‘Light My Fire’ – Discover These Award-Winning Hydrangea Varieties
Reviewed By PETER LICKORISH
Peter is a Horticulture Lecturer and self-employed Horticulturist, with a passion for diverse areas of the industry - from garden design to the science behind plant growth and propagation. He has completed the Royal Horticultural Society’s Master of Horticulture (MHort) Award and lectures on RHS courses at Bedford College.
IN THIS GUIDE
- 1) H. Miss Saori
- 2) H. macrophylla ‘Hobergine’
- 3) H. macrophylla Early Blue/Early Pink
- 4) H. macrophylla ‘Garden Romance’
- 5) H. macrophylla ‘Hot Red’
- 6) H. macrophylla ‘Red Baron’
- 7) H. macrophylla Glam Rock
- 8) H. ‘French Bolero’
- 9) H. macrophylla ‘Bavaria’
- 10) H. macrophylla ‘Shining Angel’
- 11) H. macrophylla ‘Light My Fire’
- 12) H. macrophylla ‘Black Steel Zaza’
- References
“The first five letters of the plant’s name tell you most of what you need to know about these plants – hydra,” says Peter Lickorish, a Master Horticulturist.
“They need water – and lots of it! If your soil is a little on the dry or sunny side, I would not recommend one of the Hydrangea macrophylla varieties to avoid disappointment.
“Instead, I would strongly recommend Hydrangea paniculata cultivars. These have, in my experience, a much better capacity for surviving drier spells.
“Plus, if they get out of hand, they can be pruned harder than most of the H. macrophylla types.
“H. paniculata ‘Vanille Fraise’ has to be one of my favourites. Its frothy flowers are elongated, turning from pastel pink near the stem to a white pointed tip.”
Underneath we introduce twelve outstanding hydrangea cultivars.
We present a mix of both established classics and up-and-comers and also strike a balance between the ‘natural’ blues and ‘natural’ pink-reds.
All of these plants are hardy between H4-H5.
1) H. Miss Saori
- NAME: Hydrangea [Miss Saori]
- HARDINESS RATING: H5
- FLOWERS: Pink
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): Summer / Autumn
- SOIL PREFERENCE: Clay, loam, sand; any pH
- SIZE: 0.5-1m height, 0.5-1m spread
‘Miss Saori’ has to open this list because it is a Chelsea Flower Show winner, taking top honours in 2014.1Hydrangea macrophylla MISS SAORI (‘H2002’). (n.d.). Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved March 20, 2023, from https://www.rhs.org.uk/shows-events/virtual-chelsea/plant-of-the-decade/2020/hydrangea-miss-saori
It is a mophead sub-type.
Atypically, it bears flowers on both old wood and greenwood stems.
The flowers are double form and are just pinkish-white with each sepal picotee-edged with rich pink, not infrequently with attractive flushing and ‘bleeding.’
It flowers from mid-summer to mid-autumn.
It even provides foliage interest as the leaves display burgundy-red colouration in spring and autumn.
2) H. macrophylla ‘Hobergine’
- NAME: Hydrangea ‘Hobergine’
- HARDINESS RATING: H5
- FLOWERS: Pink, purple and red
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): Summer / Autumn
- SOIL PREFERENCE: Clay, loam, sand; any pH
- SIZE: 1-1.5m height, 1-1.5m spread
‘Hobergine’, even by hydrangea standards, is a wonderfully hue-changing cultivar.
Its flower-heads, though smaller than average, are brilliantly-coloured.
Though their default tone is a pinkish purple, they will readily shift to lilac or pink with comparatively minor changes to soil pH.
Also, the hue will be richer and darker the more sun the plant gets, and will be more pastel and subdued the less the sun.
It bears flowers during summer into autumn and grows to nearly 1.2m.
3) H. macrophylla Early Blue/Early Pink
- NAME: Hydrangea [Early Blue/Early Pink]
- HARDINESS RATING: H5
- FLOWERS: Pink, blue, purple, green and cream
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): Summer-Autumn
- SOIL PREFERENCE: Clay, loam, sand; any pH
- SIZE: 1-1.5m height, 1-1.5m spread
‘Early Blue/Early Pink’ is another cultivar whose floral colours strike that balance between red-pink and blue.
The lush flower-heads open to a lilac blue but quite soon sport a light but rich purple colour.
This variety’s flowers are especially quick to respond to changes in soil pH.
This variety produces flowers from relatively early in the summer nearly all through the season.
It attains a height of about 1.2m.
4) H. macrophylla ‘Garden Romance’
- NAME: Hydrangea ‘GARDEN ROMANCE’
- HARDINESS RATING: H5
- FLOWERS: Pink and purple
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): Spring / Summer / Autumn
- SOIL PREFERENCE: Clay, loam; any pH
- SIZE: 1-1.5m height, 1-1.5m spread
‘Garden Romance’ is aptly named, for this lacecap’s flower-heads are not as full as many others, but are more delicate and refined.
More pertinently, the flowers are a tender sweetheart pink hue with whitish centres of variable size.
