Hydrangea Pics: copyright 2011 Joan Harrison

Hydrangea (/ha?'dre?nd?i?/;common names hydrangea or hortensia) is a genus of 70-75 kinds of flowering plant life local to southern and eastern Asia (China, Japan, Korea, the Himalayas, and Indonesia) and the Americas. Undoubtedly the greatest types diversity is within eastern Asia, china notably, Japan, and Korea. Most are shrubs 1 to 3 meters high, but some are small trees and shrubs, yet others lianas attaining up to 30 m (98 ft) by climbing up trees and shrubs. They can be either deciduous or evergreen, though the cultivated temperate species are all deciduous widely.Having been introduced to the Azores, H. macrophylla is quite typical now, particularly on Faial, which is recognized as the "blue island" because of the multitude of hydrangeas present on the island.Life cycleHydrangea flowers are created from early spring to late autumn; they develop in flowerheads (corymbs or panicles) most often at the ends of the stems.

Usually the flowerheads contain two types of blossoms: small non-showy blossoms in the center or interior of the flowerhead, and large, showy plants with large colorful sepals (tepals). These showy blooms tend to be long in a wedding ring, or to the exterior of the small flowers. Crops in crazy populations have few to none of them of the showy blooms typically, while cultivated hydrangeas have been preferred and bred to have significantly more of the larger type blossoms.There are two flower arrangements in hydrangeas with Corymb style inflorescens, which includes the commonly grown "bigleaf hydrangea"--Hydrangea macrophylla. Mophead bouquets are large circular flowerheads resembling pom-poms or, as the name implies, the mind of your mop. On the other hand, 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 flowers of some viburnums and rhododendrons can appear, initially, very much like those of some hydrangeas.Soil and colors acidityIn most species the flowers are white, however in some kinds (notably H. macrophylla), can be blue, red, green, light crimson, or dark crimson. In these types the color is affected by the occurrence of light weight aluminum ions which can be found or tied up depending upon the garden soil 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 have available aluminum ions and produce flowers that are blue to purple typically, whereas an alkaline soil (pH above 7) will tie up aluminum ions and result in pink or red flowers.

This is caused by a color change of the blossom pigments in the presence of aluminium ions that can be taken up into hyperaccumulating crops.[6] Minimizing the pH of potting soils or mixes usually will not change the blossom color to blue, because these soils haven't any aluminum ions. The capability 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 most other Hydrangea species is not afflicted by aluminum and can't be changed or shifted. Hydrangeas also have a nickname called 'Change Rose'.