These Are the 15 Most Beautiful Types of Hydrangeas for Your Garden

If you only plant one shrub this year, make it a hydrangea!

Hydrangeas come in a staggering array of sizes and colors to fit every garden. There's a form and variety that will work in nearly every USDA growing zone so you can enjoy their blooms whether you live in the sunny south or snowy north. And new cultivars, or cultivated varieties, including drought-tolerant shrub varieties are introduced every year.

(Not sure what hardiness zone you're in? Find the official map here. And be aware that the map has recently been updated to reflect climate change so you may be in a new zone!)

Hydrangeas are easy to grow in most types of soil. Pollinators adore many types of hydrangeas, too. Plus, hydrangeas have a long bloom time, so they add three-season color to your garden. (Here's how to design a pollinator garden that works.)

The colorful flowers fade from white, pink or blue into more muted tones over the course of the summer. The papery flowers then remain intact on the plant to provide winter interest in your garden during the darkest days of the year.

Hydrangeas pair well with a variety of perennials and other flowering shrubs, so they're a perfect accompaniment to other colorful plants in your garden.

The blooms also dry well so you can enjoy them in displays and crafts long after summer has waned. Simply snip them off when they start to take on a papery appearance, then dry upside down or simply bind them together in a vase to display. (Read more on how to dry flowers right here.)

Charlyne Mattox, the Food and Crafts Director, is an avid gardener with over 20 years experience growing food, flowers, and house plants. (One ficus tree she has is over 30 years old!)

Arricca Elin SanSone is a contributing garden writer with more than 15 years of experience growing houseplants, herbs and edibles, and landscape plantings. Her garden includes more than 30 cultivars of hydrangeas for trialing to evaluate hardiness, resilience, and performance.

• Common Name: Hydrangea
• Botanical Name: Hydrangea spp.
  
• Plant Family: Hydrangeaceae
• Type of Plant: Shrub, tree, or vine
• Native Origin: Asia and the Americas
• Sun Exposure: Full sun to part sun, depending on variety and location
  
• Preferred Soil Type: Slightly acidic
• Mature Size: 1 to 5 feet for dwarf varieties, up to 60 feet for vine varieties
• Flower color: Creamy white, pink, purple, blue, green, and variegated
• Hardiness Zones: 3 to 9
  
• Toxic to pet: Yes

Also called florist or lacecap hydrangea, this hydrangea is typically hardy from USDA hardiness zones 5 to 9. But the flower buds of this type can be sensitive to cold, so while the plant may leaf out, you may get few flowers after a harsh winter.

Although big leaf hydrangeas need sun to bloom well, give them afternoon shade in hot regions. Also, most varieties bloom on old wood, so prune just after the flowers have faded. If you prune too late in the year, you may cut off flower buds. The bloom color is affected by presence of aluminum in the soil.

Hydrangea macrophylla ’Let’s Dance Lovable’

Hydrangea macrophylla 'Let's Dance Lovable'

USDA Hardiness zones: 5 to 9
Size: 36 to 48 inches tall and wide

This mounded shrub blooms on both new and old wood, so even during harsh winters, you should see some flowering. It prefers moist, well-drained soils and blooms pink or blue, depending on the soil pH and the presence of aluminum.

Hydrangea macrophylla ’Cherry Explosion’

Hydrangea macrophylla 'Cherry Explosion'

USDA Hardiness zones: 4 to 9
Size: 4 feet wide and tall

This compact shrub boasts cherry-red flowers that pop against dark green foliage. The lacecap flowers are long-lasting, but give it afternoon shade for its best performance.

Hydrangea macrophylla ’Wedding Gown’

Hydrangea macrophylla 'Wedding Gown'

USDA Hardiness zones: 5 to 9
Size: 2 to 3 feet high by 3 to 5 feet wide

Stunning double blooms make this variety highly covetable! Pure white flowers with a green caste make this one particularly eye-catching. Give it morning sun and afternoon shade for best flowering.

Hydrangea macrophylla ’LA Dreamin’’

Hydrangea macrophylla 'LA Dreamin''

USDA Hardiness zones: 5 to 10
Size: 5 feet tall and wide

Imagine having every hydrangea color you love on one plant! This handsome variety boasts various shades of pinks and blues on a rounded shrub. It's a reblooming variety that does especially well in hot climates.

Native to Japan, this species of hydrangea has oodles of smaller flowers in the lacecap style. It boasts loads of buds because it grows naturally in the mountains where conditions are harsher. Because they bloom on old wood, don't prune in spring or you'll remove this season's flowers.

Hydrangea serrata ’Tuff Stuff Top Fun’

Hydrangea serrata 'Tuff Stuff Top Fun'

USDA Hardiness zones: 4 to 9
Size: 3 feet tall and wide

This new reblooming mountain hydrangea has lacecap flowers with sturdy burgundy stems. Pollinators love it, and it makes a beautiful cut flower.

