Need info on Hydrangea Delft Blue

29 days ago

Hi! I received this as a gift, but it has no info on the tag except the grower's URL, which is empty when I visited it. I have other hydrangeas, so I'm not unfamiliar with the plant. I know it's a mophead, but I know nothing about potential size (is this a drawf I can plant in a container?). I have to assume its care will be similar to other mopheads (pH color changes, blooms on old wood, etc.). Is anyone familiar with this variety? TYIA!

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (5)

DCF-Z6A
Original Author
29 days ago
And, yes! I Googled everywhere yesterday for info and came up with nothing. So here I am! :-)
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
29 days ago
Another Dutch import as part of the My Beautiful series. These have been bred as florist or gift plants (why it is flowering now) rather than a landscape item so extra caution may be required, especially in your zone. It is supposed to stay compact at 3-4' tall and 3-4' wide so a good candidate for a container. Which is smart in your area, as it will need winter protection.
Related Discussions
What Is The Truest and Hardiest Blue Hydrangea
Q
Comments (11)
Reviving a very old thread..... Apologies if i'm breaking a rule. I actually picked up a Nantucket Blue this past May. Knew nothing about the plant other than it looked the healthiest out of all the big leafs at my local nursery. Come to find out after I bought it, its a highly sought after variety in my location due to my cold winters and it's supposed zone 4 hardiness. My Info: 1) Planted in zone 6a (Massachusetts) 2) Planted in a location that only gets mid day sun (roughly 3-4 hours worth of direct sun). Location was my only option for direct sunlight as close as I could get it to morning hours. Rest of garden is shade based or late afternoon direct sun based. Impressions so far: 1) Bloomed like crazy from the day I bought it in May all the way up to end of August. Very impressed with it's blooming characteristics in its first season. Blooms were HUGE. 2) Most of the growth was horizontal in the first season. I didn't get a lot of vertical growth this year. I did have a couple stems go vertical but the weight of the blooms bent them down to a horizontal position. My understanding is this is expected with a new plant. As the root system becomes more established, it will have more vertical sturdier growth in the years to come. 3) It's a thirsty plant like any other newly planted macro. In July I had to water it twice a day to keep it happy. Huge drink in the morning and then again when I came home. 4) Color is a light blue. I wouldn't consider it a dark blue. My soil pH hovers around 6. I could probably make it a darker blue but would require regular soil acidifer applications. Unknown: 1) Since this is my first season with it, I'm not sure how well it's going to survive a 6a Massachusetts winter. It does say it's cold hardy to zone 4 so it should be fine. Debating on if I should winter protect it......
...See More
Question for Hayseed man (need hydrangeas for dummies advice)
Q
Comments (4)
I don't do anything really special with mine. I try to keep them adequately fertilized all summer so I don't really need to do much of that. If yours have nice, healthy looking foliage, then I would think they would do just fine. Just about right now you'll start to see the terminal buds and a few buds in the topmost leaf axils and even a few at the crown start to swell up. They'll start out almost invisible and by the winter they'll be the size of a pea. These are the buds that you'll need to get through your winter and spring. Everything I know about overwintering is in a thread I started called Overwintering .... If you don't do something like I do then you might see your top growth killed back each winter, taking the buds you need for the flowers. I think the easiest route is to pop the plant out of the ground, put it on an unopened plastic garbage bag and tie the opposite corners together. Punch some drainage holes in the bottom. This'll contain the root ball. Then bind up the top growth with another bag used like a rope to make it more manageable. Then do something roughly equivalent to laying it down on the ground and, while still giving it the ability to breathe, cover it with some boards or something and then a foot or so of pine needles or dry leaves. Take it out late in the Spring when it looks like you might have the possibility to not have another frost. Be sure to cover it back up when it looks like it could frost. Good luck. Even though Glowing Embers is a great red, the best reds will sometimes make the best blues, and I think it is a great blue one. Hay
...See More
Does my hydrangea need help, or do I?
Q
Comments (2)
This (the leaf drop) will begin to happen anyway as Fall approaches, however it may have been excellerated by the fact that you kept the plant indoors. Hydrangeas do not make good indoor plants. They need to be kept moist at all times and most indoor environments do not provide adequet humidity. Sounds like the plant is still in decent shape so just keep it outside in a spot protected from winter's worst (usually up against the house) and/or throw a blanket or some mulch around it and it will probably make you very happy next Spring......yg
...See More
Blue Danube Hydrangea. Worth it?
Q
Comments (11)
MG and Brestenburg are indeed very similar. My two in pots look identical from a distance but the Brestenburg stems are a bit lankier in nature. Both very deeply colored with blues, dark pinks and purples. And yes, zone 8 is ideal outdoors for them. MG is left and Brestenburg is right: If you do find a Freudenstein, they're supposed to be a good breed too. I either found that or Lemmonhoff, but I'm not sure which it is. Extremely deep pink with rigid flowers. I did find a Pink Sensation last season last year. The stems aren't very strong and the blooms are limp and scorch easily. The leaves are also prone to diseases. But a few more years in a pot might yield better results. The color is straight bubblegum pink. I got a red KW hydrangea last year. ID'd as Hot Red. It's one of those ones floating around Europe right now. It has bright green leaves (almost chartreuse) and dark red blooms that age to burgundy! Mine overwintered in the ground okay but only has one bloom this year. Expecting big things in years to come! Here it is in the upper left corner (next to Everlasting Amethyst) If anyone spots any WHITE KW hydrangeas, do post pics! I'm looking to replace my F&E White Outs in pots because the blooms won't take any sun (not even an hour). HBA grows and has developed several whites that I wouldn't mind trying. Here's the Hydrangea Breeders Assn link, to help you spot cultivars at Lowe's: http://www.hydrangeabreeders.nl/produkten_en.htm YouTube video of some Kurt Weiss selections: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjEydGTK1jI
...See More
DCF-Z6A
Original Author
29 days ago
As always, gardengal, you come through! Thank you!! May I ask if you found this info out online, where? Is there more info I can gather there? Or it's just from your wealth of experience? I was flummoxed to hit a dead end in my research.

