One hydrangea stands out from the rest
This was a very difficult spring for most hydrangeas because of several late frosts. Most of the branches had the beginnings of their leaves and their flower buds in early April. The cold temperatures turned most of the emerging leaves and buds brown.
What will happen? We don’t know, but we will wait and see. The plants appear to be about six weeks behind schedule and there is no sign of blooms.
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However, this is not the case with the Mongolian hydrangea, Hydrangea bretschneideri. It has fully leafed out and boasts large white lacecap flowers that are both flat and decorative. Lacecap flowers have little buds in the center. This part of the bloom is fertile and this is where the bees gather pollen and nectar.
The large, showy blossoms around the outer edge are sterile bracts and they will eventually fade to pink. This deciduous shrub has a chestnut brown trunk; it is described as “exfoliating,” meaning that it peels off as the plant matures — similar to our native birch trees. It has medium green leaves that are felted on their undersides. The Mongolian hydrangea is extremely cold hardy and is generally among the earliest to bloom.
A Russian botanist and sinologist (one who studies Chinese language and culture), Dr. Emil Bretschneider, collected hydrangea seeds near Peking (now Beijing) in the mid-1800s. This particular plant was separated from the others because of the unique features of felted leaves and exfoliating bark. Hence, its name became Hydrangea bretschneideri, after its discoverer.
If you wish to try your luck at propagating hydrangeas from seed, like Dr. Bretschneider did, you should first determine the bloom time of the hydrangea from which you want to collect seeds. Note this date on your calendar. Then mark the flowers from which you want to get seed by tying a twist around their stems. The seeds will mature 10-12 weeks later.
Cut the flower cluster off, and use small scissors to separate the fertile flowers from the showy bracts. Store the small florets in a paper bag for about a week. Then shake them, through a sieve, onto a piece of white paper. The seeds are tiny and black.
You can use a clear plastic salad container filled with potting soil. Poke a couple of drainage holes in the bottom. Then sow the seeds on the surface of the soil by gently shaking them off of the paper. Mist them. Cover the seed/soil mixture with sterile chicken grit to prevent moss from growing on the surface. Put the cover on your salad container to hold some humidity inside. The seeds will germinate in about 14 days.
When you propagate from seeds that you have taken from a plant, your results can vary. If you know exactly what you want, buy the seeds from a supplier.
I obtained my plant a few years ago, at a Philadelphia Horticulture Society plant sale. I took it home to a very crowded garden and placed it in the rotted-out center of an old tree stump. It has thrived and flourished, exceeding all of my expectations. And this year, it looks 1,000 percent better than all of the other hydrangeas in my garden.
If you are interested in purchasing one of the plants, retailers sell this plant under the name of Hydrangea heteromalla Bretschneideri Group.
Ann Auerbach is a Rutgers master gardener in Camden County. Send your lawn and garden questions to njgarden@camdencounty.com and include “Courier-Post” in the subject line if you’d like to be considered for write-up in the column. A Rutgers master gardener will respond to all questions received.
IF YOU GO
The master gardeners' next Saturday morning plant clinic will be June 18 from 9 to noon at the Camden County Environmental Center, 1031 Park Blvd., Cherry Hill. Bring your garden questions and plant samples for identification or diagnosis.