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Hydrangea serrata
Also called Tea of heaven
Mountain hydrangea is a compact deciduous shrub from Korea and Japan, grown for its lacy blue or pink summer flowers. Give it rich, moist but well-drained soil in partial shade.
Hydrangea serrata is a species of flowering plant in the family Hydrangeaceae, native to mountainous regions of Korea and Japan. Common names include mountain hydrangea and tea of heaven. Growing to 1.2 m (4 ft) tall and broad, it is a deciduous shrub with oval leaves and panicles of blue and pink flowers in summer and autumn (fall). It is widely cultivated as an attractive ornamental shrub throughout the world in areas with suitable climate and soil.
Hydrangea serrata is best grown in rich, medium moisture, well-drained soils in partial shade. It tolerates full sun only if grown with consistently moist soils. Soil pH affects the flower color in the same manner as it does with H. macrophylla—namely, bluish in highly acidic soils and lilac to pink in slightly acidic to alkaline soils. Limited colour change can be achieved with pink and blue varieties on neutral soils by the careful use of soil additives. The flowers occur on old wood, and little pruning is needed. It may be pruned after flowering by cutting back flowering stems to a pair of healthy buds. Weak or winter-damaged stems can be pruned in early spring.
It is winter hardy to USDA Zone 6, and it can be grown in USDA Zone 5 with protection (e.g., mulch and burlap wrap). It may lose significant numbers of flower buds or die to the ground in harsh winters, impairing or decimating the bloom for the coming year. Plants are hardy to about −25 °C (−13 °F) when dormant, but the young growth in spring can be killed by late frosts.
Hydrangea febrifuga · Hydrangea · Climbing Hydrangea · Wild hydrangea · Rough Leaf Hydrangea · Hydrangea fauriei · Hydrangea glaucescens · Japanese Hydrangea Vine · Bigleaf Hydrangea · Panicled hydrangea · Climbing Hydrangea · Oakleaf hydrangea
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Hydrangea serrata 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.
