She’ll be happiest in a spot where she’ll get morning sun and afternoon shade. She doesn’t like scorching midday sun.
Keep her soil gently moist (not soggy) to encourage lots of flowers. Water her when the top two inches of soil feel dry.
Encourage her to bloom by giving her a feed with liquid fertiliser once per month through spring and summer.
Botanical name:
Hydrangea Macrophylla
Nicknames:
Mophead Hydrangea, Lacecap Hydrangea, French Hydrangea, Hortensia
Plant type
Deciduous shrub / Outdoor
Pet/baby safe?
Toxic to humans and animals if consumed
Height (including pot)
40-50cm
Nursery pot
23cm
The hydrangea is a British classic, beloved for its big, cheerful flowers, but it’s actually native to Japan. It was introduced to the UK in the early 1700s and has been popular ever since. Hydrangea macrophylla is the archetypal hydrangea, with a compact shape and lots of big round flower clusters.
An amazing thing about the hydrangea is its flowers change colour depending on the acidity of the soil. Acidic soil results in bluer flowers, while alkaline soil results in more pinkish flowers. Hydrangea flowers start to appear in early summer and should give your outdoor space colour and a spicy scent through to autumn, long after a lot of other flowers have faded.
You might expect such a spectacular plant to be complicated to care for, it’s super low-maintenance. Keep it well watered and fed throughout the growing season, then give it a good prune back in late autumn and you should see an explosion of flowers year after year. Did you know?
In Japan, the leaves of hydrangea macrophylla are fermented to make a drink called amacha.
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