By Claudia Watson

Special to The Pilot

With a charming house built in the 1920s as its backdrop, floral designer Aldena Frye's garden has all the makings of a vintage Southern garden: casual, with colorful perennials, vines and annuals and touches of whimsy.

However, it is the long sweep of mature French hydrangeas, commonly known as florists' hydrangea, planted near her well-house, that takes her breath away each summer.

"They are quintessentially Southern and belong in any Southern garden," she says while recalling a memory of a young fellow who would bring her mother huge bouquets of blooms cut from his mother's garden when he'd come to call on her. "It made an impression on her, and me, and it's the way I first grew to love the plant."

Over the years, Frye planted her garden with nearly 30 leftovers from her shop, Aldena Frye's Floral Designs, and they bloom profusely with inflorescences of pink, blue and white flowers.

Not satisfied with one hydrangea variety, Frye planted other species among her rhododendrons and viburnum, including the popular Southern native lacecap (H. macrophylla normalis) and the tree-like 'Pee Gee' hydrangea (H. paniculata) and a smooth-leaf hydrangea cultivar, 'Annsbelle' (H. arborescens 'Annabelle'), which produces the round dinner plate-sized inflorescences often found in garden centers.

A massive oakleaf hydrangea (H. quercifolia), planted in the 1940s graces her garden with its drooping, cone-shaped clusters that Frye calls "drop-dead gorgeous" as they age, turning from white to a soft pink-tinged beige. It also produces a stunning autumnal show as the flowers dry and the leaves turn beautiful shades of russet, yellow and brown in the fall.

Very Old-Fashioned

Janet Peele, owner of Aberdeen Florist and Garden Center, who is well-known by garden mavens for her knowledge of plants, says she was lucky to inherit her hydrangeas.

"My mother planted them from old-form florist varieties when I was in grade school, back in the 1950s, such a long time ago," she says. "They are mostly big old mopheads with teeny little flowers, very old-fashioned."

She says she does not do anything special to care for them.

"They just happen to be in the right place, under the pine trees, where they're blocked from the afternoon sun and turn a pretty pale blue," she says.

Peele does caution that hydrangeas are water drinkers. The name hydrangea is derived from two Greek words meaning "water" and "vessel." The vase-shaped seedpods of hydrangea resemble water vessels, hence the name.

"I usually suggest that people plant them on the east side of the house near a faucet," says Peele. "The afternoon sun doesn't get them there, but each time folks use the garden hose they can douse them a bit. The afternoon will wilt them down. They need consistently moist soil and good drainage."

One of her favorites at the garden center is a beautiful H. macrophylla "Mariesii Variegata," a traditional lacecap with a white edged leaf. She has also heard muffled squeals from customers about H. paniculata "Limelight." This must-have hydrangea starts with chartreuse-to-lime flowers and turns four colors through the growing season, ending with bright red foliage in the fall.

Simple Care

Peele says the appeal of hydrangeas is that they are simple to care for and produce a big wow factor. Of the nearly 25 species of hydrangea, only five are widely cultivated in the U.S. Three easy-to-grow old-fashioned hydrangeas species are the mophead, Pee Gee and oakleaf.

Start with new plants, rooted softwood cuttings, or fall divisions and plant them in the spring or fall in moist, well-drained soil, and amend with well-rotted manure or compost. Water and mulch the plants to conserve moisture.

For the best hydrangea show in the summer, they need a good dose of direct sun, preferably morning and early afternoon sun. In our Sandhills region, they favor being shaded from the hot western sun exposure in the mid-afternoon. If grown in too much shade, all hydrangeas will become lanky and produce fewer blossoms.

Hydrangeas do not tolerate drought, so be sure to monitor the soil all season. In dry periods, hydrangea leaves will wilt so water immediately, and deeply, with a hose. Do not overwater, as this can cause damage. They need to be fed with a balanced fertilizer, following package directions, in the spring and again prior to August.

To Prune or Not

Some species, including H. paniculata and H. arborescence, bloom on new wood. This allows for indiscriminate pruning in late winter without sacrificing flowers for the following summer.

Other hydrangeas, including most H. macrophylla cultivars and H. quercifolia, flower on last season's stems. It is recommended that pruning be done immediately after blooming concludes, but before the new buds begin to develop in August and September. Removal of dead and crossed stems should be done annually. To determine if a branch is dead, just scrape a fingernail down the skin. If it is green, it should not be cut.

The repeat blooming hybrids bloom on both old and new growth and may be pruned back each year after the last bloom in the fall.

Hydrangeas will occasionally get aphids, scale insects and whiteflies. Hose off aphids and whiteflies regularly with a strong jet of water. To control these pests, as well as scale insects, spray with horticultural oil.

Pretty in Pink or Blue

With many hydrangeas, flower color is determined by the soil pH. Color in H. macrophylla is dependent upon the cultivar and aluminum available in the soil. The aluminum is necessary to produce the blue pigment for which the bigleaf hydrangea is known.

Most garden soils have sufficient aluminum, but it may not be available to the plant if the soil pH is high, or alkaline. Check your soil with a simple free test offered by the Cooperative Extension Service, or purchase a test kit from many nurseries.

For most bigleaf hydrangeas, blue flowers will be produced in acidic soil (pH 5.5 and lower). Neutral to alkaline soil (pH 6.5 and higher) will usually produce pink flowers. Between pH 5.5 and pH 6.5, the flowers will be a mixture of blue and pink flowers on the same plant. There are also some cultivars that never produce blue flowers and in low pH soils and these flowers will turn a dull reddish-purple.

To encourage blue flowers, amend the soil with sulfur, peat, potash or sulfate before planting; to encourage pink flowers, add lime to soil according to package instructions.

Fresh Cut for Vase

A vase full of billowy hydrangeas makes a lovely centerpiece or a gift for a friend, but it is a regrettable waste when they wilt in the vase. To avoid this, look for fully opened flowers. Clip the stems early in the morning; strip the leaves, and cut the stems at an angle. Plunge the end of the stems into boiling water and then hold them up to their necks in chilled water for 24 hours to condition them for floral arrangements.

As summer landscapes brighten with the blooms of hydrangeas, consider adding one to your garden. It will grow lush and lovely and produce magnificent blooms through the summer.

"They really are summer show-offs," says Peele. "They are beautiful and rewarding in the garden and in the home. You just can't go wrong with them. "

Claudia Watson is a -freelance writer. She may contacted at cwatson87@nc.r.com.