Luva,

So glad you posted this. Yours look identical to the mystery no name hydrangeas I purchased at Lowes last year. I've always thought them to be Nikko/All Summer Beauty types and you may have just confirmed my suspicions.

I have referred to them many times in this forum. I have spent a small fortune on mail order and nursery hydrangeas of various cultivars and yet these $7.00 plants from Lowes are by far my best performers (so far). I get a big flush of blooms in the Spring, more individual blooms here and there all summer and then another big flush in the fall. AND they grow like crazy. Mine are over 3.5 ft tall and wide right now. (tripled in size) AND they are great for drying. What more could you ask for?

Nikkos are reported to be rebloomers. Trouble is, so many plants out there are being labeled "Nikko" that no one can determine who has the real Nikko. Seems like you and I may just have hit the jackpot (whatever the true name is).

One thing has me really stumped. Why do Lowes and HD label the hydrangeas they sell up north with the cultivar names (it was labeled as "Nikko Blue" correct?) and not down here. I have yet to see a cultivar name on a label at either one. They could have saved me many a nights sleep as I am nuts about having to know the names of my hydrangeas.

Thanks to your post I can stop referring to them as my "mystery" hydrangeas and just call them Nikkos...and I know I will sleep better tonight!!!...Thank you, thank you......yg

The cultivar that I have seen the most at Lowes is "Various Hydrangea". ;-)

- Brent

Actually that is not Lowe's or HD who labels them.
Growers do and when selling to bigboxes they really don't care as they know they just have to deliver certain number of 1, 2 or 3G pots and that's it.
Selling to nurseries is the different story.

EGO45,
You are correct in that the label does come from the grower but since they put the Lowes name on their label (Brent, my cultivars were named "Assorted Hydrangeas"), I consider Lowes or HD responsible. But that still doesn't explain why many posters on this forum are buying named cultivars from the big boxes up north (at a pitence I might add) but not down here. I guess they don't think we are serious about our hydrangeas down here. Based on how few I see growing around here, they might just be playing to their markets. Too bad for me as I pay more for shipping than most pay for their plants.....yg

Mine *did* have the Lowes generic label for "various" or "assorted" hydrangea, but there was also a smaller second tag, which was looped around a branch near the soil that said 'Nikko Blue.' That's the only reason I knew which type it was.

Often times it can be frustrating when buying plants from places like Lowes and HD as they don't make distinction between different types. That is why when I'm looking for something particular, I always go to a nursery.

Although, I have to admit, I'm digging this Generic/Assorted/Various Hydrangea ;)

YG,
".... the label does come from the grower but since they put the Lowes name on their label (Brent, my cultivars were named "Assorted Hydrangeas"), I consider Lowes or HD responsible."

I'm pretty sure that big boxes send to growers PREPRINTED labels with their names, prices and barcodes.
At the time of the order neither buyer nor vendor knows what will be 'ready' at the time of scheduled shipment. Generic tag 'Various/Assorted Hydrangea' surely suit both of them. If grower also attach small plastic ID tag you are lucky to know what is it, but don't put much fate in it as it might be a label that just become handy.
Good example, I was at HD when they were unloading shipment of nicely grown hydrangeas.
All plants were ABSOLUTELY identical, about 15-18" tall, full, luscious and loaded by nice pink flowers. All were carrying the same infamous 'Assorted hydrangea' label attached to the pots.
To my surprise, when I start picking the plant I like the most, I found that there were 3(!) different kinds of name tags in that shipment: 'Masja', 'Princess Beatrix' and 'Hamburg'. I'm pretty sure that there were not 3 different hydrangeas (and especially not Masja that at 18" will be close to maturity), but rather one of the last two cultivars and grower just hang on a plants any tags that were available with pink hydrangea pictures.
It was OK for me to buy such plant as I could afford space for 4-6' hydrangea, but will be very upsetting for someone else who would unsuspectedly bought 6' tall 'Hamburg' labeled as a 2-3' 'Masja'.

EGO,

You hit the nail right on the head. It is impossible to make an informed decision, without the cultivar name. By the time you have invested a year or two of sweat, water, fertilizer, etc..it's awfully late to find out that your "Nikko" will never be larger than 2 ft. Sometimes, the bonafide nurseries aren't much better at labeling. I bought a Glowing Embers at a nursery and the label said the height and width would eventually be over 6 ft.!! Every resource I can find says they are dwarf-ish to maybe 4 ft. Needless to say, I don't put much stock in labels unless I see with my own eyes that the plant seems to be characteristic of the cultivar I intended to buy, which was true of Glowing Embers, but this can be very difficult with Nikko types because even in bloom, they can easily be mistaken for many other types. Hence the mislabeling becomes a never ending cycle which brings me back to my first comment. You never really know if you truely have a Nikko unless it looks and more importantly, behaves like a Nikko. (which I tend to think is a general term for any number of mopheads, but that's another thread entirely) I am also not unaware that the low prices charged at the big boxes come at a certain cost (pardon the pun) but how hard could it be to stick a plastic tie label around a stem? Most growers do that as a matter of course don't they? I know these can still be incorrect at times, but an attempt would sure be nice. I know I'd pay the extra buck or two....yg

I guess I got lucky at the Lowe's near me, yg. Earlier in the summer I picked up a nice H. veitchii. One side of the label is imprinted with the Lowe's logo and the details of the plant. The other side says "Grown and Distributed by Carolina Nurseries, Inc., Moncks Corner, SC." Since I'm new to hydrangeas, I guess it remains to be seen if it's really a veitchii. The foliage is variegated and the leaves are smaller and decidedly more pointed, for lack of a better term, than my Nikko Blues. What do you think? judy

Correction: Had to double check this a.m. My veitchii's foliage is NOT variegated.

Judy,

I have a few Veitchiis and they have good sized very dark green leaves (if protected from the sun)and not what I would call pointy. They produce a small lacecap of dark blue fertile and white/cream sterile florets. They will grow to about 7 ft tall and wide and resist powdery mildew. I am sick that you found these at Lowes as I had to send away for mine and paid w/shipping about $30.00 a pop for the scrawniest looking 1 yr olds. (although they do put on growth pretty quickly). Which Lowes are you shopping at? I must go there!!! (although my yard is pretty maxed out with hydrangeas, I always manage to squeeze just one more in!!).......yg

Well, mine may not turn out to be H. veitchii after all, yg. I've had the best luck at the Lowe's on 17/92 just north of Lake Mary Blvd. I paid an arm and a leg for oakleaf hydrangeas at a local nursery but found huge ones there for $10. Of course, they weren't named varieties.

I'm down here in Dr.Phillips (SW Orlando) but it would still be well worth the drive. Thanks Judy.....yg