Beautiful Hydrangeas for the Coastal South Region

Deservedly popular, Hydrangeas are easy-care, long-lived, deciduous shrubs with magnificent flowers which show off in gardens, containers, or in vases around our living areas. Amazingly versatile, Hydrangeas bloom throughout summer and into fall, providing long-lasting color when many shrubs are already fading. Their flowers come in various shapes, ranging from the big, rounded flower clusters of the Mophead Hydrangeas, to the delicate, flat, lacy flowers of the Lacecap Hydrangeas, or to the pointy, conical flowerheads of the Oakleaf Hydrangeas.

Colors also beguile with deep blues, vibrant pinks, pristine whites, lavender, and rose. Some Hydrangea varieties have the added attraction of changing color, depending on the soil pH. Strongly acidic soils allow these species to produce blue flowers; slightly acidic soils will produce pink flowers. To change the color of your Hydrangea, add aluminum sulfate to the soil to make the flowers bluer or add lime to the soil to make them pinker.

Many Hydrangeas are fragrant and others feature wonderful foliage adding glorious fall color to the landscape. All are charming or glamorous.

The following is a list of Hydrangeas recognized as proven performers in the Coastal South region.

As defined by the National Gardening Association, the Coastal and Tropical South region follows its namesake bodies of water and extends inland as far as the sea’s influence moderates the climate. The Gulf Coast bends upward from Brownsville and Laredo Texas, east across southern Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama to the Florida panhandle and northern Florida. The Lower Atlantic Coast draws a narrower swath along coastal Georgia and South Carolina to the North Carolina border. The tropical areas include Central and Southern Florida and the Florida Keys.