Hydrangea macrophylla White Wave

The Hydrangea macrophylla 'White Wave' is a captivating variety of hydrangea known for its splendid two-toned summer blossoms of white heads with a colourful heart. Its flower clusters are relatively flat, featuring sterile blooms around the outer edges and fertile flowers at the centre. The colour of the fertile flowers can shift to rosy in neutral soil or bluish in acidic soil. This medium-sized shrub is both beautiful and easy to care for. It's not deterred by cold weather but thrives in cooler soil with a bit of shade. This hydrangea is a fantastic choice for enhancing the outskirts of groves or underwood areas with its radiant blooms. It also looks stunning when planted alongside other flowering bushes.

The Hydrangea macrophylla is a deciduous shrub that originally hails from Japan. Its exquisite beauty has been celebrated for centuries, even finding mention in poems dating back to the 8th century. In Japan, a nation that holds plants in high regard, festivals are dedicated to the honour of this magnificent shrub. Hydrangeas belong to the Hydrangeaceae family, a name derived from their own. Within the H. macrophylla category, we can differentiate between varieties with round flower heads and flat heads, often called the Teller group in German or lace-cap in English.

The 'White Wave' Hydrangea, also known as the "white wave," is a remarkable variety that produces beautiful flower heads measuring up to 20 cm (7.9 inches) in diameter. These flower heads comprise two flowers: the outer sterile ones are pristine white and widely spaced. In contrast, the inner fertile ones are small and clustered at the centre. Their colour can vary depending on the soil's pH, appearing rosy in neutral or slightly alkaline soil and bluish in acidic soil. These lovely flower heads grace your garden throughout the summer, continuing into early autumn, from July through September and sometimes even into October.

The leaves of this hydrangea are medium to dark green, finely toothed, ovate, and elongated, with a slightly V-shaped appearance and a sharp tip. Typically, this shrub reaches about 1.50 metres (4 feet 11 inches) in all directions, but under favourable conditions, it can grow slightly larger, reaching up to 2 metres (6 feet 7 inches). Although it's not exclusive to heathland soil, this shrub prefers neutral to acidic soils enriched with organic matter. It's quite hardy, capable of enduring temperatures as low as -20°C or even lower. However, severe frosts may damage the tips of the branches, but they can easily recover after spring pruning. This hydrangea is easy to cultivate and can live for a very long time.

The Hydrangea White Wave, a star variety of the 90s, is a generous plant which will make a great impression in the garden as a standalone plant or when paired with other flowering bushes that like non-limestone soils. Choose plants with staggered flowering throughout the year to frame this Hydrangea, such as the superb Camellias of spring and autumn and their fantastic range of colours. Or, on the contrary, exploit its long summer flowering to create a focal point by mixing it with plants such as the very pretty Ceanothe Gloire de Versailles. Its fluffy flowers of a tender blue have the same romantic charm as those of this Hydrangea 'White Wave'.