Its long flowering season extends from May to October and it attains a height and spread of up to 1m.
5) H. macrophylla ‘Hot Red’
- NAME: Hydrangea [Hot Red]
- HARDINESS RATING: H5
- FLOWERS: Purple and red
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): Summer
- SOIL PREFERENCE: Clay, loam, sand; any pH
- SIZE: 1-1.5m height, 1-1.5m spread
‘Hot Red’ is probably a bit of a misnomer because this variety’s intensely-hued flowers are more like a hot purple-magenta with lighter centres.
It has relatively large, lush flower-heads which start flowering in mid-summer and continues until mid-autumn.
It attains heights of just over 1m.
6) H. macrophylla ‘Red Baron’
- NAME: Hydrangea ‘Schöne Bautznerin’
- HARDINESS RATING: H5
- FLOWERS: Pink and purple
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): Summer
- SOIL PREFERENCE: Clay, loam; any pH
- SIZE: 1-1.5m height, 1-1.5m spread
‘Red Baron’ produces large flower-heads that are unusually full and rounded.
They are of a lustrous rose red hue that can turn to purplish and bloom during summer.
It reaches a height of just over 1m.
7) H. macrophylla Glam Rock
- NAME: Hydrangea [Glam Rock]
- HARDINESS RATING: H5
- FLOWERS: Pink, green, purple and blue
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): Summer
- SOIL PREFERENCE: Clay, loam, chalk; any pH
- SIZE: 1-1.5m height, 1-1.5m spread
‘Glam Rock’ is a variety that produces marvellously multi-coloured flower-heads.
The flowers are red-pink to pink-red with the sepals variably exposing their natural green colour in small touches and bigger splashes from the tips.
The flower-heads have a blue eye courtesy of the true flower.
It blooms from mid-summer to mid-autumn and reaches a height of about 1.2m.
8) H. ‘French Bolero’
- NAME: Hydrangea ‘French Bolero’
- HARDINESS RATING: H4
- FLOWERS: Pink and white
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): Summer / Autumn
- SOIL PREFERENCE: Clay, loam, sand; acidic / neutral pH
- SIZE: 0.5-1m height, 0.5-1m spread
‘French Bolero’ is a very floriferous variety.
The large flowers are pitched to purplish-pink of the gentlest, softest shade with individual flower-heads hovering towards either pinkish or bluish.
It is quick to shift colour to pink or lilac albeit of the most delicate shade.
It blooms through summer to early autumn and reaches a height and spread of about 1m.
It has a habit of spreading further than its height, giving it an unusual form.
9) H. macrophylla ‘Bavaria’
- NAME: Hydrangea ‘Bavaria’
- HARDINESS RATING: H4
- FLOWERS: Pink, blue and white
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): Summer
- SOIL PREFERENCE: Clay, loam; any pH
- SIZE: 1-1.5m height, 1-1.5m spread
‘Bavaria’ is a mophead sub-type and the flowers are a remarkable hue of near-indigo.
The colour fades near the edges which have a broad white border, providing an extraordinary contrast.
This variety blooms during summer into early autumn.
It has a height and spread of up to 1.2m.
10) H. macrophylla ‘Shining Angel’
- NAME: Hydrangea ‘Shining Angel’
- HARDINESS RATING: H5
- FLOWERS: Pink, blue and purple
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): Summer / Autumn
- SOIL PREFERENCE: Clay, loam, sand; acidic / neutral pH
- SIZE: 1-1.5m height, 1-1.5m spread
‘Shining Angel’ (Black Diamonds series) needs no acid-alkaline changes as it produces multi-hued flowers on its own steam.
It bears flowers in different shades ranging from soft blue-violet through purple to red-magenta.
This fantastic variety also boasts a long flowering season, covering summer and most of autumn.
11) H. macrophylla ‘Light My Fire’
- NAME: Hydrangea ‘Light My Fire’
- HARDINESS RATING: H5
- FLOWERS: Orange, red and yellow
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): Summer
- SOIL PREFERENCE: Clay, loam, sand; any pH
- SIZE: 1-1.5m height, 1-1.5m spread
‘Light My Fire’ is a mophead sub-type with more open, flatter flowers than most, and which are borne in very full flower-heads.
The brilliant bi-coloured flowers are an orange-red and sunny yellow near and at the centres, displaying attractive veining and fading where the colours meet.
It blooms for most of the summer and into early autumn and reaches up to 1.2m in height and spread.
12) H. macrophylla ‘Black Steel Zaza’
- NAME: Hydrangea ‘Black Steel Zaza’
- HARDINESS RATING: H4
- FLOWERS: Pink, purple and blue
- FLOWERING SEASON(S): Summer
- SOIL PREFERENCE: Clay, loam; any pH
- SIZE: 0.5-1m height, 0.5-1m spread
‘Black Steel Zaza’ (Black Steel Series) is marked, like other cultivars of this series, by its ebony-black stems.
Young flowers of this series are lime green and develop colour as they mature.
Zaza’s flowers range from lilac-blue to purple in a medium shade.
It flowers throughout summer up to early autumn and grows to about 1m.
