Hydrangea Pics: Description Hydrangea quercifolia BhamBotGdn.jpg

Hydrangea (/ha?'dre?nd?i?/;common brands hydrangea or hortensia) is a genus of 70-75 kinds of flowering crops native to southern and eastern Asia (China, Japan, Korea, the Himalayas, and Indonesia) and the Americas. Undoubtedly the greatest varieties diversity is eastern Asia, notably China, Japan, and Korea. Most are shrubs 1 to 3 meters tall, but some are small trees and shrubs, among others lianas achieving up to 30 m (98 ft) by climbing up trees and shrubs. They can be either evergreen or deciduous, although widely cultivated temperate kinds are deciduous.Having been introduced to the Azores, H. macrophylla is currently very common, on Faial particularly, which is known as the "blue island" due to the vast number of hydrangeas present on the island.Life cycleHydrangea flowers are produced from early spring to late autumn; they expand in flowerheads (corymbs or panicles) frequently at the ends of the stems.

Usually the flowerheads contain two types of blooms: small non-showy blooms in the center or interior of the flowerhead, and large, showy plants with large bright colored sepals (tepals). These showy bouquets are lengthened in a band often, or to the surface of the small flowers. Crops in wild populations have few to none of the showy blossoms typically, while cultivated hydrangeas have been bred and preferred to have significantly more of the bigger type blooms.There are two flower arrangements in hydrangeas with Corymb style inflorescens, which includes the commonly grown "bigleaf hydrangea"--Hydrangea macrophylla. Mophead blooms are large spherical 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 flowers surrounded by outer rings of larger flowers having showy sepals or tepals.

The bouquets of some rhododendrons and viburnums can appear, initially, just like those of some hydrangeas.Colors and garden soil acidityIn most species the plants are white, however in some kinds (notably H. macrophylla), can be blue, red, red, light purple, or dark purple. In these types the colour is afflicted by the existence of aluminium ions which can be found or tangled up depending after 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 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 rose pigments in the occurrence of aluminium ions which is often taken up into hyperaccumulating crops.[6] Bringing down the pH of potting soils or mixes usually will not change the flower color to blue, because these soils have no aluminum ions. The capability to blue or pink a hydrangea is also inspired by the cultivar. 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 affected by aluminum and cannot be changed or shifted. Hydrangeas also have a nickname called 'Change Rose'.