Hydrangeas

Dr. Gary Bachman: Hydrangeas as group of flowering shrubs are great in an old timey, as well as modern landscape, today on Southern Gardening.

Announcer: Southern Gardening with Gary Bachman is produced by the Mississippi State University Extension Service.

Dr. Gary Bachman: Hydrangeas are old fashioned shrubs that have rounded forms and flamboyant flower displays in the summer and fall, but there are great selections coming out every year. The three hydrangea primarily found in the garden are the French, the PG, and the Oak Leaf.

French hydrangea, Hydrangea macrophylla, has two flower types, mop heads and lace caps. Mop heads are flowers that resemble pompoms, big and round and showy. Lace caps are almost yarrow like, showy infertile flowers surround the smaller, fertile flowers.

PG hydrangea, hydrangea paniculata, has arching branches with long cone-shaped flowers. Limelight is a 2009 Mississippi Medallion winner and has flowers that start out as chartreuse, change to lime green, and then pink in the fall. Vanilla strawberry starts out creamy white to pink to strawberry red.

Oak Leaf hydrangea, hydrangea quercifolia, is a tough native hydrangea, having leaves shaped like oak leaves, and is found in the Highland areas of Mississippi. In 2000, Snowflake was selected as a Mississippi Medallion winner, with double flowers starting out snow white and fading to pink.

All of the hydrangeas can be used as mass plantings or specimens in the landscape. They also perform well in containers on the patio or porch. Hydrangea flowers are excellent for use as cut flowers, or they can be dried for use in dry arrangements.

So whether you like mop heads, lace caps, PGs or Oak Leaves, hydrangea are a garden must have. I'm horticulturist, Gary Bachman for Southern Gardening.

Announcer: Southern Gardening with Gary Bachman is produced by the Mississippi State University Extension Service.