Hydrangea macrophylla Dark Angel

Hydrangea macrophylla; perhaps one of the best known garden plants. Originally from Japan these robust and reliable plants produce a truly amazing display in summer and autumn. Hydrangea macrophylla Dark Angel is a superb recent introduction which is already winning awards. A lovely, very compact, Hydrangea with rich carmine pink, with creamy white centred florets, on lacecap flower heads that contrast beautifully against the backdrop of the prominently veined, burgundy flushed foliage. The colour of the flowers intensifies as the flowers mature. Super compact, very floriferous Hydrangea, ideal for patios or where space is limited. As with most Hydrangea macrophylla the flower colour will be pinker in alkaline soils and shades of blue in acid soils.  When growing blue varieties/cultivars treatment with Hydrangea bluing agent can help produce blue flowers however this is much more successful in pots than in the borders. Hydrangeas are very easy to grow in a slighlty shady location with a reasonable quality moist soil. They can be grown in the garden or in a pot or container. In containers use a good quality John Innes compost as this plant will be there a long time and peaty types of compost eventually degrade; become too packed and choke the roots. Ensure you feed regularly as a hungry plant is a poor performer. We recommend Osmoscote pro 8-9 month applied in the early spring. One application gives all the nutrients the plant requires for the whole year. John Innes is a soils based compost.