Hydrangea aspera Species Complex Cultivars

'Anthony Bullivant'

Sterile flowers large, pink, with strongly overlapping sepals giving a rounded outline to the flower; fertile flowers with blue stamens and blue to pink petals; pedicels purple-red; peak flowering July in S England. Leaves ovate, acuminate, mid-green, villous; probably attributable to H. villosa. Ultimately a large, spreading plant, the original measured 3.5 × 6 m by 2013. A reliable, beautiful cultivar selected at Stourton House, Wiltshire, UK, named by Elizabeth Bullivant for her husband; introduced 1993 (Foster 2013; Hydrangea Derby 2023; Edwards & Marshall 2019). Jack Aldridge considers this and ‘Sam Macdonald’ the ‘go-to villosas’ (pers. comm. 2024).

Hydrangea 'Anthony Bullivant': detail of fertile and sterile flowers. Image Jack Aldridge.

Hydrangea 'Anthony Bullivant', one of the finest cultivars (Cholmondeley Castle, Cheshire, UK; 7 August 2024). Image Barry Grain.

Hydrangea 'Anthony Bullivant' has sterile flowers with strongly overlapping sepals (Cholmondeley Castle, Cheshire, UK; 7 August 2024). Image Barry Grain.

Older flowers on Hydrangea 'Anthony Bullivant' (Sculpture by the Lakes, Dorset, UK; 15 September 2024). Image Tom Christian.

Hydrangea 'Anthony Bullivant': flowers and foliage on a vigorously growing young specimen (Darley Park, Derby, UK; 28 August 2023). Image Julian Sutton.

'August Abundance'

A wild collection from southern Taiwan (hence attributed to H. kawakamii) under BSWJ 1420, selected for relatively early flowering as Taiwanese material goes, typically August in North Wales, UK; white sterile and purple fertile flowers, with large, broad, conspicuously hairy leaves as usual for kawakamii. Introduced by Crûg Farm Plants about 2003. (Crûg Farm Plants 2024; Association Shamrock 2022)

'Aurelie'

Inflorescence form intermediate between lacecap and mophead, with many rather small, white sterile flowers (72 in one typical inflorescence) spread among the pigmented fertile flowers; the impression is that they ring each major branch, as well as the whole head. A seedling selected by Maurice Foster (Kent, UK) before 2010, currently being propagated in France (Foster 2023).

One to watch: Hydrangea 'Aurelie', a new aspera complex cultivar with heads intermediate between lacecap and mophead (White House Farm, Kent, UK; 20 August 2010). Image Maurice Foster.

'Bellevue'

Large inflorescences; fertile flowers lilac, sterile flowers paler, almost white; broad leaves as much as 40 cm long; height to 3.5 m or more. Reputedly a triploid cross between H. sargentiana and H. aspera ‘Macrophylla’, combining the latter’s intense flower colour with the former’s general ‘look’; the indumentum owes little to H. sargentiana however (pers. obs. 2024). Selected before 1990 by Martine & Francis Lemonnier of Jardin de Bellevue, Normandy, France (Hydrangea Derby 2024; Pan-Global Plants 2024; Association Shamrock 2022). ‘Awesome, and in many ways the ultimate aspera’ enthuses Nick Macer (Pan-Global Plants 2024).

Foliage on Hydrangea 'Bellevue' (West Acre Garden, Norfolk, UK; 7 June 2023). Image John Anderson.

Hydrangea 'Bellevue': the indumentum on young stems and petioles has little in common with its suggested parent H. sargentiana (nursery stock, Devon, UK; 2 August 2024). Image Julian Sutton.

Hydrangea 'Bellevue' has very large leaves and inflorescences (Yorkshire Arboretum, UK, July 2024). Image John Grimshaw.

