Lacy and romantic, the beauty of the Lacecap Hydrangea flower sets these shrubs apart from their Mophead and Panicle cousins! They look like darling Fairy rings!
While not a variety of Hydrangea, but a type of bloom, Lacecap flowers. Featuring the same quilted deep green leaves with serrated edges and long bloom times, Lacecaps bring a touch of whimsy and frills to the landscape with their delicate blossoms!
Check out the Top 10 Lacecap Hydrangeas available at NatureHills.com!
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Laciest Lacecaps!
Easily recognized for their flattened flowerheads that are comprised of clusters of button-like flowers, Lacecap Hydrangeas, and other shrubs have flowers that open from the outside in, or only an outer ring of clusters actually ‘open’ with petals. The center clusters can have tiny starburst-like flowers. The petals on Hydrangeas are actually bracts!
Here are some of the incredible varieties available for you to add some whimsy to your garden!
#10 Proven Winners® Let's Dance® Starlight Hydrangea
Pink or blue depending on pH, Let's Dance® Starlight are smaller 2 - 3 foot tall and wide shrubs with color-changing lacecap flowers that bloom on both old and new wood, no pruning is needed to get these Bigleaf Hydrangeas to bloom!
#9 Endless Summer® Pop Star® Bigleaf Hydrangeas
In addition to their many Mophead varieties, Endless Summer® Lacecap Hydrangeas include the big and bold Pop Star® Hydrangea puts on a stunning show from late spring until fall! These starry blooms smother the dark green leaves and can be pink or blue depending on your soil pH. Large blooms smother the entire shrub and the flowers persist into the winter months! Growing throughout USDA zones 4 to 9, Pop Star® can be between 18 - 36 inches tall and wide at maturity. Like all Bigleaf Hydrangeas, you’ll have pink or blue flowers depending on pH.
#8 Invincibelle Lace® Smooth Hydrangea
Pastel plum-rose Lacecaps with more lace than bract, these airy flowers are held on red stems 4-5 feet in height and width. Proven Winners® Invincibelle Lace® Smooth Hydrangeas are very cold-hardy throughout USDA planting zones 3 to 8 and have rich green leaves and this lacy plum delight grows just 4-5 feet in height and width.
#7 Pink Dynamo™ Mountain Hydrangea
Heat and cold hardy throughout USDA zones 5 to 9, Pink Dynamo™ grows just 2-3 feet in height and width but shows off with bright pink lacecap blooms with foamy white centers backed by dark burgundy-tinged leaves. Plus, the big florets have fat round petals and a mild fragrance and rebloom from late spring through the summer months!
#6 First Editions® Light-O-Day® Hydrangea
A pretty Lacecap with dense clusters of flowers and unique variegated white and green foliage, Light-O-Day® will light up your garden without overtaking your landscape! Growing into a round 3 - 5 foot tall and wide bundle of color. Lavender blooms in neutral pH soils, these Bigleaf Hydrangeas can be pink or blue in alkaline or acidic soil.
#5 Grape Explosion Bigleaf Hydrangea
Juicy purple flowers in acidic soil, the Grape Explosion Bigleaf Hydrangea stands out among the pinks, blues, and creams of the Hydrangea world! Mid-sized with a compact form and purple/burgundy fall color to finish out the many perks of this ornamental shrub!
- USDA zones 4 to 9
- 3-4 feet tall and wide
- Purple/Lavender lacecap blooms
- Burgundy/purple fall color
- Hard to find variety!
#4 Endless Summer® Twist-n-Shout® Bigleaf Hydrangea
The Twist-n-Shout® Bigleaf Hydrangea put on a grand display from late spring until fall! Twist-n-Shout® was the world's first reblooming Lacecap variety. It blooms early in the season on old wood from last year. Then, the blooms keep coming on new wood, or growth shoots from the roots this season. Dancing over the dark green leaves, these are elegant flowering shrubs! Twist-n-Shout® grows 3 - 5 feet tall and wide, and takes on burgundy-red fall color! The flower color will depend on your soil pH, ranging from pink in acid to lavender in neutral, or bluer in alkaline conditions.
