Hydrangeas in zone 10?

[Maximum]

Hello from Ft Myers, FL

I grew up in MI where I hated the snow but loved the hydrangeas. Big beautiful, long lasting flowers blooming atop thick, sturdy stems! What’s not to love? 
I did some research online and found some people say that ‘limelight’ hydrangeas can do well in zone 10 in an area that’s partially shaded and with a soil that’s amended with compost and top dressed with a layer of mulch (and watered regularly). Is that true? And / Or are there any other hydrangea varieties that can do well in zone 10? 


 

 

Edited November 4, 2023 by Maximum

[Calosphace]

I'm growing two varieties of Dichroa, a sister genus that is evergreen, from Southern China (albeit montane) in zone 9b. they look quite similar to a Hydrangea even can be pink or blue based on soil pH but they are evergreen, have the most stunning electric blue berries, and have all-fertile flowers. I got mine online from Dancing oaks (WA) and Almost Eden (LA) and I hope they one day look like this

so far they are doing well under my live oak but I'm north FL. I think with pushing the limits the issue you are going to face is whether these plants need a cold rest period to flower. Zone 10 is less the issue and more the lack of chill hours. I'd have no doubts about west coast zone 10 working but that's a different beast than FL, as reflected in how many crops and bulbs work out there but not here but those are plants you could try as long as they only receive morning sun.

for another blue replacement I recommend Eranthemum pulchellum (foliage has a nice almost quilted overlay to it too), very easy to propagate by cuttings like all tropical Acanthaceae,. I have it with my Dichroa though it is very marginal since I am zone 9b.

In fact, if you have a shady area I recommend browsing Top Tropicals website for different plants in the Acanthaceae family. You will not miss hydrangea as much when you see all those options. Also look into Costus, Florida wild coffee, bromeliads, and Firebush (the red orange or red flower varieties which have a more bushy habit)

There is also of course Cape leadwort/Plumbago a bit ubiquitous but I am fond of it (though I only grow the native cousin of it). There's a small blue butterfly that eats it too.

[Maximum]

4 minutes ago, Calosphace said:

I'm growing two varieties of Dichroa, a sister genus that is evergreen, from Southern China (albeit montane) in zone 9b. they look quite similar to a Hydrangea even can be pink or blue based on soil pH but they are evergreen, have the most stunning electric blue berries, and have all-fertile flowers. I got mine online from Dancing oaks (WA) and Almost Eden (LA) and I hope they one day look like this

so far they are doing well under my live oak but I'm north FL. I think with pushing the limits the issue you are going to face is whether these plants need a cold rest period to flower. Zone 10 is less the issue and more the lack of chill hours. I'd have no doubts about west coast zone 10 working but that's a different beast than FL, as reflected in how many crops and bulbs work out there but not here but those are plants you could try as long as they only receive morning sun.

for another blue replacement I recommend Eranthemum pulchellum (foliage has a nice almost quilted overlay to it too), very easy to propagate by cuttings like all tropical Acanthaceae,. I have it with my Dichroa though it is very marginal since I am zone 9b.

In fact, if you have a shady area I recommend browsing Top Tropicals website for different plants in the Acanthaceae family. You will not miss hydrangea as much when you see all those options. Also look into Costus, Florida wild coffee, bromeliads, and Firebush (the red orange or red flower varieties which have a more bushy habit)

There is also of course Cape leadwort/Plumbago a bit ubiquitous but I am fond of it (though I only grow the native cousin of it). There's a small blue butterfly that eats it too.

Exciting! Will do

[JohnAndSancho]

I don't want to thread jack, but my mom gave a Hydrangea to my late aunt ~20 years ago and wants me to dig it up and bring it back to our house. How deep/wide should I dig? What season is best to dig these up? I know literally nothing about these. Sun? Shade? It's blue and that's all I know. 

[Maximum]

 

29 minutes ago, JohnAndSancho said:

I don't want to thread jack, but my mom gave a Hydrangea to my late aunt ~20 years ago and wants me to dig it up and bring it back to our house. How deep/wide should I dig? What season is best to dig these up? I know literally nothing about these. Sun? Shade? It's blue and that's all I know. 

If I were you I’d dig a hole as deep and as wide as possible. You’re probably gonna need another person to help you with that cause the root ball with all the dirt has got to be heavy. Especially it being in the ground for 20 years! I don’t know how far the roots might have gone and you want to save as much of the root ball as you reasonably can. You might have a big hole to fill once it’s out of the ground! 
Since you’re in zone 8a I’d assume you’d want to move it in early spring so the ground is warmish but the plant is still dormant. As far as I know, most hydrangeas do well in full to partial sun and do best in moist but free-draining soils. If your soil is sandy then 50/50 ground soil to fully composted cow manure mixed together evenly would probably be good. If your soil has a lot of clay then think about amending it with something to make it more free-draining or at the very least plant the top of the root ball slightly higher than the ground level to encourage better draining so you don’t get root rot. I’d also mix in some slow release fertilizer into the planting site. Once it’s in the ground I’d put 2 or 3 inches of mulch around it, water it in very heavily, then make sure it gets irrigated heavily every day for the first couple weeks and once every other day (unless it rains) from then on.