'Blue Skies'

A selection from H. robusta L 2021 (Boaxing, Sichuan, 1993), one of the two seedlings sent by RBG Kew to Trelissick, Cornwall, making sufficient impact to be named by head gardener Barry Champion (the other is ‘Pink Cloud’). Sterile flowers white, with fertile flowers blue to violet-purple at Trelissick. The original is lost, but it has been given a small distribution by Mark Fillan, Devon. (Aldridge 2025)

'Elegant Sound Pavilion'

Mophead form with globular inflorescences; sepals mature white from pale green, ageing green again; the other vestigial organs at the centre of the sterile flower form a mauve dot; pedicels reddish. Collected on Emei Shan, Sichuan before 2004 by Dan Hinkley and Ozzie Johnson, named for a nearby temple, and attributed to H. strigosa (Foster 2013; Dirr 2021; Sous Un Arbre Perché 2024). Perhaps the most widely available mophead aspera to date (which is not saying much), and potentially beautiful; however, it appears to be a tender, temperamental thing. Growing strongly in a sheltered place it tends to make normal (lacecap) inflorescences, while in Kent, UK, young plants planted out in two successive years died over winter (Foster 2023). Nor does it grow well in the very different climate of Georgia, USA (Dirr 2021).

Hydrangea 'Elegant Sound Pavilion' is the most widely grown mopheaded H. aspera to date, but proves temperamental. Image Maurice Foster.

'Farall'

Fertile flowers pale lilac-pink; sterile flowers palest pink, the overall effect ‘a wash of smoky mauve/pink’ (Foster 2023). Early (June–July in southern England), and very free-flowering, with all shoots blooming simultaneously. Leaves relatively narrow, bronze tinted when young. Rather long petioles hint that H. longipes might be in its parentage (J. Aldridge, pers. comm. 2025). Given to Maurice Foster by British hydrangea grower Michael Haworth-Booth, named by Foster for the latter’s Haslemere, UK, garden before 2000. The cultivar name is often seen mis-spelled. (Foster 2023; Pan-Global Plants 2024)

Along with its earlier flowering, the foliage of Hydrangea 'Farall' somewhat suggests it may belong to H. longipes, notably the long petiole. (White House Farm, Kent, UK; 29 July 2023) Image Jack Aldridge.

Pale-flowered Hydrangea 'Farall' is one of the earliest blooming H. aspera cultivars (White House Farm, Kent, UK). Image Maurice Foster.

Hydrangea 'Farall' shoots flower simultaneously (White House Farm, Kent, UK). Image Maurice Foster.

Hydrangea 'Farall': flower and foliage (White House Farm, Kent, UK; 12 July 2023). Image Julian Sutton.

'Formosa'

Fertile flowers purple, sterile flowers paler with serrated sepal margins; inflorescences large, claimed to be up to 50 cm across. Leaves very broad, to 60 cm across. A wild collection from central Taiwan before 2009, under BSWJ 7025, attributable to H. kawakamii although initially labelled H. robusta by Crûg Farm. (Crûg Farm Plants 2024)

'Giel'

A sport of H. sargentiana with bright yellow young leaves, sometimes edged orange; leaves age light green, with yellow/orange autumn colour possible. Otherwise typical H. sargentiana, with lavender-blue fertile and white sterile flowers. Leaf scorching is possible in very hot sunny positions. Found 2012 by Dutch nurseryman Rene Coonen, introduced 2018. Protected by European Plant Breeders’ Rights. (Rice 2018; Bluebell Arboretum and Nursery 2024)

Hydrangea aspera (sargentiana) 'Giel' (GOLD RUSH) in the Centenary Borders at Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, Hampshire, UK (2 June 2024). Image Jack Aldridge.

Hydrangea aspera (sargentiana) 'Giel' (GOLD RUSH) in flower at Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, Hampshire, UK (23 July 2023). Image Jack Aldridge.

Hydrangea aspera (sargentiana) 'Giel' (GOLD RUSH) is a yellow-leaved sport (Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, Hampshire, UK; 23 June 2024). Image Julian Sutton.

Hydrangea aspera (sargentiana) 'Giel' (GOLD RUSH) growing in full sun at Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, Hampshire, UK: in some areas such as eastern North America it is better grown in light shade to avoid leaf scorch (23 June 2024). Image Julian Sutton.

'Golden Needle'

Many extra sterile flowers, approaching a mophead form; sepals green becoming light pink; height to 2.5 m, can prove floppy. A wild find in NE Sichuan by Ozzie Johnson, on a 2004 collecting trip with Dan Hinkley and Scott McMahan, named for a karst feature in Sichuan. Usually attributed to H. strigosa but has been compared to H. villosa: more study is required. (Dirr 2021; Nurseries Caroliniana 2024; Hydrangeas Plus 2024; Heronswood Garden 2023)

'Goldilocks'

A branch sport on ‘Mauvette’ with light yellow-green young foliage, an attractive foil for the flowers. Less extreme than ‘Giel’, and to some eyes more tasteful, worthy of wider planting. Found before 2018 by Mark Fillan on a plant at Nicholas Lock’s nursery (hence the name!) in Cornwall, UK (M. Fillan pers. comm. 2024; Jearrard’s Herbal 2018).

