Against all odds

My little Old Man turned up one day with 3 " Hortensias". Having seen Hydrangeas growing well in miserable climates like England I thought growing them here was impossible. However as the old man was so disappointed at my lack of interest I gave him $6 for the three. I then started an investigation which confirmed my original thoughts.
I live in the North of Guatemala on a rolling limestone plateau about 150 feet above sea level. Truly Tropical but with average monthly temperatures ranging from 72 in Jan to 82 in May. You can add 10 degrees for average day temperatures.
I was told by Hydrangea enthusiasts that Mop Heads don't grow well in Southern Florida so I didn't have much chance.
I inserted a couple in a lawn to help keep them moist and surrounded them with rotted leaf mould and coffee grounds. They were shaded in the morning and had 3 hours Sun in the afternoon. The other I planted with my shade lovers. A couple of weeks later the bright blue flowers faded and the leaves turned brown. However I noticed new shoots appearing. The new shoots produced bright new leaves and eventually new white flowers which went from green to bright blue and are now turning mauve.
This colour progression apparently is normal.
In the hot Sun they eventually start to wilt but as the Sun moves away they perk up again.
The one in the shade is making good new growth the same as the other two but has only managed one small flower.
My soil is neutral but I only have about 9 inches of topsoil, below is almost pure soft limestone (pour some vinegar on it and it looks like Alkaseltzer). I live on the edge of the Jungle and the locals are puzzled that I am growing flowers and not Maize and Beans. Chemicals are not available to me.
There is so much written about Hydrandeas that I am thoroughly confused. I guess I must simply let Mother Nature take care of them.
The flowers are sterile? Some flowers are not sterile? When the flowers have reached the purple stage the center pod opens and reveals Pistil and Stamens. Are these sterile?

Hello, johnpeten. The sepals of the mophead blooms work as petals do in roses but they are not the real flowers. They are a device that attracts other insects to the flower. The real mophead flowers are usually infertile/sterile, but perhaps with a few fertile flowers here and there. Depending on the variety, a mophead may have flowers that are only infertile and some varieties may have flowers that are both fertile and infertile. The sepals will change color as they mature. The color change depends on the variety and the soil pH. Pink colors hint at alkaline soils, purples hint at neutral to slightly acidic pH and blues hint at acidic soil. In my alkaline soils, the sepals of some varieties go through a pink-green-brown color cycle while others go through a pink-white-dirty white-green-brown cycle. You can view seed pods more easily with lacecaps than you can with mopheads. The fertile flowers in the center of a lacecap are fertile and can be pollinated, at which time they will gradually change color and become seed pods. Propagation by cuttings or layering is so much easier & faster than propagation by seed that most people do not propagate by seed. Since they are easy plants to propagate, it follows that they are affordable plants as well since you do not have to coddle them like you do rhododendrons, azaleas and some roses.

Growing hydrangeas in Florida appears to become difficult when you go to Zone 9 (or higher) which equates around where the city of Orlando, Florida is located (in the middle of the state). Perhaps the problem in the lower half of Florida is a combination of: sandy soil, hot summers and nematodes that require some plants like roses to be grafted into Fortuniana rootstock or something else. I have not seen scientific studies but have noticed mostly problem posts in the lower half of Florida as well as lack of posts from that area. I used to live in the Caribbean and Hortensias (the name given to Hydrangeas there) were grown in homes built high up in the mountains. So the zone -by itself- may not be enough to say that hydrangeas will not grow in a geographical region like the lower half of Florida. Ah, a mystery!

Luis

This message was edited Oct 20, 2008 1:35 AM