Hydrangea Pics: Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Snow Queen’

Hydrangea (/ha?'dre?nd?i?/;common names hydrangea or hortensia) is a genus of 70-75 species of flowering crops native to southern and eastern Asia (China, Japan, Korea, the Himalayas, and Indonesia) and the Americas. Certainly the greatest types diversity is eastern Asia, notably China, Japan, and Korea. The majority are shrubs 1 to 3 meters high, but some are small trees, as well as others lianas attaining up to 30 m (98 foot) by climbing up trees. They can be either deciduous or evergreen, though the cultivated temperate types are all deciduous greatly.Having been introduced to the Azores, H. macrophylla is very common now, on Faial particularly, which is recognized as the "blue island" due to the vast number of hydrangeas present on the island.Life cycleHydrangea blooms are produced 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 plants: small non-showy bouquets in the center or interior of the flowerhead, and large, showy bouquets with large vibrant sepals (tepals). These showy plants are lengthened in a wedding ring often, or to the exterior of the tiny flowers. Plants in crazy populations have few to none of the showy blossoms typically, while cultivated hydrangeas have been selected and bred to have significantly more of the bigger type bouquets.There are two flower arrangements in hydrangeas with Corymb style inflorescens, which includes the commonly grown "bigleaf hydrangea"--Hydrangea macrophylla. Mophead bouquets are large spherical flowerheads resembling pom-poms or, as the name implies, the relative mind of any mop. On the other hand, lacecap flowers bear round, flat flowerheads with a center core of subdued, small flowers encircled by outer wedding rings of bigger flowers having showy tepals or sepals.

The blossoms of some viburnums and rhododendrons can show up, at first glance, much like those of some hydrangeas.Colors and dirt acidityIn most kinds the bouquets are white, but in some types (notably H. macrophylla), can be blue, red, green, light crimson, or dark crimson. In these types the colour is damaged by the presence of 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 bring about pink or red flowers.

This is caused by a color change of the blossom pigments in the presence of aluminium ions which can be adopted into hyperaccumulating plant life.[6] Reducing 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 ability to blue or green a hydrangea is also affected by the cultivar. Some plants are selected because of their ability to be blued, while others are bred and selected to be red, white or pink. The flower color of all other Hydrangea species is not afflicted by aluminum and can't be changed or shifted. Hydrangeas also have a nickname called 'Change Rose'.