Hydrangea 'Goldilocks', a rarely seen sport on 'Mauvette' with a yellowish cast to the young leaves (nursery stock, Devon, UK; 2 August 2024). Image Julian Sutton.

Flowers of Hydrangea 'Goldilocks' (nursery stock, Devon, UK; 2 August 2024). Image Julian Sutton.

'Gongshan'

Leaf backs dark red with strigose indumentum, young growth red-flushed; leaves large, broadly ovate. Fertile flowers blue-purple, sterile flowers pink. Perhaps the boldest of the dark leaved cultivars, but not the hardiest. For Maurice Foster in Kent, UK, it was killed back to 3 year old wood by a cold winter, although the vigorous regrowth had exceptionally large leaves, to 32 cm × 16 cm, suggesting that annual stooling for foliage might be worth trying in colder areas. Tentatively ascribed to H. strigosa. A selection from Maurice Foster’s collection MF 20067 (near Gongshan, NW Yunnan, 2000): the other five seedlings raised had plain green leaves. It was named from a plant given to Tom Hudson at Tregrehan, Cornwall, where it thrives, making a 2–3 m shrub in the walled garden (Foster 2023; M. Foster pers. comm. 2025). A claim in The Hillier Manual (Edwards & Marshall 2019) that it originated from Hudson’s own TH 2565 seems to be an error. Further confusion may have arisen from collections made in the area from a large leaved H. aspera population with coppery young foliage by Foster (MF 20047, 20048, 20050) and others (M. Foster, J. Aldridge pers. comms. 2025).

Hydrangea 'Gongshan' in flower at Tregrehan, Cornwall, UK. 4 August 2021. Image Jack Aldridge.

Hydrangea 'Gongshan' looking magnificent in full flower at Tregrehan, Cornwall, UK. 4 August 2021. Image Jack Aldridge.

Rather tender Hydrangea 'Gongshan' can form an impressive 2–3 m shrub in milder gardens (Tregrehan, Cornwall, UK; 4 June 2023). Image Julian Sutton.

Hydrangea 'Gongshan' is perhaps the boldest of the dark-leaved cultivars (Tregrehan, Cornwall, UK; 4 June 2023). Image Julian Sutton.

Hydrangea 'Gongshan': leaf undersurface with strigose indumentum (Tregrehan, Cornwall, UK; 4 June 2023). Image Julian Sutton.

'Hpopr012'

Leaves purple-flushed when young, at maturity dark green above, maroon-red beneath; ovate, about three times as long as broad. Fertile flowers blue-purple, sterile flowers soft pink with a slightly cupped form; flowering July. The original plant was a shrub of about 1.5 × 1.5 m after more than 10 years, having survived two especially cold winters without dying back. An open pollinated seedling of ‘Koki’ raised by Maurice Foster in 2006, introduced by Oprins Plant, Belgium in 2014. Widely offered in Europe; protected by European Plant Breeders’ Rights. (Foster 2013; Edwards & Marshall 2019; Dirr 2021)

Hydrangea 'Hpopr012' (HOT CHOCOLATE) photographed with its' raiser, British plantsman Maurice Foster. RHS Garden Wisley, UK; 17 August 2023. Image Jack Aldridge.

Hydrangea 'Hpopr012' (=HOT CHOCOLATE) in flower at RHS Garden Wisley, UK. 17 August 2023. Image Jack Aldridge.

Hydrangea 'Hpopr012' (HOT CHOCOLATE) in full flower on Battleston Hill at RHS Garden Wisley, UK. 17 August 2023. Image Jack Aldridge.

Comparison between sterile flowers of Hydrangea 'Koki' (left) and 'Hpopr012' (HOT CHOCOLATE) (right). Image Jack Aldridge.

Hydrangea 'Hpopr012' (HOT CHOCOLATE) in the raiser's own garden (White House Farm, Kent, UK). Image Maurice Foster.

