Hydrangea Pics: Hydrangea quercifolia H

Hydrangea (/ha?'dre?nd?i?/;common brands hydrangea or hortensia) is a genus of 70-75 types of flowering vegetation indigenous to southern and eastern Asia (China, Japan, Korea, the Himalayas, and Indonesia) and the Americas. Certainly the greatest species diversity is within eastern Asia, notably China, Japan, and Korea. Most are shrubs 1 to 3 meters high, however, many are small trees, and others lianas achieving up to 30 m (98 ft) by climbing up trees and shrubs. They could be either deciduous or evergreen, though the cultivated temperate varieties are deciduous generally.Having been introduced to the Azores, H. macrophylla is now very common, particularly on Faial, which is known as the "blue island" because of the vast number of hydrangeas present on the island.Life cycleHydrangea flowers are created from early spring to late autumn; they expand in flowerheads (corymbs or panicles) most often at the ends of the stems.

Typically the flowerheads contain two types of blossoms: small non-showy blooms in the center or interior of the flowerhead, and large, showy plants with large colourful sepals (tepals). These showy plants are often long in a band, or to the surface of the tiny flowers. Crops in wild populations routinely have few to nothing of the showy bouquets, while cultivated hydrangeas have been bred and chosen to have significantly more of the larger type blooms.There are two flower arrangements in hydrangeas with Corymb style inflorescens, which includes the commonly grown "bigleaf hydrangea"--Hydrangea macrophylla. Mophead blossoms are large spherical flowerheads resembling pom-poms or, as the name suggests, the brain of the mop. In contrast, lacecap flowers bear round, flat flowerheads with a center core of subdued, small flowers surrounded by outer rings of larger flowers having showy sepals or tepals.

The plants of some rhododendrons and viburnums can appear, initially, a lot like those of some hydrangeas.Colors and soil acidityIn most varieties the blossoms are white, however in some types (notably H. macrophylla), can be blue, red, red, light purple, or dark purple. In these types the colour is afflicted by the presence of lightweight aluminum ions which can be found or tied up depending upon the soil pH. For H. h and macrophylla. 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 typically produce flowers that are blue to purple, whereas an alkaline soil (pH above 7) will tie up aluminum ions and result in pink or red flowers.

This is the effect of a color change of the bloom pigments in the presence of aluminium ions which may be adopted into hyperaccumulating crops.[6] Reducing the pH of potting soils or mixes usually will not change the flower color to blue, because these soils have no aluminum ions. The ability to blue or green a hydrangea is affected by the cultivar also. Some plants are selected for their ability to be blued, while others are bred and selected to be red, pink or white. The flower color of most other Hydrangea species is not damaged by aluminum and cannot be changed or shifted. Hydrangeas likewise have a nickname called 'Change Rose'.