Discover the symbolism behind hydrangeas , little - known facts , and why you should never feed the colourful blooms .

From wedding bouquets to flower bed , hydrangeas are everywhere . One coup d’oeil and it ’s gentle to see why we all love the candy - colorize flowers of hydrangeas so much . The gargantuan cluster of blossom blessing landscapes around the world . There areover 75 different kinds of hydrangea , with more gorgeous varieties coming out every yr . Plus , they ’re a prettyhardy works , growing in Zones 3 - 7 , which is the bulk of the United States . sea-coast to coast , gardeners pretty much everywhere ( except for really hot regions ) can savor them . But even the most obsessed nurseryman just might be surprise by these 8 facts abouthydrangeas , and make you hump these beautiful plant even more .

Kritsada Panichgul

Cluster of blooming hydrangeas with their characteristic rounded shape, surrounded by green leaves

Credit:Kritsada Panichgul

1. Meaning Behind the Name

consider it or not , you may say a lot abouthydrangea plant life careby its name . Hydrangea is from Hellenic descent : “ Hydro ” means body of water and “ angos ” mean jolt or watercraft . And in fact , hydrangeas need lots of water to thrive .

2. Hydrangea Symbolism

The symbolism behind the hydrangea flower differ with culture and time period . In Japan , hydrangeas are said to be a sign of gratitude because ancient emperor would give them to their maidens as a sign of thanks . On the other paw , Victorians believed that hydrangeas symbolize vainglory or conceit because they bring forth so many rosiness but drop little seed to deal . Each hydrangea color also has ameaning behind it :

3. Discovery of Hydrangeas

Although most hydrangeas are aboriginal to Asia , some are native to North America include smooth hydrangea ( Hydrangea arborescens ) and oakleaf hydrangea ( Hydrangea quercifolia ) . Onevery democratic variety of smooth hydrangea call ‘ Annabelle’was evendiscovered in 1910 by a cleaning woman named Harriet Kirkpatrick . She noticed this hydrangea had very great white blooms , so she planted it in her own yard in Illinois . She and her family share it with neighbor as the plant kept growing in popularity , but it was n’t until 1962 that it was named after Kirkpatrick ’s hometown of Anna and maturate commercially .

4. Hydrangeas Are Poisonous

Hydrangeas areextremely toxicant . The compounds in the leaves unblock cyanide when eat up , so keep the works aside from small tyke or pets . Although they ’re poisonous , it ’s reported that ancient Buddhists used the solution as an antioxidant in Camellia sinensis to bring around kidney progeny — butdon’ttry this at domicile !

5. The Flower Color Can Change for Some Hydrangeas

For one character known asbigleaf hydrangea(Hydrangea macrophylla ) , you could change the color of their flowers by adjusting the soil pH withsoil amendment . The more acidic the dirt , thebluer your hydrangea will turn out . The more alkaline , thepinker your hydrangeaswill be . scientific discipline for the profits !

6. Hydrangea Day

People love this industrial plant so much , there ’s a day dedicated to it ! Hydrangea Day is January 5 . However , the bloom are out of season at that time of twelvemonth . Do n’t fret , you may still delight hydrangea at any clip of year — try dry themto maintain them !

7. Allergy Safe Flowers

Hydrangeas are unique because they have topnotch embarrassing pollen . That makes it unmanageable for jazz to blow the pollen around , wee these flower pure for allergy - prone gardener . They ’re also fragrance detached , which makes them a not bad addition for those who are headache prone or have sensible noses .

8. No Petals

It may look like hydrangeas have scads of petal , but they ’re actually called sepals . Sepals are small-scale leaves that protect the bloom bud . They usually start out out immature andturn into the plenteous pinko , purpleness , and bluesthat grab our attention .