Hydrangea 'Hpopr012' (HOT CHOCOLATE) has unambiguously pink sterile flowers (White House Farm, Kent, UK). Image Maurice Foster.

Hydrangea 'Hpopr012' (HOT CHOCOLATE) makes a spreading, not especially tall shrub (Darley Park, Derby, UK; 28 August 2023). Image Julian Sutton.

Foliage of Hydrangea 'Hpopr012' (HOT CHOCOLATE), one of the many dark-leaved descendants of 'Koki' (White House Farm, Kent, UK; 12 July 2023). Image Julian Sutton.

Ageing flowers of Hydrangea 'Hpopr012' (HOT CHOCOLATE) (Darley Park, Derby, UK; 28 August 2023). Image Julian Sutton.

'Koki'

Leaves burgundy initially, maturing dark green above, purple-red beneath, the colour best developed in light shade; large, broadly ovate, about twice as long as broad. Fertile flowers purple-pink, sterile flowers whitish; flowering August–September in the UK. A hardy, vigorous plant, 3–4 m tall under good conditions. Discovered but not collected by Mikinori Ogisu in Hubei, it was brought into cultivation at Ogisu’s request by Seiju Yamaguchi in 1998. The most widely grown of the dark-leaved cultivars to date, on both sides of the Atlantic. (Foster 2013; Edwards & Marshall 2019; Dirr 2021)

The rich, dark purple foliage of Hydrangea 'Koki' is arguably its best feature. White House Farm, Kent, UK; 1 June 2022. Image Jack Aldridge.

This magnificent, spreading specimen of Hydrangea 'Koki' at White House Farm (Kent, UK) represents the earliest planting of it in the UK. 12 August 2023. Image Jack Aldridge.

Hydrangea 'Koki' in flower at White House Farm, Kent, UK. 12 August 2023. Image Jack Aldridge.

Hydrangea 'Koki' (BURGUNDY BLISS / PLUM PASSION), a vigorous and hardy cultivar (White House Farm, Kent, UK; 28 July 2022). Image Maurice Foster.

While the foliage is the star, Hydrangea 'Koki' (BURGUNDY BLISS / PLUM PASSION) has respectable flowers too (White House Farm, Kent, UK; 24 August 2021). Image Maurice Foster.

Hydrangea 'Koki' (BURGUNDY BLISS / PLUM PASSION): young and maturing leaves, with flower buds appearing (White House Farm, Kent, UK; 12 July 2023). Image Julian Sutton.

Hydrangea 'Koki' (BURGUNDY BLISS / PLUM PASSION), a hardy, vigorous dark-leaved cultivar (Windcliff garden, WA, USA; 27 June 2023). Image John Grimshaw.

Hydrangea 'Koki' is the best known dark-leaved aspera cultivar, an ancestor of most of the others. It is widely sold under the trade designations BURGUNDY BLISS and PLUM PASSION (Windcliff garden, WA, USA; 27 June 2023). Image John Grimshaw.

'La Fosse'

In effect a particularly impressive form of H. sargentiana (presumably a seedling from it) with larger, more rounded, even thicker-textured leaves, flowering July–August. Like H. sargentiana, best in a sheltered site. Originated before 1990 at Arboretum de la Fosse in France’s Loire Valley. (Pan-Global Plants 2024; Sous Un Arbre Perché 2024; Association Shamrock 2022)

The large, hairy leaves of Hydrangea 'La Fosse' deserve a sheltered site (Yorkshire Arboretum, July 2024). Image John Grimshaw.

Hydrangea 'La Fosse' is effectively a more impressive version of H. sargentiana (Yorkshire Arboretum, July 2024). Image John Grimshaw.

'Macrophylla'

Fertile flowers bright purple, sharply contrasting with the white sterile flowers; inflorescence slightly convex. An old, large-leaved cultivar, not quite as large-leaved as H. sargentiana, but a far more tolerant garden shrub, if sometimes loose or gaunt in habit (Foster 2013; Edwards & Marshall 2019; Lawson-Hall & Rothera 1995). Sometimes claimed to have been introduced by Ernest Wilson in the early 20th century, but we cannot link it to a specific collection and this might be down to confusion with H. strigosa var. macrophylla (Hemsley) Rehder, long since sunk into H. strigosa. Wilson gathered seed then identified as H. strigosa var. macrophylla under W 757 (W Hupei, 1907 – Sargent 1913; Bean 1981). However, the indumentum of ‘Macrophylla’ does not match H. strigosa at all (Bean 1981; pers. obs. 2024); instead this might be either an outcrossed garden seedling from it, or an unrelated use of the name.

