Several years ago I stuck this hydrangea in a corner somewhere. It came to the office free, as a trial plant, back when I wrote about gardening for a blog at work. Since it was Zone 5 long before they redrew the zone hardiness maps, I didn't have high hopes. And it turns out those were justified, because for several years it has done absolutely zilch except manage to survive amid a welter of invasive spreaders, which I guess is a form of an accomplishment.
Then the rains came. One day I rounded the far corner of the house where I don't go on a daily basis and was dazzled by this stunner of a bloom. I desperately wish I knew enough to be able to do a better job of color correcting this, because every camera I tried wants to wash it out. It's a deep, vivid blue, many petals so deep they warrant being called midnight.
The plant is nearly twice as tall as it has been every other year (it grows back from the roots each season). The same is true with the Endless Summer hydrangea this year, which also deigned to sport several large pink or blue blossoms after years of managing a stunted proto-bloom about October for the last couple of years.
For the record, we DO water these plants on a regular basis. After all, hydrangeas are kind of the litmus test for dryness, since they'll wilt first. But I'm not sure we could have managed to dump as much water on as nature did earlier this summer when we were inundated by daily downpours. Apparently the plant requires regular drenching to put on a show. So it may be a one-year wonder, but it was worth trying to document.
And no, at this point, I no longer know what kind of hydrangea it is. In googling, it looks most like a Nikko blue, although on some sites that plant is listed as Zone 6 hardy, and while I stuck it in the most protected spot I can find, there is no part of my Minneapolis hard that could pass for Zone 6. Whatever it is, it's lovely, and worth the wait.
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