Good luck 😁

Edited November 5, 2023 by Maximum

[JohnAndSancho]

I'll see if I can borrow my neighbors tractor when the time is right 

[Silas_Sancona]

2 hours ago, Calosphace said:

I'm growing two varieties of Dichroa, a sister genus that is evergreen, from Southern China (albeit montane) in zone 9b. they look quite similar to a Hydrangea even can be pink or blue based on soil pH but they are evergreen, have the most stunning electric blue berries, and have all-fertile flowers. I got mine online from Dancing oaks (WA) and Almost Eden (LA) and I hope they one day look like this

so far they are doing well under my live oak but I'm north FL. I think with pushing the limits the issue you are going to face is whether these plants need a cold rest period to flower. Zone 10 is less the issue and more the lack of chill hours. I'd have no doubts about west coast zone 10 working but that's a different beast than FL, as reflected in how many crops and bulbs work out there but not here but those are plants you could try as long as they only receive morning sun.

for another blue replacement I recommend Eranthemum pulchellum (foliage has a nice almost quilted overlay to it too), very easy to propagate by cuttings like all tropical Acanthaceae,. I have it with my Dichroa though it is very marginal since I am zone 9b.

In fact, if you have a shady area I recommend browsing Top Tropicals website for different plants in the Acanthaceae family. You will not miss hydrangea as much when you see all those options. Also look into Costus, Florida wild coffee, bromeliads, and Firebush (the red orange or red flower varieties which have a more bushy habit)

There is also of course Cape leadwort/Plumbago a bit ubiquitous but I am fond of it (though I only grow the native cousin of it). There's a small blue butterfly that eats it too.

Don't forget " Tropical " Hydrangea, Dombeya sps.. and Mussaenda for where @Maximum is located.. Dombeya ..the two commonly grown sps down there can get pretty big, but the flowers / foliage is nice..  Musseandas can be a little touchy and like a little shade, ..from what i recall being told by a grower anyway. 



@Maximum, if you can hold out until spring, ..and can get up there, would keep an eye out for when the USF Spring Plant sale, and Greenthumb Fest ( In ST. Pete ) occur.  Always tons of great plants, inc the two i mentioned above, others @Calosphace has mentioned in this and the " Butterfly Bush" thread.. 

Aside from Tropiflora,   a trip to..  ..or to any local / near by plant sale where Calusa Palms Nursery ( Located in Naples ) is selling plants  is worth it too, ...both for Palms and cool / unusual flowering stuff.

Obviously, lol ..you're only a couple hours from Fairchild..  For any really neat stuff.  Lucky you, haha.

[Calosphace]

Oh I completely forgot about Dombeya, yeah that is pretty much exactly what you'd be looking for.  Mussaenda works too I've seen the luteola species planted here (long term) and they are similar in stature to the familiar Hydrangea species

There's also probably some tropical Euphorbiaceae spp that work as they share the "large colorful bracts" feature of Hydrangea. I wish I knew the id of whatever this is in the Gainesville Butterfly Rainforest exhibit I think it is a Euphorb based on the fruit. reminds me of Euphorbia punicea

 

Edited November 5, 2023 by Calosphace

[Maximum]

15 hours ago, JohnAndSancho said:

I'll see if I can borrow my neighbors tractor when the time is right 

Some people like to transplant hydrangeas in the fall if you want to look into doing that. That is an option. You could do it sooner than later if you wanted to 🤗

Edited November 5, 2023 by Maximum

[Maximum]

14 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Don't forget " Tropical " Hydrangea, Dombeya sps.. and Mussaenda for where @Maximum is located.. Dombeya ..the two commonly grown sps down there can get pretty big, but the flowers / foliage is nice..  Musseandas can be a little touchy and like a little shade, ..from what i recall being told by a grower anyway. 



@Maximum, if you can hold out until spring, ..and can get up there, would keep an eye out for when the USF Spring Plant sale, and Greenthumb Fest ( In ST. Pete ) occur.  Always tons of great plants, inc the two i mentioned above, others @Calosphace has mentioned in this and the " Butterfly Bush" thread.. 

Aside from Tropiflora,   a trip to..  ..or to any local / near by plant sale where Calusa Palms Nursery ( Located in Naples ) is selling plants  is worth it too, ...both for Palms and cool / unusual flowering stuff.

