PLANT FINDER
Intermedia Hydrangea
Hydrangea serrata 'Intermedia'
Height: 5 feet
Spread: 5 feet
Sunlight:
Hardiness Zone: 5b
Other Names: Mountain Hydrangea
Description:
A beautiful compact shrub that features showy lacecaps producing white, pink edged flowers from purple-red to blue buds; serrated leaves are tinged burgundy in the fall; a wonderful choice for the flower garden or border
Ornamental Features
Intermedia Hydrangea features bold white lacecap flowers with pink overtones at the ends of the branches from mid summer to early fall, which emerge from distinctive fuchsia flower buds. The flowers are excellent for cutting. It has green deciduous foliage. The serrated pointy leaves turn an outstanding burgundy in the fall.
Landscape Attributes
Intermedia Hydrangea is a multi-stemmed deciduous shrub with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its relatively coarse texture can be used to stand it apart from other landscape plants with finer foliage.
This is a relatively low maintenance shrub, and should only be pruned after flowering to avoid removing any of the current season's flowers. It has no significant negative characteristics.
Intermedia Hydrangea is recommended for the following landscape applications;
- Accent
- Mass Planting
- General Garden Use
Planting & Growing
Intermedia Hydrangea will grow to be about 5 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 5 feet. It has a low canopy, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 30 years.
This shrub does best in full sun to partial shade. You may want to keep it away from hot, dry locations that receive direct afternoon sun or which get reflected sunlight, such as against the south side of a white wall. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is not particular as to soil type, but has a definite preference for acidic soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution, and will benefit from being planted in a relatively sheltered location. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.
