5-6 feet or more tall.
The flowers may be pink or blue in color depending on the soil pH. Lace cap hydrangeas produce flowers on the prior year's growth, so the appropriate pruning time is different from many other flowering shrub species that bloom on new growth. Tips and Warnings. 1  Don't plant your lace cap hydrangea in full, direct sunlight if you live in a region with hot summers. 2  Instead, select a planting site that has some shade in the afternoons. Where to plant a French hydrangea. French hydrangeas often appear on lists of shade-loving plants. This is not technically correct. French hydrangeas need direct sunlight to bloom well, at least 4-6 hours. In the South, think of French hydrangeas the way you would an azalea – prune after blooming. This usually means in July – certainly before the first of August. The plant will not be hurt by removing up to a third of the growth – the new growth that will appear after pruning contains the bloom buds for the next season. Prune lacecap hydrangea in late summer when flowers fade and shoots develop from the base and crown. Cut about one-third of older stems to the ground, removing all dead wood. Proper pruning improves plant vigor, encourage more blooms and retains plant shape. With proper care the shrubs can grow up to 6 feet tall and wide and bloom from July through August in U.S. Department of Agriculture hardiness zones 6 though 9. They make excellent additions to the landscape as foundation plants, specimen plants, shrub borders and even ideal for seaside planting. While there are approximately 23 species of Hydrangea, only five are widely cultivated in the U.S. The most popular species is Hydrangea macrophylla, which is commonly known as bigleaf, French, garden or florist s hydrangea. This Japanese native is rated as hardy to USDA cold-hardiness zone 6. Growing 4 to 6 feet in height and width, both mophead and lacecap hydrangeas can be used as specimen plants, in mixed borders or in mass plantings. The mountain hydrangea (H. macrophylla subsp. serrata) is a subspecies of bigleaf hydrangea that has slightly smaller leaves and flowers (see image at right). A garden hydrangea is a woody, deciduous shrub measuring 5-6 feet or more tall by about as wide at maturity. Its large leaves, in shades of medium to dark matte green provide the background to the two different bloom forms: 1). Mophead or hortensia blooms, or 2). Lacecap blooms. In the South, think of French hydrangeas the way you would an azalea – prune after blooming. This usually means in July – certainly before the first of August. The plant will not be hurt by removing up to a third of the growth – the new growth that will appear after pruning contains the bloom buds for the next season. Keywords: lace cap hydrangeas, lacecap hydrangea care, grow Hydrangea macrophylla, French hydrangeas, mophead hydrangea, bigleaf hydrangeas. Tips and Warnings. 1  Don't plant your lace cap hydrangea in full, direct sunlight if you live in a region with hot summers. 2  Instead, select a planting site that has some shade in the afternoons. 3. Feed lacecap hydrangea in March, May and July using a 12-4-8, 16-4-8 or 10-10-10 formula of general fertilizer. Provide divided applications and use 1 pound of fertilizer per 100 square feet. The soil pH plays a role in the color of pink and blue lacecap hydrangeas, so use a 10-10-10 fertilizer for blue blooms. Blue flowers occur at a lower pH, from 5.0 to 5.5, while pink flower occur at a higher pH, from 6.5-7.0. With proper care the shrubs can grow up to 6 feet tall and wide and bloom from July through August in U.S. Department of Agriculture hardiness zones 6 though 9. They make excellent additions to the landscape as foundation plants, specimen plants, shrub borders and even ideal for seaside planting. Leaves are large, often 4 to 8 inches long and 2 to 5 inches wide, and leathery. Leaf color ranges from medium to dark green and from dull to glossy, depending on cultivar. French hydrangea is deciduous in most areas of Florida, dropping leaves in autumn as days shorten, especially after cool weather.  The upright shrub can grow to 25 feet tall in USDA zones 3 though 8, and blooms on new wood. The showy terminal panicles are up to 8 inches long and blush pink or pale purple as they age. Although panicle is one of the latest hydrangeas to bloom, the flower clusters keep on coming into September. The transformation is miraculous as spring itself: from a skeleton of bony stems, your hydrangea (Hydrangea spp.) becomes a lush, rounded shrub with the first days of warm weather. The large leaves are a fresh green, but it's the flowers that capture the imagination and make the most impact. Overview. Lace cap hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla), also called mophead, French or bigleaf hydrangeas, are known for their flat-topped clusters of colorful flowers. Tips and Warnings. 1  Don't plant your lace cap hydrangea in full, direct sunlight if you live in a region with hot summers. 2  Instead, select a planting site that has some shade in the afternoons.
http://www.gardenguides.com/113327-care-lace-cap-hydrangea.html http://www.growingagreenerworld.com/growing-french-hydrangeas-2/ http://homeguides.sfgate.com/grow-lacecap-hydrangea-39978.html http://www.usna.usda.gov/Gardens/faqs/hydrangeafaq2.html http://www.growingagreenerworld.com/growing-french-hydrangeas-2/ http://www.gardenguides.com/113327-care-lace-cap-hydrangea.html http://homeguides.sfgate.com/grow-lacecap-hydrangea-39978.html http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/EP/EP33000.pdf http://homeguides.sfgate.com/long-hydrangeas-stay-bloom-69780.html http://www.gardenguides.com/113327-care-lace-cap-hydrangea.html
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