Climbing Hydrangea – what’s not to like?

May 13, 2011 at 10:05 AM Leave a comment

A Glorious All-season Climber!
White blooms, yellow fall foliage, and exfoliating cinnamon bark create multi-season interest.
Climbing Hydrangea is simply one of the finest of all self-climbing woody vines. Its combination of abundant bloom, handsome fall foliage, and interesting bark (revealed in winter) make it a pleasure in every season, and its ease of care renders it invaluable to the busy gardener. This is a legacy planting you will enjoy for decades to come.

“There is no better climbing vine,” says Donald Wyman, authority on woody plants. We would add that few others have the sheer presence of this Hydrangea, which forms a tiered habit as it matures, so that the huge creamy bloom panicles appear in stately layers. Utterly breathtaking climbing the side of a house or outbuilding, it sets masses of 6- to 8-inch flowerheads in early to midsummer. Cut these for indoor arrangements (fresh or dried) if you like, or leave them on the plant, where they dry magnificently in autumn.

Autumn is one of the best seasons for this climber, for the large, fresh green leaves turn a buttery shade of yellow, remaining for several weeks before dropping for winter. The sight of a mature Climbing Hydrangea in full autumn regalia is unforgettable!

Even winter is attractive with this vine, its bare branches revealing cinnamon-colored bark that peels elegantly over time. Truly four-season!

This plant needs no support to grow upward ? so you don’t have to worry about tying the vine. Just give it a wall, arbor, or other structure to grow against, and up it goes. Of course, it’s also effective as a groundcover, but its best use is for vertical coverage.

Climbing Hydrangea is easy, carefree, and very long-lived. It can be somewhat slow to establish, but once settled in, it makes excellent growth each year, and eventually tops out at 60 to 80 feet long (if left unpruned) and 10 to 12 feet wide. Content in sun or shade, it is very low maintenance. Zones 4-8.

Quick Facts:
Hydrangea anomala ssp. petiolaris

Soil Moisture: Moist, well-drained
Sun Exposure: Full Sun
Part Shade
Ship Form: Trade Gallon (3qt)
Shipping: Ships in Spring
Growing Zones: 4-8 Bloom Season: Early Summer to Mid Summer
Soil Types/Tolerance: Normal, loamy Clay
Product Category: Shrubs
Bloom Color: White , Cream
Foliage Color: Dark Green , Yellow
Bloom Size: 6 in – 8 in
Plant Width: 10 ft – 12 ft
Plant Height: 60 ft – 80 ft
Plant Habit: Vining
Uses: Ornamental , Ground Cover , Border , Cut Flowers , Fall Color , Privacy , Specimen
Additional Features: Flower , Bloom First Year , Butterfly Lovers , Easy Care Plants , Fall Color , Long Bloomers
Special resistance: Drought Tolerant , Heat Tolerant , Humidity Tolerant

From Wayside Gardens online advertising:
http://www.waysidegardens.com/gardening/PD/46965?utm_source=lyris&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=110510-SummerShrubs&utm_content=WaysideOnly&hq_e=el&hq_m=839136&hq_l=13&hq_v=37602847c4

Entry filed under: Green Information, Our Gardens.

Right here in Old Irving Park – Gardening Unlimited Retail Store. Interesting facts on hummingbirds.

Leave a comment

Trackback this post  |  Subscribe to the comments via RSS Feed


Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 76 other subscribers