Heart Throb Hydrangea

• Full Shade to Partial Shade (0 - 4 Hours Of Direct Sunlight)
• Height 3 Feet
• Width 3 Feet
• Growing Zones 5-9

Another bigleaf hydrangea, this one touts a cherry red to wine purple mophead flower depending on the alkalinity or acidity of your soil. It is a hyperaccumulator hydrangea, strangely reactive to the aluminum salts that naturally occur in your soil. It is this, among other minerals, that determine your soil’s pH range. How fun is that? In acidic soil, this lovely petite shrub will produce raspberry red blooms, and in alkaline soil, it will produce a wine red/purple bloom. Blooms start out the reddish color and age to an equally gorgeous and unusual green with red fringe color.

Native to Japan and Korea along the sea coasts, Hydrangea have naturalized in the Americas and began the love affair we have with these lovely flowering shrubs. Hardy in Zones 5 to 9, Heart Throb Hydrangea is a compact shrub, growing under 4 foot tall and wide at maturity. It maintains a rounded, mounded appearance and needs no pruning. It will grow in about any soil that is well draining and that has been amended to the particular needs these shrubs have for nutrient take up.

Heart Throb Hydrangea Care

Requiring moist, well drained soil with a rich fertile nutrient level, Hydrangeas will do well in amended clay, sand and loam soil. Requiring an average moisture level and benefiting from an even consistent moisture, water when natural rainfall is inadequate until it is fully established. Once established, this hearty and hale shrub will tolerate some drought conditions. As its native environment is a sea coast, mophead hydrangeas as a whole are relatively salt tolerant, allowing coastal gardeners to enjoy their beauty in that habitat, as long as the sandy soil is amended. If you are interested in manipulating the color tones of your hydrangea, you can apply an aluminum sulfate to acidify your soil, creating the cherry red color, and apply lime to create the darker purple/wine red blooms. You can even amend one side with the alkalizer and the other side with the acidifier to create a multi-toned flowering shrub. As with any chemicals, use care and follow manufacturer instructions for the use in your garden.

Deadheading is not needed as the giant mop heads will age to a caramel tan color and create a unique winter interest with its dried head. If you would like to harvest flowers for indoor floral arrangements, cut new growth only to avoid disturbing the formation of next year's blooms. Hydrangeas bloom on old wood at the beginning of spring, and rebloom on new growth in the late summer and fall. Mulch to protect root zone from winter frost heaving.

Heart Throb Hydrangea Spacing

Space your plants 30 to 48 inches apart to allow for good air circulation. If planting as a specimen plant, allow up to 60 inches of space. Maturing at about 36 inches tall and spreading out to 36 inches wide, you will not find another shrub as unique as the big leaf hydrangea for your springtime gardens.