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Wild American Hydrangea

© Mel. White

This is definately your grandmother's hydrangea--not quite mop-head or lace-cap like the cultivars but something older and wilder. It sits daintily in Aunt Margaret's backyard like an old fashioned Southern lady; discretely overseeing the yard. Even the perpetual bad boy of the backyard, an obstreperous fox squirrel, eyes her with respect.

I blink sleepily out the window over my coffee. "Are those blossoms GREEN?" In the evening light, my brain insisted I was seeing a thick green bush with white blossoms. In the early morning light, my brain tells a different story.

They're green, all right, Aunt Virginia reassures me. She identifies it as an oak leaf hydrangea; common there in the Alabama woods.

Worldwide there are about 30 species of this branch of the saxifrage family. The most common cultivars are the Asian varieties (Macrophylla). Aunt Virginia's plant, the oak-leafed hydrangea is a true native American, h quercifolia.

The typical hydrangea is a sturdy deciduous shrub; a rambly and almost informal plant frequently planted around house foundations. It's the sort of plant you can use to hide a multitude of sins -- or, at least areas where there's plenty of water and sunlight . You'll usually find them in the wild, growing at the edge of the forest.

There are three types of Hydrangeas (named for the type of flower that they bear): The "mopheads", the "lace caps", and the "pannicles" The pannicles' flowerheads vary in look; the ones on the oak-leaf hydrangea appearing to be pale clusters of grapes in the dim sunset. Most (if not all) panicles are white or blush pink when they first bloom and turn a pink or burgundy ("interesting shade of brown," Aunt Virginia says) as they age. The panicle hydrangeas are actually very reliable bloomers, blossoming for a long period. Most will take more sun than mophead types.

One of the most intirguing things about hydrangeas is that they are a type of living litmus test for your soil. If your soil's alkaline (say, you plant them near concrete), then the blooms will turn pink. If you plant them and mulch them with pine needles (making an acidic soil), then they'll turn blue -- although finding out the acidty content of your soil by planting hydrangeas and waiting for them to bloom is going to be a bit longer process than even the most patient gardeners want.

So if you've got a sunny Southern clime and plenty of rain (y'all hear that out there in South Carolina?) there's nothing like a hydrangea to brighten up the grounds around your house.

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