The Hydrangea

The hydrangea (known botanically as hydrangea) is a large flower that can transform any arrangement or bouquet it is part of. Native to Japan, it is today found growing outdoors even in temperate regions, in countries such as Romania. Hydrangeas flower from spring onwards and delight the eye until the beginning of autumn.

Thanks to the growers, hydrangeas are in stock at florists all year round. From May to September most of the varieties available here are grown in the Netherlands, while for the rest of the year they come from the southern hemisphere, from Africa or South America.

The colour palette available.

In florists you will find hydrangeas in pink, fuchsia, various shades of blue, purple, brick red, green and, not least, white. In the cold season hydrangeas are imported exclusively from the southern hemisphere. These are white to begin with, and their colours are obtained by pigmenting.

What this flower means.

Depending on culture and on each person’s beliefs, the hydrangea can carry different meanings.

A pink hydrangea can convey romance, a white one purity, vanity and grace, a purple one pride or understanding, and a blue one gratitude or forgiveness.

Using hydrangeas in bouquets and arrangements.

Thanks to their very large heads and spectacular shape, hydrangeas are hugely popular in a wide variety of floral designs. A few hydrangeas are enough to build a large bouquet, and the blooms carry on opening even after they reach the vase of the person receiving them.

Caring for cut hydrangeas.

The single-stem hydrangea you find at the florist is one of the longest-lasting flowers, able to stay fresh in the vase for up to 3 weeks.

The hardiest varieties are those imported from the southern continents. These are the ones found in florists during the cold season. From April until the beginning of October, the hydrangeas in Romanian florists are for the most part grown in the Netherlands. Although they are shorter-lived, they make up for it in the way they look: their colours are far more intense and the head of the flower can reach as much as 30 centimetres.

Like all other flowers with a woody stem, it needs about 1-2 centimetres trimmed off the end of the stem every 3 days, to keep the passage of water to the flower fresh. It goes without saying that the water in the vase must be fresh at all times and free of harmful bacteria. You achieve this by changing the water daily and disinfecting the inside of the vase with detergent whenever necessary.

Dutch hydrangeas have a tendency to flag; to put this right you have two solutions at hand:

1. Submerge the flower head completely in water
2. Mist the flowers directly with water.

Either of the two recommendations works; you will see the flowers revive as if by magic.

Fascinating facts about this flower.

1. Even though they originate in Japan, the name of the flower comes from Greek. “Hydor” means water and “angos” means vessel. The name makes sense, especially as hydrangeas are great lovers of water.
2. The colour is given by the alkalinity of the soil. With potted hydrangeas, or with those planted outdoors, it is not at all surprising for the flowers to be a different colour from one year to the next if the alkalinity of the soil changes. So in acid soil, with a pH below 6, the flowers will be blue; above a pH of 8 the flowers will be pink or even red; and at a neutral pH the flowers will be purple, or even a mixture of blue and pink.
3. The above-ground part of the hydrangea is not intended for human consumption, as it contains a small amount of cyanide that can cause dizziness or headaches; the roots, on the other hand, are used for medicinal purposes.
4. They have no scent: most hydrangea species are entirely fragrance-free.
5. The flower has no petals; what we see are in fact the sepals.
6. The green colour of the sepals appears when the flower does not receive enough light. The chemical compounds that give the colour are directly influenced by light.