Even after the flowers fade, the seed capsules are still attractive and remain on the plant until winter winds blow them away. The stems are most interesting in their own right. New stems are a warm, cinnamon brown and older ones have exfoliating bark. This is not a vine for tight spaces, since it puts out horizontal stems as far as three feet (1 m) from the support. I rather like this feature, myself; it's part of the architectural quality of the plant, but if you've got a really tight spot, you might want to try its cousin, Schizophragma hydrangeoides, instead, as it is flatter by nature.
Personally, I agree with Wyman who dubbed this "one of the best of the woody, clinging vines". If you've got the patience to wait for it to make enough woody mass to bloom, it is a superb addition to the partly shady landscape. It will grow in full sun or in shade, but blooming will be reduced in heavy shade. Give this vine rich, moist and well-drained soil.
For lovers of variegated foliage, a new introduction is coming out this fall from the small wholesale grower, Rippingale Nursery. It's called Hydrangea anomala petiolaris 'Mirranda' , and features gold leaf margins. It originated as a bud sport at the nursery about five years ago, according to the newsletter on their site. The same newsletter has a photo of a potted young plant.
Rated hardy from USDA zones 4 to 7, this member of the Hydrangeaceae family is native to China and Japan. It's supposedly a bit difficult to root from cuttings. Dirr has had low percentage rooting from July cuttings and notes that the best time to take cuttings is in late spring or early summer before the stems turn brown.
Seed supposedly germinates readily with no pretreatment, although a cold period of one to two months hastens and unifies germination. I have had my vine for about ten years or so and have never found a self-sown seedling.
Schizophragma hydrangeoides, Japanese climbing hydrangea, is a plant I've long wanted and will, someday, have. The species was collected by Ernest 'Chinese' Wilson in western China during the years 1907, 1908 and 1910 for Arnold Arboretum. The selection, 'Moonlight', was a 1998 Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Gold Medal Plant award winner. It differs from the species by having dark veins in the leaves and a silvery sheen to juvenile leaves (not mature ones). It was named by Phil Normandy of Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, Maryland. This species differs from H. anomala subsp. petiolaris in that it lies flat against a wall; the flowers aren't quite as large and showy and are held in a somewhat more droopy cluster, but the bloom time lasts longer. It is rated hardy from USDA zones 5 to 7 and does well in light shade to part sun.
 |
 |
 |
 |
