How Well Do Hydrangea Bushes Grow in Virginia?

Virginia Climate

• Along the western edge of Virginia, the Shenandoah and Blue Ridge mountains provide a strip of gentle USDA zone 6 growing zone, but the center of the state, called the Piedmont, straddles USDA zones 6b through zone 7. The Piedmont’s climate is more humid than the mountains and is classified as subtropical. Tidewater areas surrounding Chesapeake Bay, including the mouths of the Rappahannock and James rivers and the Eastern Shore, is more humid yet and lies in USDA zone 7. There’s even a bit of Virginia around Virginia Beach that lies in USDA zone 8.

Hydrangea Facts

• Hydrangeas are woody perennials -- some of which bloom on the previous year’s wood and some of which bloom on the current year’s wood. They begin blooming as the spring trees and shrubs fade. Some blooms persist through the summer, changing color as they age. They serve as hedges, specimen shrubs, small trees or even climbing vines, depending on species and pruning. Hydrangeas grow in USDA zones 3 through 9, depending on species. Some have a more limited range, but all are hardy in Virginia and grow well across the state.

Native Hydrangeas

• Two species of hydrangeas are native to the woods and watersheds of the Southeast -- bigleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens), hardy in USDA zones 3 through 9, and oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia), hardy in USDA zones 5 through zone 9. Smooth hydrangea, featuring 12- to 18-inch white globe-shaped blooms beginning in June, is a Virginia native. The old-fashioned cultivar, Hydrangea arborescens “Grandiflora” grows in rural hedgerows; the newer Hydrangea arborescens “Annabelle” and “Incrediball” are more likely to be found in town. Oakleaf hydrangeas feature conical white blooms in May and June with lobed leaves that display deep fall colors. Both natives do best in well-drained soil with some afternoon shade, although oakleaf hydrangeas tolerate more shade, being woodland plants.

Immigrant Hydrangeas

• Mophead hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla), hardy from USDA zone 5 through zone 11 and a favorite southern hydrangea, is an Asian native, but it grows throughout the South. Unlike native white hydrangea blooms that may age in gentle tones of green or plum, mopheads bloom in bright blues, pinks and carmines. Like the smooth hydrangea, mopheads also produce lacecaps -- blooms containing central clusters of fertile flowers surrounded by rows of lacy sterile blooms, with some bicolor flower heads. Some plants feature variegated foliage. Other Asian hydrangeas, panicle (Hydrangea paniculata), hardy in USDA zones 3 through 8, and vining (Hydrangea anomala subsp. petiolaris), hardy in USDA zones 4 through 8, are less widely planted but grow well in the mountains.