I purchased one of these yesterday at a local nursery based on input from the salesperson for a corner of my yard that gets full sun. Naturally, I came to the DG plantfiles to find out information on it, but didn't see where there were a lot of DGers who had it (thought I see plenty who want it). The plantfiles lists a "Firefly" version, though my tag doesn't specify that, only the subject name is listed with "climbing hydrangea". Is anyone familiar with this species that can offer some info/insight as to its characteristics, likes/dislikes, etc.? The nursery salesperson said it would handle our strong Raleigh full sun, and I have a place where it can happily grown and climb to its hearts content.
One other difference on my tag info from the plant files description is that my tag says it grows to 60 feet whereas the info here says 25.
Hydrangea anomala subsp. petiolaris
Hi!
It sounds like you have the "classic" h. anamola subsp. petiolaris, rather than the other, shorter varieties listed in Plant Files .
I'm going to quote what Joan Harrison ("The Colorful world of Hydrangeas: A Hydrangea Handbook for the Home Gardener") has to say about h. petiolaris.
"Climbing hydrangeas, splendid at maturity, are not for those who desire instant gratification. . . the fourth year is when it really starts to take off, scrambling with wild abandon up the trunk of a tree. . . for the first few years the climbing hydrangea has to be busy growing below the ground where you can't see the progress as it expands and strengthens its roots . .
The plant is strong and sturdy but its flowers are delicate. They are always white or cream colored with flower heads resembling lacecaps. The flowers generally don't appear until the hydrangea has completed its climb on whatever support it's using, so the shorter the support, the faster the flowering. If you want flowers sooner rather than later, you'd be wise to plant your climbing hydrangea at the base of a 6-foot trellis rather than a 40-foot tree.
Climbing hydrangeas tolerate poor soil, grow well in either sun or shade and are very low-maintenance. They cling to any rough-textured surface. . . (whatever structure is used should be quite substantial since the mature climbser can become quite heavy.)
[I found this interesting]:
This is the only hydrangea species also suitable as a ground cover. If you have to deal with a steep slope in full sun, put in a few or these plants and in a few years the slope will be covered completely.
Hope this helps.
Thanks much for the article/information! That helps me a lot! I'm beginning to wonder if it might be better in my front yard as a ground cover, though it's fairly shady up there. I do have a sloping front yard with vinca and english ivy already creeping down that hill, but would love to fill it in more. I'll have to continue digging around and see what might work.
I have some passionflower vine that I brought back from my mom's yard in Delaware, where it's flourishing and doing beautifully, but I worry that the full sun in Raleigh is too much heat for it. She has the nice ocean breezes that come in to her area and keep things mild for the most part. We have the blazing hot, humid sun in non-shady areas, so a lot of things that say they are "full sun" wilt and burn even with regular watering.
Good luck with the passionflower! I looked it up on PlantFiles, and most entries said "sun to part sun."
Do you see other gardens in your area growing passionflowers successfully?
I don't know what cultivar your passion flower is, but I have 'White Wedding' growing on a west facing fence, it gets full sun from 8AM until sunset, and it hasn't even blinked at temps over 100 degrees. Other cultivars may vary in their tolerance for sun/heat, but that one at least seems to love it so I'm sure there are others that can handle it too. Try posting on the Passiflora forum, I'm sure they'll be able to tell you whether yours would do well or not.