Climbing Hydrangea

(Hydrangeaceae - Hydrangea Family)

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• Form
  • primarily a large climbing vine; occasionally found as a slowly spreading groundcover, usually at the base of the existing vine, but sometimes planted specifically as a non-traditional groundcover
  • maturing at up to 50' high, but often much shorter
  • either a twining and clinging vine growth habit, or an arching and mounding groundcover
  • initially a very slow growth rate, but becoming medium to rapid once established

• Culture
  • full sun to full shade
  • prefers moist, well-drained, rich, acidic soils in partial sun, but is somewhat adaptable to poor soils and neutral to slightly alkaline pH soils
  • propagated by seeds, rooted stem cuttings, or transplanting of stems that have self-rooted while lying prostrate on the ground
  • Hydrangea Family (some sources list it under Saxifragaceae), with few diseases or pests
  • commonly available in container form as a young staked vine
  • eventually needs some pruning to keep it restricted at its base if it is to be used exclusively as a vine
  • if chlorosis of the leaves occurs, a fertilization regimen will likely remedy the plant's nutritional balance, which is probably caused by alkaline soil pH

• Foliage
  • medium to dark green and glossy on the leaf uppersides
  • alternate, broadly ovate, with an acuminate apex and cordate base
  • leaf blades are about 3" long, with 2" long petioles
  • fall color is a poor chartreuse in October and November

• Flowers
  • a white outer ring of showy sterile florets surrounds the creamy to green-yellow central fertile flowers
  • flat-topped 5" wide inflorescences flower in June and early July

• Fruits
  • ornamentally insignificant brown capsules lie in a flat plane within the persist outer ring of tan sterile floret remnants
  • not especially showy, but the entire flat-topped fruiting structure is persistent into the following season

• Twigs
  • young stout stems are a rich cinnamon color, exfoliating to show a light brown interior and having many aerial root holdfasts, while prominent buds are a shiny russet
  • the curving vertical stems are complemented by many horizontally held stout stems, which give a three-dimensional effect to the structure that supports the vine

• Trunk
  • exfoliating, light brown, and stoutly branched

• ID Summary
  • heart-shaped thick leaves arranged oppositely on orange-brown stout stems with aerial holdfasts fully expand before the appearance of the showy inflorescences, which have an outer ring of sterile flowers surrounding the interior, creamy-green miniature fertile flowers
  • this slow-growing vine has several terminal-growing, generally upright stems, complemented by the many slower-growing horizontal stems which have most of the inflorescences, and which give the supportive structure a three-dimensional effect

• Function
  • structural cover, primarily used with wooden posts, large trees, or stone walls
  • rarely used as a groundcover

• Texture
  • bold texture in foliage and when bare
  • open density in foliage and when bare

• Assets
  • gives a three-dimensional effect to walls or posts due to its unique outstretched horizontal stems
  • showy creamy-white Summer flowers
  • lustrous Summer foliage
  • shade-tolerant clinging and climbing vine

• Liabilities
  • very slow to establish
  • somewhat open and informal as a vine (but if bold three-dimensional depth is desired for a structural support, this is a true asset)

• Habitat
  • zones 5 to 8
  • native to Japan and China

• Alternates
  • perennial vines that may serve as a structural cover (Actinidia, Akebia quinata, Aristolochia durior, Campsis radicans, Clematis, Hedera helix, Wisteria sinensis, etc.)

• Variants
  • the species form is essentially the only type that is commercially available

• Translation
  • Hydrangea translates as "water vessel," referring to the cup-shaped miniature fruits.
  • anomala translates as "anamalous," perhaps referring to the fact that most members of the genus are shrubs.
  • petiolaris translates as "with conspicuous petioles," in reference to the long-petioled leaves.

• Purpose
  • Climbing Hydrangea is a deciduous vine that gives a three-dimensional depth to supportive structures.

• Summary
  • Hydrangea anomala subspecies petiolaris is known primarily as a slow-growing clinging and twining vine, with dense glossy foliage that gives a three-dimensional attribute to walls, columns, or other supportive structures due to its lateral branches that extend horizontally for a few feet beyond the supportive structure; the creamy-white flat-topped inflorescences in Summer are an added bonus.