘Nikko Blue’ Bigleaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Nikko Blue’)
We conclude our flight with a tangible classic of low hydrangea , ‘ Nikko Blue ’ . An heirloom bigleaf variety from Japan , it is also one of the most popular around the world and a salutary vender …
And of course it is , with its big and jammed corymb , round like mounds of bright jewels , that depart in early summertime and will keep your garden filled with passive energy till the end of the sunny time of year …
The flowers are quite large over 1 inch across ( 2.5 atomic number 96 ) and showy in themselves , with their four baseball field determine petal that form star when they spread out flat . And they will decorate your days with their lucent sky blue to sapphire colour , which is quite vivacious indeed , and sometimes , the blooming exhibit a white splodge at the center …
Between 5 and 6 column inch across ( 12.5 to 15 cm ) , these clump can take your breathing space away with their celestial flowered presentation go under on a medium to with child bush of fertile William Green , point and serrated leaves .
‘ Nikko Blue ’ has set the standard for gloomy hydrangea worldwide , and if you grow it for foundation planting , as an accent or specimen bush , in flowering hedges or and herbaceous borders , you will have a celestial presence and a bit of story in your garden , and you could take all this indoors in a cosmetic vase as well .
Blue Hydrangeas for a Heavenly Garden
Now we can shoot down , after having flown among the cloud of flowers in the blue sky of leafy and blossom hydrangeas … And now you are back on Earth , it is up to you to choose which flowering beauty you want to grow in your garden , and have a piece of heaven for yourself and your sept !
Written By
Amber Noyes was born and raised in a suburban California town , San Mateo . She holds a master ’s degree in gardening from the University of California as well as a B in Biology from the University of San Francisco . With experience working on an constituent farm , water conservation research , Farmer ’ markets , and flora nursery , she understands what makes plants thrive and how we can better understand the connection between microclimate and plant health . When she ’s not on the country , Amber loves informing people of novel idea / thing related to horticulture , especially organic gardening , houseplants , and develop plant in a small blank .
