Hydrangea Pics: Description Hydrangea macrophylla 02.jpg

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

Usually the flowerheads contain two types of bouquets: small non-showy blooms in the center or interior of the flowerhead, and large, showy flowers with large colourful sepals (tepals). These showy blooms are lengthened in a wedding ring often, or to the surface of the small flowers. Crops in crazy populations routinely have few to none of them of the showy blossoms, while cultivated hydrangeas have been decided on and bred to have 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 flowers are large round flowerheads resembling pom-poms or, as the name means, the head 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 bouquets of some rhododendrons and viburnums can look, initially, very much like those of some hydrangeas.Earth and colors acidityIn most types the flowers are white, however in some varieties (notably H. macrophylla), can be blue, red, red, light crimson, or dark crimson. In these species the colour is affected by the presence of light weight aluminum ions which are available or tied up depending after the earth 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 lead to pink or red flowers.

This is caused by a color change of the bloom pigments in the existence of aluminium ions which is often taken up into hyperaccumulating crops.[6] Lowering the pH of potting soils or mixes usually does not change the bloom color to blue, because these soils have no 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 some are bred and selected to be red, pink or white. The flower color of all other Hydrangea species is not affected by aluminum and cannot be changed or shifted. Hydrangeas likewise have a nickname called 'Change Rose'.