Hydrangea 'Macrophylla' inflorescence at Kew (18 July 2008). Image John Anderson.

Hydrangea 'Macrophylla' at Kew (18 July 2008). Image John Anderson.

Hydrangea 'Macrophylla' has fairly large, bright green leaves. The fertile and sterile flowers contrast well (Cholmondeley Castle, Cheshire, UK; 26 July 2024). Image Barry Grain.

Current year's stem hairs of Hydrangea 'Macrophylla' (left) compared with H. sargentiana (right) (Dartington Hall, Devon / Valley Gardens, Surrey, UK; 26 July / 24 June 2024). Image Julian Sutton.

Hydrangea 'Macrophylla': leaf undersurface (Dartington Hall, Devon, UK; 26 July 2024). Image Julian Sutton.

'Mauvette'

Fertile flowers mauve, a ‘different and distinctive soft colour’ (Foster 2023); sterile flowers lilac fading greyish pink, sometimes with serrated sepals; inflorescences strongly domed, to 15 cm across; leaves smaller than most; habit relatively compact, to about 2 × 2 m. Very like ‘Peter Chappell’ except in flower colour. Reputedly H. aspera s.s. × H. villosa, it appeared in the Dutch nursery trade about 1983, origin unknown. (Foster 2013; Lawson-Hall & Rothera 1995; Hydrangea Derby 2024; Association Shamrock 2022).

Hydrangea 'Mauvette' in flower at RHS Garden Wisley, UK (23 July 2024). Image Jack Aldridge.

Hydrangea 'Mauvette' with distinctly mauve fertile flowers, in the Valley Gardens, Windsor Great Park, UK (26 July 2024). Image John Anderson.

Hydrangea 'Mauvette' just past its peak with the sterile flowers ageing greyish-pink (Yorkshire Arboretum, UK, August 2024). Image John Grimshaw.

'Monpulsel'

A dark leaved seedling of ‘Koki’, the patent application claiming no difference in leaf colour, but a stronger, more densely branched, less floppy habit. Height to about 2 m. Selected 2013 by Monrovia Nursery Co. in Oregon, protected by US Plant Patent 30,596 (Google Patents 2024; Dirr 2021)

'Peter Chappell'

Distinctive for its pale flowers, the fertile white from pink buds, the sterile pure white; inflorescences to 20 cm across. Leaves smaller than most, with a relatively compact habit, reaching about 2 × 2 m. One of the most tolerant of full sun. A gift before 1990 from plantsman Peter Chappell of Hampshire, UK to Maurice Foster, who named it for him, ultimate origin unknown. (Foster 2013; Edwards & Marshall 2019; Association Shamrock 2022).

Ageing flowers of Hydrangea 'Peter Chappell' (Liss Nursery, Hampshire, UK; 24 August 2009). Image John Anderson.

Hydrangea 'Peter Chappell' is a relatively compact cultivar, reaching about 2 × 2 m (Cholmondeley Castle, Cheshire, UK; 26 July 2024). Image Barry Grain.

Hydrangea 'Peter Chappell' is more tolerant of full sun than most asperas. Image Maurice Foster.

Hydrangea 'Peter Chappell': the massed effect of ageing flowers at Darley Park, Derby, UK (28 August 2023). Image Julian Sutton.

Hydrangea 'Peter Chappell' has white flowers, the fertile ones opening from pink buds (Darley Park, Derby, UK; 28 August 2023). Image Julian Sutton.

