Hydrangea (/ha?'dre?nd?i?/;common titles hydrangea or hortensia) is a genus of 70-75 species of flowering plants native to southern and eastern Asia (China, Japan, Korea, the Himalayas, and Indonesia) and the Americas. By far the greatest types diversity is within eastern Asia, china notably, Japan, and Korea. Most are shrubs 1 to 3 meters extra tall, but some are small trees, as well as others lianas reaching up to 30 m (98 foot) by climbing up trees and shrubs. They can be either deciduous or evergreen, though the broadly cultivated temperate species are deciduous.Having been introduced to the Azores, H. macrophylla is now very common, particularly on Faial, which is known as the "blue island" due to the vast number of hydrangeas present on the island.Life cycleHydrangea bouquets are produced from planting season to late fall months; they increase in flowerheads (corymbs or panicles) frequently at the ends of the stems.
Typically the flowerheads contain two types of blooms: small non-showy bouquets in the center or interior of the flowerhead, and large, showy bouquets with large colorful sepals (tepals). These showy bouquets tend to be extended in a wedding ring, or to the surface of the small flowers. Plants in crazy populations have few to nothing of the showy flowers typically, while cultivated hydrangeas have been bred and preferred to have significantly more of the bigger type bouquets.There are two flower arrangements in hydrangeas with Corymb style inflorescens, which include the commonly grown "bigleaf hydrangea"--Hydrangea macrophylla. Mophead plants are large round flowerheads resembling pom-poms or, as the name indicates, the head of your mop. On the other hand, lacecap flowers bear round, flat flowerheads with a center core of subdued, small blooms bounded by outer bands of larger bouquets having showy tepals or sepals.
The blossoms of some rhododendrons and viburnums can seem, at first glance, very much like those of some hydrangeas.Colors and soil acidityIn most types the blooms are white, but in some types (notably H. macrophylla), can be blue, red, pink, light crimson, or dark crimson. In these types the colour is affected by the presence of aluminium ions which can be found or tangled up depending after the ground pH. For H. macrophylla and H. serrata cultivars, the flower color can be determined by the relative acidity of the soil: an acidic soil (pH below 7), will supply aluminum ions and produce flowers that are blue to purple typically, whereas an alkaline soil (pH above 7) will tie up aluminum ions and cause pink or red flowers.
This is caused by a color change of the blossom pigments in the existence of aluminium ions that can be adopted into hyperaccumulating plant life.[6] Decreasing the pH of potting soils or mixes usually will not change the bloom color to blue, because these soils haven't any aluminum ions. The capability to blue or pink a hydrangea is influenced by the cultivar also. Some plants are selected for their ability to be blued, while others are bred and selected to be red, white or pink. The flower color of most other Hydrangea species is not afflicted by aluminum and cannot be changed or shifted. Hydrangeas also have a nickname called 'Change Rose'.