Beautiful Hydrangeas for the Middle 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 a 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 Middle South region.

As defined by the National Gardening Association, the Middle South begins on the Atlantic coast just east of Richmond, swings down the east side of the Appalachians, through central Virginia, western North and South Carolina, into the Tennessee Valley, including sections of northern Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, into central Arkansas and parts of central Texas; west of Dallas and Waco.