Hydrangeas are growing in popularity, and with good reason. When the heat of summer is at its peak, we become obsessed with hydrangeas, flowering shrubs that many have come to expect. Gardeners love these shrubs for their stunning flowers, which come in a variety of beautiful colors. Hydrangeas are a low-maintenance plant that will bloom year after year with proper care. Two-tone hydrangea varieties are particularly eye-catching – these shrubs will transform your garden into an oasis!
Two-tone hydrangea varieties – the most beautiful shrubs
Here’s some advice on how to care for brightly colored, multicolored hydrangeas – these are the special varieties you’ll want to have in your garden.
White-green ball hydrangea “Caipirinha”® – Hydrangea macrophylla “Caipirinha”®
These hardy, deciduous shrubs are planted for their long-lasting, spherical flowers, which show up on the previous year’s growth. They look beautiful in the garden – the plants are particularly eye-catching with their dark green, oval leaves that are serrated. This hydrangea variety blooms from June to September and should be pruned back briefly in early spring to remove spent blooms. Since this hydrangea is a deciduous plant, its leaves fall off during the dormant period (autumn and winter) and it only sprout again in spring. Over time, the flowers turn dark green and have a purplish rim around each petal by the end of flowering. The plant can grow up to 1.5 meters wide and high. This hydrangea variety is also suitable for containers and likes partial shade and well-drained soil.
Rot-gelbe Ballhortensie „Red Angel“ – Hydrangea macrophylla „Red Angel“
This shrub is deciduous, meaning it sheds all of its leaves in the fall but puts out whole new leaves in the spring. It loves either direct sun or part shade and well-drained, moist soil rich in humus. This Hydrangea variety is fully hardy and has spectacular and colorful flower heads – the flowering period is from June to October. The color of the flowers will become brighter over time (although like other hydrangeas, there will be some variation in color depending on the pH of the soil) and the hue will become more complex as the summer progresses. The popular hydrangea is also suitable for growing in a tub, provided the soil in the tub is kept moist at all times.
Hydrangeas don’t like it when they dry out. During dry periods, the roots of the plant can usually recover by watering them with a hose. When there is no threat of frost in spring, remove faded flower heads and prune flowering stems back to end on a healthy pair of buds. Remove misplaced or unhealthy shoots. Apply a mulch layer of compost or well-rotted manure to the young plants in spring. After the plant is established, a quarter to a third of the shoots at the base should be removed.
Multicolored Panicle Hydrangea ‘Vanille-Fraise’ (‘Renhy’) – white-pink Hydrangea paniculata Vanilla-Fraise (‘Renhy’)
The ‘Vanille-Fraise’ (‘Renhy’) panicle hydrangea is also deciduous and likes full sun or partial shade. It is hardy and flowers from July to November. This plant has already won an award and the contribution of the French breeders has been greatly appreciated. Over the summer, loose clusters of flowers in the shape of a pyramid develop at the ends of the branches with crimson stems. They are initially milky white and have various shades of pink over time, eventually evolving to deep crimson and rust red. The beautiful hydrangea is ideal for planting a loosely flowering hedge or as a late summer color in the shrub border.
Would you like to offer the insects a food supply throughout the winter? The plant and its dead flowers also play an important role as a food source for insects during the colder months. For optimal flower production in your garden, however, you should carry out a heavy pruning in early spring. The shoots of the previous season are cut back to a few buds at the woody base of the plant.
Two Tone Hydrangea Varieties – Pink Green and Blue Green Hydrangea macrophylla Magical® Amethyst
Amethyst is a stone that radiates power and beauty in equal measure. This hardy plant can reach a height of 1.20m and will provide a pleasant surprise in the garden by flowering in shades of pink, crimson, blue or purple that mature to a deep red colour. The amethyst hydrangea is a shrub that sheds its leaves in the fall – it produces huge balls of gorgeous blooms between May and September.
These neat and beautiful hydrangeas, whose colors range from light pink to light blue depending on the soil and from green to old copper over time, are more sun-tolerant than other hydrangea species and are suitable for growing in containers on terraces and balconies thanks to their compact habit.