Hydrangeas for American Gardens

Cultivate Hydrangeas to Add Elegance and Serenity to Your Garden

Originating in East Asia and then spreading to Europe, most gardening books in English on the hydrangea were written with Europe's climate in mind. Yet over the years, the hydrangea has become a beloved classic in American gardens--and, given its unique qualities, with good reason: flowering shrub enthusiasts love the iconic beauty and variety of their long-lasting blooms, as well as their ability to thrive in a wide range of environments. Nationally-recognized horticultural scholar, expert, and writer Michael A. Dirr has written the definitive guide to cultivating hydrangea, providing guidance for gardeners with a variety of experience.

Author of over 300 articles popular and scientific articles, and seven books on trees, shrubs, and plants of woody landscapes, Dirr offers practical "hands-in-the soil" advice based on years of experience and research.

Using this book you can learn how to:

• Plant, prune, and care for a wide variety of hydrangea
• Guard against pests and disease
• Propagate and breed.

Placing the right hydrangeas in the appropriate setting will create beauty around your home, and the process of doing so will enhance your appreciation of space and tranquility.

Originating in Japan, the hydrangea is a classic of the American garden. Flowering shrubs enthusiasts love the iconic beauty of their long-lasting blooms and their adept growth in varied environments. Whatever your experience with this lavish species, Dirr offers practical "hands-in-the soil" advice based on years of experience and research.
After earning a Ph.D in Plant Physiology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Michael Dirr became an Assistant Professor of Ornamental Horticulture at the University of Illinois, Urbana. He went on to become a Mercer Fellow at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, and, in 1979, the Director of the University of Georgia Botanical Garden. In later years he taught at the University of Georgia. Dirr's Georgia Plant Introduction Program has introduced over 40 new cultivars into the nursery trades. After retiring from his professorship at the University of Georgia, Dirr has become more active in botanical research and new plant development.

Hydrangea is a broad and varied genus, one "difficult to compress under a small umbrella." University of Georgia horticulture professor Dirr casts a wide net to provide comprehensive information about these versatile plants. That his passion for hydrangeas "knows no bounds" is clear from this enthusiastic combination of rigorous science, concise description and seasoned advice. The first chapter, "Characteristics, Taxonomy and Nomenclature," is the most academically oriented but brief and readable enough for the home gardener. Ten well-organized and liberally illustrated chapters follow, each devoted to a single species and its subspecies, ranging from the familiar and hugely popular H.macrophylla and H. paniculata, to relative rarities boasting flower buds that remind Dirr of "purple-brown cauliflowers" and are sometimes "quite large and Martian." Chapters on care and culture, propagation, pests and diseases, potpourri, and breeding offer a wealth of practical insights equally valuable to the casual green thumb and the professional horticulturist, in every region of the country. Readers will learn the often-misunderstood chemistry behind pink/blue color shifts, how to dry and dye flower heads and where to register new cultivars. A first-rate listing of resources and nursery sources and 160 luscious color photos complete this definitive and irresistible tribute to one of America's favorite shrubs.
--Publishers Weekly

Mopheads and lacecaps are among the alluring types of hydrangeas that gardeners are enticed to purchase and plant, but not all hydrangeas thrive in the various U.S. climate zones. Dirr directs his authoritative voice and vast knowledge to helping the gardener understand the botany of hydrangea species, as well as the horticultural pluses and minuses of countless cultivated varieties. A bounty of color photographs documents mature climbers, shrubs with lavish foliage, and detailed views of gorgeous inflorescences, including snowballs, while the text covers a fascinating panoply of worthy specimens that embraces the rare and the commonplace. Informative yet entertaining, Dirr's descriptions warn of anemic green leaves and lack of cold hardiness or draw appreciative nods with superb frost tolerance and the frizzy effect of rose to mauve inflorescences with little white eyes. Chapters also provide information on lesser known hydrangeas, care and culture, propagation and pests, and future breeding, as Dirr's reigning expertise in the realm of trees and shrubs comes through once again. Alice Joyce
--Booklist