- Delicate Fairy ring-like blooms
- USDA growing zones 4 to 9
- Pink/Lavender/Blue depending on pH
- Burgundy-red fall color
- 3-5 feet tall and wide
#3 Tuff Stuff™ Hydrangeas
All of the Tuff Stuff™ Mountain Hydrangeas have gorgeous pink to red, or soft sky blue lacecap flowers! Including Tiny Tuff Stuff™ and Tuff Stuff Ah-Ha® with double bracts floating around the perimeter of a lacy center cluster, or Tuff Stuff™ Reblooming and Tuff Stuff™ Red, both of which have dramatic coloration with bright green centered ‘eyes’ for a two-tone showy effect!
- Proven Winners® Shrubs!
- USDA zones 5 to 9
- 2-3 feet tall and wide (Tiny Tuff Stuff™ grows 18-24 inches tall and wide)
- Pink or Blue depending on soil acidity or alkalinity
#2 Fairytrail Bride® Cascade Hydrangea®
The Proven Winners® Fairytrail Bride® Cascade Hydrangea® is one of the few weeping Hydrangea bush forms available! Combined with its lacy white flowers, Fairytrail Bride® is an absolutely romantic-looking shrub! Great for containers, these will become your new favorite flowering shrub! As the season progresses, the white flowers age pink for a blushing surprise to round out the growing season!
- USDA zones 6 to 9
- White lacecap flowers mature pink
- Scalloped petals
- Up to 4 feet tall and wide
- Weeping Hydrangea form
#1 Cherry Explosion™ Hydrangea
Bright cherry-red Lacecaps, the Cherry Explosion™ Bigleaf Hydrangea not only has bold blooms from late spring until fall but also a burgundy fall color and a mid-sized rounded form that sets it apart from the rest! Each lacecap bloom features a circlet of cherry red florets - one of the brightest red flower colors available in Hydrangeas - surrounding a profusion of tiny contrasting star-shaped light pink flowers!
- USDA zones 4 to 9
- 3-4 feet tall and wide
- Red lace-like flowers
- Burgundy fall color
Honorable Mentions
- Climbing Hydrangea - a vertical or groundcover Hydrangea with white lacecap flowers
Caring For Hydrangea Shrubs
Hydrangea shrubs are very easy to grow and low-maintenance and just need you to take a few steps to ensure they are off on the right foot.
- Most Hydrangeas need at least half a day of sun or more to bloom best and have the strongest, no-flop stems.
- Hydrangea in hotter climates can handle afternoon shade to partial shade
- Plant these shrubs in very well-drained soil that is enriched
- Moderate, regular water access, especially during flower production
- Loves a 3-4 inch deep layer of mulch around the roots
Pruning Hydrangeas
Pruning your Hydrangea at the right time, depending on the type of Hydrangea, is vital to prevent cutting off next year's blooms.
- Panicle Hydrangeas and Smooth Hydrangeas (H.arborescens) flower on new wood (this year's growth) and need to be pruned in early spring.
- Oakleaf Hydrangeas (H. quercifolia), Mountain Hydrangeas (H. serrata), and Bigleaf Hydrangeas (H. macrophylla) all flower on last year's growth, so pruning should be done only to remove the old flower heads, and renewal pruning should be done to cut out the oldest stems to the ground right after they bloom.
Add Lace And Frills To Your Landscape!
Long-lasting lacy blooms; Lacecap Hydrangeas of all kinds fill your garden with whimsy, incredible texture, and airy elegance!
Add woodland finery, garden fringe, and fairy-like flowers, these unique Hydrangea shrubs add their special form and flowers to your pollinator gardens, cottage borders, and cut flower gardens gain many benefits from these easy-to-grow shrubs! Dress up your foundation border, create airy hedges, and become the finishing touches for your garden design!
The beautiful Hydrangea Bush is a species that delights gardeners across the nation! You’ll find a generous array of Hydrangea for sale right here at Nature Hills Nursery!
Happy Planting!
