In Harmony With Hydrangeas

24 Dec, 2022

With their giant clusters of petite blooms in white, pinks, purples and even blues, hydrangeas are a classic flowering shrub that never go out of style.

If you live in a villa in one of Auckland’s central suburbs, chances are that you have at least one old-fashioned hydrangea bush in your garden. Many of these established beauties are decades old and will have provided thousands of stunning blooms to those who’ve lived there before you – a blooming beautiful legacy if you ask us! As well as looking gorgeous in the garden, hydrangea blooms make a statement in cut flower bouquets and can also be used in dried arrangements. If you’re thinking that hydrangeas might be the perfect addition to your garden, read on for our top landscaping and care tips.

Perfect for both classic and contemporary gardens.

Whether they’re planted en masse or placed in key positions in your garden, when hydrangeas are in flower they will inject an instant wow factor into your landscape. While hydrangeas are a classic plant and ideal for country-style gardens, they can also be stunning in contemporary landscaping schemes. Hydrangeas prefer being planted in the ground however some varieties will also thrive in pots - and a few types can even live indoors! Here at kings some of our favourites include:

Snowball

Petite plants, with deep green foliage and huge white blooms. Grows to 1.5m

Renate Steiniger

Masses of large blue flowers. Grows to 1.5m

Raspberry crush

Compact, with small leaves and brilliant, raspberry coloured blooms. Grows to 60cm

Bridal bouquet

Perfect for arranging, with large, creamy flowers that bloom spring to summer. Grows to 1m.

Ayesha

Tall, with petite flowers. Colours range from cream to pink to blue, depending on the acidity of the soil. Grows to 1.5m

Nightingale

Deep blue-purple ‘lace cap’ flowers, scattered through soft green foliage. Grows to 1.5m.

Tuxedo

Deep, near-black leaves that contrast against their bright red and pink flowers produced from spring through to autumn. Grows to 90cm.

How to keep established hydrangeas looking heavenly:

If you have established hydrangeas in your garden, the great news is that you don’t need to do a lot to keep them looking gorgeous, year after year. Here are our top tips to help you grow well:

  • When adding hydrangeas to your garden, consider that they will lose their leaves and flowers in winter. With this in mind, make sure you put them in a spot that can stand to be a little bare over the colder months.
  • To keep established hydrangeas thriving over summer, simply water them deeply two to three times every week, avoiding getting the leaves wet.
  • When your hydrangeas have lost their leaves in winter, trim back to a healthy-looking bud to ensure another stunning season when they next flower.
  • Feed your hydrangeas Kings Fast Food Liquid Fertiliser or Kings Rose Food between early spring and early autumn to give them a boost.
  • If you have old-fashioned blue or pink flowering hydrangeas in your garden, tweaking the acidity of the soil will enhance the colour of your blooms. Use aluminium sulphate to deepen blue hues, or dolomite lime to intensify pinks.

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