Hydrangea macrophylla – Blue Mophead Shrub (2L Pot)

A blue flowered mophead hydrangea, carrying big rounded flower heads above broad green leaves from early summer into autumn.

The heads open in early summer and hold for months, shifting in tone as the season goes on and drying to soft parchment shades that are worth leaving on the plant over winter. They cut well for the house, fresh or dried. The plant makes a rounded shrub of about one to one and a half metres each way.

Mophead hydrangeas take their colour from the soil. Blue flowers hold their blue on acid soil and drift towards pink on alkaline ground, so grow it in ericaceous compost in a pot if your garden is limy and you want to keep the blue. Give it partial shade with a little morning sun rather than a hot south facing wall, in soil that stays reliably moist, and it will not scorch.

It is fully hardy, though a late frost can catch the young growth in a cold spring. Leave the old flower heads on until March, then cut back to a fat pair of buds: this kind flowers on last year's wood, so pruning in autumn removes next summer's display. It is a traditional seaside garden shrub and stands coastal conditions well. Supplied as an established plant in a 2L pot.

Cultural Information

• Common Name: Hydrangea, mophead hydrangea
• Fully Grown Height and Spread: About 1 to 1.5m tall by 1 to 1.5m wide
• Growth Habit: Rounded, bushy deciduous shrub
• Perfect For: Shaded borders, patio containers, cottage and coastal gardens
• Foliage: Broad, deep green serrated leaves
• Flowering Time: Early summer to autumn
• Planting Position: Partial shade with a little morning sun, in soil that stays moist. Fully hardy, good in containers and suited to coastal gardens.
• Soil Type: Moist, fertile soil that still drains. Acid soil or ericaceous compost keeps the flowers blue.
• Hardiness: Fully hardy in Britain, though a late frost can catch young growth in a cold spring
• Maintenance: Low. Leave the old heads on over winter and cut back to a strong pair of buds in March.
• Seasonal Interest: Summer and autumn
• Type: Hardy deciduous shrub