Native to eastern and southern China, Japan, and Sakhalin.
Deciduous shrub growing 8-15 feet tall and 6-12 feet wide
Upright but irregular form.
Thrives in urban conditions and regions with long winters.
Does well in most sun and soil conditions, but prefers acidc and moist soil.
Flowers, bark and leaves cause minor nausea and stomach pain if ingested.
Hardiness zones 4-8
Sentimental and Symbolic Value
The plant overall symbolizes honesty and devotion, but each color carries its own significance in both Western and Asian cultures. The connotations of honesty and devotion come from a feudal Japanese legend which claims that the Emperor gifted a blue hydrangea to his lover as a sign of remorse for his past treatment of her.
Pink hydrangeas are considered representative of love, blue a symbol of regret and apology, white purity, innocence and weath, and purple devotion.
Espeically in Victorian England, it also began to carry negative connotiations such as vanity, pride and misfortune.
Specimen photographed found on Beacon Street, Boston, Massachusetts. Part of the Urban Ornamental Plants assignment (10/27/2021)
Plant History and Etymology
The genus name comes from the Ancient Greek ὕδωρ (húdōr, “water”) + ἀγγεῖον (angeîon, “vessel, capsule”), in reference to the panicule's shape. The specific epithet comes from the Latin panicula, meaning "tufted". It is native to eastern Asia, and was brought to Europe during the early 1800s as part of Europeans' growing fascination with Japan and Orientalism. Its popularity as a highly symbolic and ornamental plant was bolstered by a famous story of the German botanist Philipp Franz Balthasar von Siebold - also the first one to formally describe the plant - being gifted purple hydrangeas by his Japanese mistress, as a sign of devotion and trust. The plant has numerous cultivars for ornamental use, including H. paniculata 'Pink Diamond' and 'Silver-Dollar'.
Design Considerations
Its flowers grow in large bunches called panicles, and are generally white, pink, or blue when they bloom in the summer before fading to a soft beige. They are highly showy and long lasting, beginning to appear in late summer to early fall and continuing to persist throughout the autumn. The flowers' colors will vary based on soil conditions, showing warmer colors in alkaline soils and cooler colors in acidic ones. Its form, urban tolerance, and easy pruning make it a very common, low-maintenance ornamental plant, espeically in cities.
Sources
“AJISAI: The Flowers of Seven Transformations | Edge of Niigata.” 2020. Edge of Niigata. September 29, 2020. https://edge-of-niigata.com/blog/918/.
“Hydrangea Flower – Meaning, Symbolism and Colors.” 2021. Flowermeanings.org. 2021. https://flowermeanings.org/hydrangea-flower-meaning/.
“Hydrangea Paniculata (Panicled Hydrangea): Go Botany.” 2021. Nativeplanttrust.org. 2021. https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/hydrangea/paniculata/.
“Hydrangea Paniculata (Panicle Hydrangea, Peegee Hydrangea) | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox.” 2021. Ncsu.edu. 2021. https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/hydrangea-paniculata/.
Wikipedia Contributors. 2021. “Hydrangea Paniculata.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. March 31, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrangea_paniculata.