'Pink Cloud'

A selection from H. robusta L 2021 (Boaxing, Sichuan, 1993), one of the two seedlings sent by RBG Kew to Trelissick, Cornwall, making sufficient impact to be named by head gardener Barry Champion (the other is ‘Blue Skies’). The original still exists at Trelissick, a massive shrub in sheltered woodland, with pale pink sterile and deeper pink fertile flowers (Aldridge 2025). Confusion has followed this still-rare cultivar. Roy Lancaster, believing his collection not to have become established in gardens, was given a plant by Trelissick and named it ‘Roy’s Surprise’, not knowing it had already been named. A propagation mix-up meant that plants distributed further by Lancaster as ‘Roy’s Surprise’, including one misleadingly described in The Hillier Manual (Edwards & Marshall 2019), were in fact H. sargentiana. The influence of the Manual has confused matters further still, with examples of genuine ‘Pink Cloud’ having been seen labelled ‘Roy’s Surprise’ (Aldridge 2025).

Hydrangea robusta 'Pink Cloud' (L 2021) in flower at the Shamrock Collection, Varengeville-sur-Mer, France. 9 July 2015. Image Robert Mallet.

The original Hydrangea robusta L 2021 'Pink Cloud' at Trelissick, Cornwall, UK – now growing in quite deep shade (29 July 2022). Image Jack Aldridge.

'Rocklon'

Something of a mystery, origin unknown. Listed in Europe, North America and New Zealand, but descriptions vary too much to be helpful. van Gelderen & van Gelderen (2004), who are generally careful, claim height to 1.5 m, flower heads quite large with white sterile and lilac fertile flowers, and bred by Mark Fillan, UK (who denies this! – pers. comm. 2024). Further research needed.

The same mysterious taxon labelled Hydrangea aspera 'Rocklin' (note the misspelling) at Darley Park, Derbyshire, UK, which apparently rarely flowers on account of being cut hard by frost most winters. 21 August 2023. Image Jack Aldridge.

Foliage of a plant labelled Hydrangea 'Rocklon', a troublesome name (private garden, Ayrshire, UK; 24 August 2023). Image Julian Sutton.

'Rosemary Foster'

Sterile flowers white, ageing reddish; fertile flowers bright purple from dark red buds; August flowering in southern England. Leaves narrowly ovate to lanceolate, acuminate, dark green above, dark red-purple beneath. A dense, spreading, relatively compact plant. Selected about 2010 by Maurice Foster from his breeding program for dark-leaved asperas, named for his late wife. Altogether a colourful and impressive shrub. (Foster 2023; Association Shamrock 2022)

Colourful Hydrangea 'Rosemary Foster' has dark red-purple leaf undersides (White House Farm, Kent, UK; 17 August 2014). Image Maurice Foster.

The original Hydrangea 'Rosemary Foster', a favourite of its namesake (White House Farm, Kent, UK; 20 August 2014). Image Maurice Foster.

Late flower colour in Hydrangea 'Rosemary Foster' (White House Farm, Kent, UK; 17 September 2014). Image Maurice Foster.

Hydrangea 'Rosemary Foster' in bud, showing young leaves with a dark flush above (White House Farm, Kent, UK; 12 July 2023). Image Julian Sutton.

The original Hydrangea 'Rosemary Foster' in maturity, still quite compact by the standards of the H. aspera complex (White House Farm, Kent, UK; 12 July 2023). Image Julian Sutton.

'Sam MacDonald'

Sterile flowers mauve-pink, with slightly serrated sepals; fertile flowers a little bluer. Leaves lanceolate, felted beneath; lower growing than most cultivars, to about 2 m height, with a spreading habit. Usually claimed as H. villosa or a hybrid of it (Foster 2023; Pan-Global Plants 2024; Sous Un Arbre Perché 2024; Hydrangea Derby 2024). Jack Aldridge considers this and ‘Anthony Bullivant’ the ‘go-to villosas’ (pers. comm. 2024). Origin uncertain, but perhaps at Barguillean Nurseries, Taynuilt, Argyll & Bute, UK, which was run by Sam MacDonald (C. Campbell-Preston pers.comm. to J. Aldridge 2024)

Hydrangea 'Sam MacDonald' has a spreading habit. Image Maurice Foster.

'Sapa'

A name used for material collected in the Sapa area, N Vietnam. Nick Macer (Pan-Global Plants, UK) has used it for Crûg Farm’s 2000 collection BSWJ 8201 (lilac-blue fertile and white sterile flowers; narrow leaves with sparse, stiff, appressed hairs; attributed to H. strigosa – Pan-Global Plants 2024; N. Macer pers. comm. 2025). However, the International Register notes an earlier use for a plant in the complex, by Didier Boos in 1996 (Association Shamrock 2022).