(Given the loads of flowers, I knew it was forced and might not flower again this season, but I didn't want to bother planting it unless it could survive. I'll wait til risk of frost has passed up here; it'll be on our deck, so easy to protect next spring.)
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
29 days ago
I did find the info online but it took some doing!! A couple of sites had some clues that I used to hunt a bit further but most were European growers websites with minimal data. I'm not sure you will find much more but maybe search under the My Beautiful series to see what that turns up.
luis_pr
29 days ago
last modified: 29 days ago
Very nice shade of purple. Reminds me of another mophead I saw at a grocery store in Columbia. Almost bought it but decided not to fly back home carrying it. Trying to replicate soil conditions would have been tough. Lt alone flying back on an airplane somehow. Ha. Most florist hydrangeas tend to be compact (no guarantees though) so consider a larger pot when you have time. Yes, its care will be similar to that of other mopheads. Purples may need a pH around 6. Its winter hardiness will depend on your location (probably not in 6a) and how much hardiness -if any- was bred into it. Many times, they are not that winter hardy so they tend to be bloom unreliable and all new spring growth originates from the crown. In that case, they will need winter protection (if planted outside) from your city's average date of first frost through your average date of last frost. Or you could grow it in the pot and move the pot into a garage/basement during that same timeframe.

Need info on Hydrangea Delft Blue

Comments (5)

DCF-Z6A
Original Author

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

Related Discussions

DCF-Z6A
Original Author

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

luis_pr

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Need info on Hydrangea Delft Blue

Comments (5)

DCF-Z6AOriginal Author

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

Related Discussions

DCF-Z6AOriginal Author

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

luis_pr

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

DCF-Z6A
Original Author

DCF-Z6A
Original Author