Hydrangea Pics: Hydrangea anomela subsp. petiolaris

Hydrangea (/ha?'dre?nd?i?/;common names hydrangea or hortensia) is a genus of 70-75 varieties of flowering plant life local to southern and eastern Asia (China, Japan, Korea, the Himalayas, and Indonesia) and the Americas. Certainly the greatest kinds diversity is within eastern Asia, china notably, Japan, and Korea. The majority are shrubs 1 to 3 meters extra tall, but some are small trees and shrubs, as well as others lianas reaching up to 30 m (98 feet) by climbing up trees. They can be either deciduous or evergreen, though the greatly cultivated temperate kinds are all deciduous.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 vast number of hydrangeas present on the island.Life cycleHydrangea blossoms are produced from early spring to late autumn; they increase in flowerheads (corymbs or panicles) most often at the ends of the stems.

Usually the flowerheads contain two types of blooms: small non-showy flowers in the center or interior of the flowerhead, and large, showy flowers with large bright colored sepals (tepals). These showy flowers are often expanded in a band, or to the exterior of the small flowers. Vegetation in outdoors populations have few to nothing of the showy flowers typically, while cultivated hydrangeas have been selected and bred to have significantly more of the larger type flowers.There are two flower arrangements in hydrangeas with Corymb style inflorescens, which include the commonly grown "bigleaf hydrangea"--Hydrangea macrophylla. Mophead bouquets are large spherical flowerheads resembling pom-poms or, as the name suggests, the head of a 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 blossoms of some viburnums and rhododendrons can appear, at first glance, comparable to those of some hydrangeas.Colors and land acidityIn most species the blooms are white, however in some types (notably H. macrophylla), can be blue, red, pink, light purple, or dark crimson. In these species the color is damaged by the presence of metal ions which are available or tied up depending after the dirt pH. For H. h and macrophylla. serrata cultivars, the flower color can be dependant on 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 cause pink or red flowers.

This is the effect of a color change of the bloom pigments in the existence of aluminium ions which can be taken up into hyperaccumulating crops.[6] Reducing the pH of potting soils or mixes usually does not change the flower color to blue, because these soils haven't any aluminum ions. The capability to blue or green a hydrangea is also influenced by the cultivar. 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 damaged by aluminum and can't be changed or shifted. Hydrangeas likewise have a nickname called 'Change Rose'.