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The Best Hydrangeas for Your Garden

Brighten the shade, add structure and summer blooms to a mixed border or create a privacy screen with the help of one of the many hydrangea varieties. 

Use Annabelle-type hydrangeas (Hydrangea arborescens) in mixed shrub borders, perennials plantings, woodland gardens and to brighten shady spots in the landscape. Grow this adaptable plant in partial shade and moist, rich, well-drained soil.

You’ll find panicle hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata) varieties from 2 to 10 feet tall. Their large cone-shaped flowers appear mid to late summer, starting out white and fading to pink and then brown.

Bigleaf hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla) are the colorful hydrangeas that have been mainstays of southern gardens. Repeat blooming varieties allow northern gardeners to enjoy their pink blooms in alkaline soil and blue blossoms in acidic soil. Grow bigleaf hydrangeas in moist well-drained soil in a location that receives full sun with some afternoon shade.

A bit more information: Annabelle-type and Panicle hydrangeas flower on new growth. Big leaf hydrangeas flower on the previous season’s growth. Repeat blooming, big leaf hydrangeas flower on previous and current season’s growth.