Obviously, lol ..you're only a couple hours from Fairchild..  For any really neat stuff.  Lucky you, haha.

Awesome. Good stuff! 🤩 

[Maximum]

22 minutes ago, Calosphace said:

Oh I completely forgot about Dombeya, yeah that is pretty much exactly what you'd be looking for.  Mussaenda works too I've seen the luteola species planted here (long term) and they are similar in stature to the familiar Hydrangea species

There's also probably some tropical Euphorbiaceae spp that work as they share the "large colorful bracts" feature of Hydrangea. I wish I knew the id of whatever this is in the Gainesville Butterfly Rainforest exhibit I think it is a Euphorb based on the fruit. reminds me of Euphorbia punicea

 

 Good to know there are “hydrangea” looking plants out there that can succeed in SWFL. Nice pictures too.

Edited November 5, 2023 by Maximum

[Silas_Sancona]

@Maximum

Here are some shots of various Mussaenda cultivars i'd seen from a U.S.F plant sale i'd attended back in October, 2014.. Very neat plants. Wish i could grow them here, lol.












@Calosphace

 Pretty sure the Euphorbiaceae  plant you posted shots of may be Jamaican Pointsettia,   Euphorbia punicea

[Maximum]

4 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

@Maximum

Here are some shots of various Mussaenda cultivars i'd seen from a U.S.F plant sale i'd attended back in October, 2014.. Very neat plants. Wish i could grow them here, lol.












@Calosphace

 Pretty sure the Euphorbiaceae  plant you posted shots of may be Jamaican Pointsettia,   Euphorbia punicea

Those Mussaendas are gorgeous! They look a little like bougainvilleas to me 🤩

[Silas_Sancona]

20 hours ago, Maximum said:

Those Mussaendas are gorgeous! They look a little like bougainvilleas to me 🤩

Kind of, ..but wayy nicer plants ( ..than most Bougs. anyway  , lol )

[Than]

On 11/14/2023 at 7:55 PM, Silas_Sancona said:

@Maximum

Here are some shots of various Mussaenda cultivars i'd seen from a U.S.F plant sale i'd attended back in October, 2014.. Very neat plants. Wish i could grow them here, lol.












@Calosphace

 Pretty sure the Euphorbiaceae  plant you posted shots of may be Jamaican Pointsettia,   Euphorbia punicea

Why can't you grow mussaenda in AZ?

[Silas_Sancona]

1 hour ago, Than said:

Why can't you grow mussaenda in AZ?

WAYY too hot in summer ..too dry as well..  These like it mild - warm, but not 105F++ for months,  and humid conditions.  Not the greatest fans of temps below ~ approx~ the upper, mid 30'sF either.

[Than]

2 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

WAYY too hot in summer ..too dry as well..  These like it mild - warm, but not 105F++ for months,  and humid conditions.  Not the greatest fans of temps below ~ approx~ the upper, mid 30'sF either.

I thought being from India they wouldn't mind the heat. I read they can survive in shade in very hot places. I got myself some seeds. I was thinking of using them as small canopy tree but not sure they will like my 32F in the winter (with frost). 

[Silas_Sancona]

1 hour ago, Than said:

I thought being from India they wouldn't mind the heat. I read they can survive in shade in very hot places. I got myself some seeds. I was thinking of using them as small canopy tree but not sure they will like my 32F in the winter (with frost). 

Would carefully study our climate...  Wayyy different animal than what India experiences..  

Even in ideal places in FL, if there is a prolonged period of hot & dry ..or cold,  and you can loose them.  Beautiful, but touchy plants outside of areas that are humid, and rarely drop below 55-60F,  all year... 

There is -at least- one variety that may survive in high 9B areas,  ..but not here..   Warmest, most ideal spots in S. Cal.??  Maybe...

[Than]

1 hour ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Would carefully study our climate...  Wayyy different animal than what India experiences..  

Even in ideal places in FL, if there is a prolonged period of hot & dry ..or cold,  and you can loose them.  Beautiful, but touchy plants outside of areas that are humid, and rarely drop below 55-60F,  all year... 

There is -at least- one variety that may survive in high 9B areas,  ..but not here..   Warmest, most ideal spots in S. Cal.??  Maybe...

You're right; it was an impulsive buy. I'll keep it in a pot probably. 

The hardy variety is the incana? I've seen that it looks pretty similar to frondosa.

[Silas_Sancona]

22 hours ago, Than said:

You're right; it was an impulsive buy. I'll keep it in a pot probably. 

The hardy variety is the incana? I've seen that it looks pretty similar to frondosa.

No clue on the species but recall it had yellow-ish bracts.. Pretty sure there's a " hardier " white one too..