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Hydrangeaceae
Climbing Hydrangea
Hydrangea anomala subsp. petiolaris
Heartfelt understanding, perseverance, gratitude.
- Family
- Hydrangeaceae
- Genus
- Hydrangea
- Native to
- Japan, Korea, Sakhalin
- Bloom season
- Early Summer
- Type
- Deciduous woody vine
- Height
- Vine to 15 m
- Sunlight
- Part shade
- Soil
- Rich, moist, well-drained
- Water
- Moderate
- Hardiness
- 4–8
- Lifespan
- Long-lived; vines over 50 years
Did you know
- Climbing hydrangea is famously slow to establish — it can take 3–5 years before it really begins to climb, but once established it can blanket the side of a brick building.
- It clings to walls, tree trunks, and stone surfaces using small aerial rootlets along its woody stems, like ivy.
- The lacy flat-topped flower clusters are made of two types of flowers: large showy sterile blooms around the edge and tiny fertile flowers in the center — a 'lacecap' arrangement.
- In winter, the bare cinnamon-brown peeling bark and intricate branching pattern create one of the most striking dormant displays of any deciduous vine.
- Climbing hydrangea is one of the few vines that thrives on a north-facing wall, where most other flowering climbers refuse to bloom.
Color meanings
White
Quiet appreciation