Hydrangea serrata ’Tiny Tuff Stuff’

Hydrangea serrata 'Tiny Tuff Stuff'

USDA Hardiness zones: 5 to 9
Size: 18 to 24 inches tall and wide

Mountain hydrangeas like this one have beautiful lacecap flowers which range from blue to pink to white. It does best with some afternoon shade.

This type of hydrangea is hands-down the easiest to grow! It has large, cone-shaped blooms that are usually white but may turn to shades of pink or blush, depending on the variety. This type also can be pruned into standard, or tree form.

Grow panicles in full sun in zones 3 to 6 and afternoon shade in zones 7 to 9. Some varieties can grow up to 8 feet tall but dwarf versions are typically under 5 feet. Panicles bloom on new wood so prune in late winter or early spring.

Hydrangea paniculata ’Little Lime Punch’

Hydrangea paniculata 'Little Lime Punch'

USDA Hardiness zones: 3 to 8
Size: 5 feet wide and tall

This charming panicle hydrangea blooms lime green, but the flowers fade to white, pink and dark red on each bloom. It's exceptionally cold-hardy, too. You can prune it in late winter or early spring because it blooms on new wood.

Hydrangea paniculata ’Fire Light’

Hydrangea paniculata 'Fire Light'

USDA Hardiness zones: 3 to 8
Size: 8 feet wide and tall

Bring on the flower power! This variety has large flowers that age to red in early summer for lots of color all season long.

Hydrangea paniculata ’Pinky Winky’

Hydrangea paniculata 'Pinky Winky'

USDA Hardiness zones: 3 to 8
Size: 8 to 10 feet tall and wide

Huge cones of flowers open in mid-summer. The panicles turn from white to pink from the bottom up. Some flowers can be 16-inches long for a truly spectacular show.

Hydrangea x ’Fairytrail Green’

Cascade hydrangeas are the newest type of hydrangea, and they are stunning! Hardy to USDA Hardiness zone 6 to 9, these hydrangeas are hybrids of several types with a unique ability to set blooms along the entire length of its stems. They bloom primarily on old wood, so don't trim this one or you'll risk snipping off next season's blooms.

Hydrangea x ’Fairytrail Green’

Hydrangea x 'Fairytrail Green'

USDA Hardiness zones: 6 to 9
Size: 4 feet wide and tall

This new type of hydrangea is a must-have in the garden for sheer show-stopping apeal. With long, cascading stems of flowers, it shows off best in containers or hanging baskets or when draped over a stone wall. This variety has lime green flowers, but 'Fairytrail White' has white flowers, while 'Fairytrail Bride' has blush pink flowers.

Also called Annabelle hydrangea, this variety is native to the Southeastern part of the United States. The size of mature plants vary greatly by variety from around 1 to over 8 feet tall. They need at least 4 hours of sun per day with afternoon shade in hotter climates. Blooms appear on new wood so prune in the fall or early spring.

Hydrangea aborescens ’Invincibelle Wee White’

Hydrangea aborescens 'Invincibelle Wee White'

USDA Hardiness zones: 3 to 8
Size: 2.5 feet tall and wide

Need a wee tiny hydrangea? This little dwarf variety beauty is less than 3 feet tall and white, but it boasts huge flowers! It grows in a tidy mound.

Hydrangea aborescens ’Sublime’

Hydrangea aborescens 'Invincibelle Sublime'

USDA Hardiness zones: 3 to 9
Size: 4 feet tall by 5 feet wide

This smooth hydrangea offers an unexpected pop of lime green flowers in your landscape. It's long-blooming and cold-hardy, too.

Hydrangea aborescens ’American Lace’

Hydrangea aborescens 'American Lace'

USDA Hardiness zones: 3 to 8
Size: 4 to 5 feet tall and wide

This medium-sized native shrub is brand new! With tons of bright white lacy flowers, you'll want to add this to your foundation plantings or landscape beds. Pollinators love it!

The oakleaf hydrangea have to much to offer: big oak-shaped leaves, large conical-shaped blooms, peeling bark, and dramatic fall foliage that turns orange to burgundy.

It's the only hydrangea with fall foliage color. Native to North America, they grow well in shade and part shade, but those grown in shade won't have as many blooms or the same showy fall color. They bloom on old wood so avoid pruning, if possible.

Hydrangea quercifolia ’Gatsby Pink’

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Gatsby Pink'

USDA Hardiness zones: 5 to 9
Size: 8 feet wide and tall

Big, showy blooms start white then turn pink for a gorgeous summer display. Native to North America, this variety also offers rich autumn color in its foliage. It's also available in 'Gatsby Gal,' a somewhat smaller white variety.

Native to Asia, climbing hydrangeas grow as a woody vine up trees, along fences, and over pergolas. They prefer part shade (between 4 to 6 hours of sun per day), with nice filtered light. Most have large, fragrant flowers and do best in zones 4 to 8. While they are slow-growing, over time they can reach up to 60 feet long.

During the first couple of growing seasons you will have to help a new plant cling to its growing support with garden twine or ties. After that, new growth will produce rootlets that will help anchor the plant to the support. Climbing hydrangea need very little pruning and, because they bloom on old wood, prune them only when necessary.