I'm new to this forum, so maybe this has been answered in the past...
Does anyone know of a Blue Hydrangea that is "Dwarfish" for zone 10a ??? I want a small blue one that stays under 3 ft tall. I can't seem to find one.
Also, am looking for one I saw on some other posting that is purple with a white edging around the flowers...it wasn't a lace cap...
Our nurseries here don't seem to have a very big selection of the named varieties.
Any suggestions for a tried and true reliable source????
Thanks in advance!!
Dwarf Blue Hydrangeas for Zone 10 a
Here are two dwarf ones (there may be others that don't have "dwarf" in the cultivar name...unfortunately hydrangea's not a genus that you can search for specifically in the advanced search where you can narrow by height so you'll have to look through all 438 to find the rest unless someone else knows of one!)
http://davesgarden.com/pf/adv_search.php?searcher%5Bcommon%5D=&searcher%5Bfamily%5D=&searcher%5Bgenus%5D=hydrangea&searcher%5Bspecies%5D=&searcher%5Bcultivar%5D=dwarf&searcher%5Bhybridizer%5D=&search_prefs%5Bsort_by%5D=rating&images_prefs=both&Search=Search
The H. quercifolia cultivar definitely won't be blue, and the H. serrata probably won't either based on the name. H. macrophylla is the species that will tend to have blue cultivars, but keep in mind that they will only be blue if you have acidic soil, and I think due to our low rainfall most of the soil in CA is probably going to tend to be more on the basic side, so even if you find a dwarf blue one it may turn out to be a dwarf purplish or pink one for you.
The one you saw with the white edging was probably one of the new Halo series...they all have "Frau" as part of the cultivar name.
As far as sources, Heronswood used to be a really good source but I don't know about them anymore since they packed up and moved to PA. Lazy S Farm has a number of different kinds and I've always been very happy with the quality of their plants. If you do a search in Garden Watchdog I'm pretty sure Hydrangeas is one of the categories you can search for and I'm sure you'll find a ton of nurseries that way, then you can sort by their rating so the good ones will come up first.
Thanks Liz !!! I will ck. out the links you sent. I appreciate it !!!
I have been successful in getting mine to turn blue....with liberal amounts of peat moss in the soil, and aluminum sulphate. But, it took me a few years to "master it".
Feeding with acid food has helped tremendously in our otherwise alkaline soil. Sometimes, I get purple, blue and pink all at the same time on the same plant...without trying !!! (Usually due to neglect in feeding).
15 years ago, you couldn't GIVE hydrangeas away here...now they're popular again.
I wish I could remember where (which forum ) I saw the purple edged in white...it's a real beauty. (It wasn't the focal point of the picture)
Thanks again for your help!
JD
I don't think this is the same thread because here it is the focal point of the picture...but is this the same plant?
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/614454/
Yes !!! That sure looks like the same one I saw...if not, I like that one too !!!
I didn't know they were called Halo Hydrangeas until you said so.
Wow !!! You're FAST !!!!
The Halo's were new this year (or if not new, this was the first year it seemed like they were widely available). Several garden centers in this area had a bunch of them for sale in the early summer, so if you check your nurseries at the right time of year you'll probably find one. I haven't seen them on the mail order sites but a lot of the places I shop regularly don't carry much in the way of Hydrangeas, so there could be other places that would have them.