Hydrangea macrophylla Beautensia Spike ('Spike')

hydrangea

size: 1.5 litre pot

available to order from summer 2012

£12.99

pot size guide

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• Position: full sun or partial shade
• Soil: moist, well-drained, moderately fertile, humus-rich soil
• Rate of growth: average
• Flowering period: July to September
• Flower colour: blue (pink on alkaline soils)
• Other features: contact with the foliage may aggravate skin allergies; the flower-heads make excellent dried flower arrangements
• Hardiness: fully hardy
  
  Already starting to win awards for its incredible flowers, this new hortensia hydrangea is perfect for adding late colour to the summer border. Each rounded flower-head is made up of large florets, which have a ruffled edge. When young, these are green, but they will soon colour up as they age - turning blue if they are grown on acidic soils, or pink if the soil pH is alkaline. Already top of the florists wish-lists, these very showy flowers look amazing and will last for a long time in a vase, and can also be used in dried arrangements.
  
  
• Garden care:To enhance flowering prune in spring, cutting back the flowered stems to a strong pair of buds below each flower-head. Once established, remove a quarter to a third of the old shoots to the base of the plant.