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Climbing Hydrangea

Hydrangea petiolaris

Also called Japanese Climbing Hydrangea, Japanese Hydrangea

Climbing Hydrangea
Photo: Sten at da.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0

A vigorous deciduous woody climber from the forests of Japan, Korea and Sakhalin, grown on walls, trellises and fences for its late-spring flat white flower heads. It is one of the easiest climbers for shade and north-facing walls, and it establishes slowly before it takes off.

Family
Hydrangeaceae (Hydrangea family)
Grows as
Climber
Light
Shade
Water
Keep soil evenly moist while establishing, then water during dry spells; it tolerates some drought once mature.
Soil
Moist, well-drained, fertile loam; tolerates a range of pH.
Temperature
Hardy to about -30 °C (USDA zone 4a); protect young plants from harsh winter wind.
How easy
Easy
Native range
S. Korea, Sakhalin to Japan
Climate
temperate

About

Hydrangea petiolaris, a climbing hydrangea (syn: Hydrangea anomala subsp. petiolaris), is a species of flowering plant in the family Hydrangeaceae native to the woodlands of Japan, the Korean Peninsula, and on Sakhalin island of easternmost Siberia in the Russian Far East.

Hydrangea petiolaris is sometimes treated as a subspecies of the closely related Hydrangea anomala from China, Myanmar, and the Himalaya, as Hydrangea anomala subsp. petiolaris. The Hydrangea anomala species differs in being smaller (to 12 metres (39 ft) ) and having flower corymbs up to 15 cm (5.9 in) diameter. The common name climbing hydrangea is applied to both species, or to species and subspecies.

How to grow it

Hydrangea petiolaris is cultivated as an ornamental plant in Europe and North America. Climbing hydrangea is grown either on masonry walls or on sturdy trellises or fences. It is at its best where it gets morning sun and afternoon shade, however it can tolerate dense shade, and is therefore often selected for shady, north-facing areas with little or no sun. Its clinging rootlets are not as strong as some other wall-climbing vines, and so is often anchored with supplemental gardening ties. Its outward-reaching side shoots can be pruned back to a pair of buds to espalier it flatter against its support. When pruned during flowering, the blooms are useful in bouquets.

It can also be grown as a ground cover, to eventually grow over an area of up to 200 square feet (19 m2).

Other Hydrangea plants

Hydrangea febrifuga · Hydrangea · Climbing Hydrangea · Wild hydrangea · Rough Leaf Hydrangea · Hydrangea fauriei · Hydrangea glaucescens · Japanese Hydrangea Vine · Bigleaf Hydrangea · Panicled hydrangea · Oakleaf hydrangea · Mountain hydrangea

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Hydrangea petiolaris by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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