'Sealing Wax'

Very large inflorescences of lavender fertile and cream sterile flowers; ‘large velvety-textured, Elvis-painting-tinged foliage held by remarkable rich red petioles’ (Hinkley 2024); height about 1.8 m. A collection made in Guizhou, 2011, by Dan Hinkley under DJHG 11030, attributed by him to H. robusta; not yet much seen or tried beyond the Pacific Northwest.

'September Splendour'

A wild collection from NE Taiwan (hence attributed to H. kawakamii) under BSWJ 3462, selected for September flowering in North Wales, UK; white sterile and purple fertile flowers, with large, broad, conspicuously hairy leaves as usual for kawakamii. Introduced by Crûg Farm Plants about 2003. (Crûg Farm Plants 2024; Association Shamrock 2022)

'Spinners'

Fertile flowers purple; sterile flowers lilac, and quite small. Leaves narrowly ovate to lanceolate, slightly hairy; height to about 2.5 m. Maurice Foster (2023) considers it a reliable cultivar. Selected at Peter Chappell’s Spinners Nursery, Hampshire, UK before 1980; usually claimed as H. villosa × H. aspera s.s.. (Staels 2024; Hydrangeas Plus 2024; Association Shamrock 2022)

Hydrangea aspera 'Spinners' has purple fertile flowers and quite small lilac sterile flowers. (Vert'tige nursery, Louargat, Brittany, France; 2 September 2023) Image Guillaume Mamdy.

Maurice Foster considers Hydrangea aspera 'Spinners' a reliable cultivar. In a slight breeze the blooms appear to be floating in air. (Vert'tige nursery, Louargat, Brittany, France, 2 September 2023). Image Guillaume Mamdy.

Underside of the leaves of Hydrangea aspera 'Spinners' (Garden de Witte Hoeve, Aartselaar, Belgium; 27 September 2011). Image Guillaume Mamdy.

'Taiwan'

Fertile flowers violet-purple from dark pink buds, sterile flowers pale pink, quite small with long pedicels; late flowering (typically September in southern England). Leaves ovate-lanceolate, with conspicuous white felted hairs beneath, bronze tinted when young. A very large, spreading shrub; Maurice Foster’s plant in Kent, UK measured 2.5 × 7 m after 15 years. Perhaps the first, certainly the first recent introduction attributable to H. kawakamii, by Maurice Mason, Norfolk, UK from seed sent by the Taiwanese forestry authority before 1990; named by Foster. (Foster 2023; Association Shamrock 2022)

Hydrangea kawakamii 'Taiwan' will make a large shrub, flowering late in the season – only just beginning to flower here at Darley Park, Derbyshire, UK. 21 August 2023. Image Jack Aldridge.

Hydrangea kawakamii 'Taiwan', a large, very late flowering shrub: no flowers are yet visible here in late August (private garden, Argyll & Bute, UK; 22 August 2023). Image Julian Sutton.

Hydrangea kawakamii 'Taiwan': foliage (private garden, Argyll & Bute, UK; 22 August 2023). Image Julian Sutton.

'The Ditch'

Fertile flowers purple, sterile flowers pale lilac; compact habit, often under 2 m. Originated at Peter Chappell’s Spinners Garden, Hampshire, UK, before 1980. (Staels 2024; Larch Cottage Nurseries 2024; Association Shamrock 2022; Mallet 2016)

Hydrangea aspera 'The Ditch' has small, pretty sterile flowers. Shamrock Hydrangea Collection, Varengeville-sur-Mer, France; 10 August 2023. Image Jack Aldridge.

Hydrangea aspera 'The Ditch' in flower at Shamrock Hydrangea Collection, Varengeville-sur-Mer, France. 10 August 2023 Image Jack Aldridge.

'Titania'

Sterile flowers white, exceptionally large, to 7 cm across, sepals irregularly toothed. Leaves large, to 30 cm long, dark green with red petioles, midribs and veins. Sometimes attributed to H. robusta. Found in a ditch in Northern Vietnam by Tom Hudson, named by Maurice Foster. (Dirr 2021; Foster 2023; pers. obs. 2024)

Sterile flowers within the Hydrangea aspera complex: at the centre, dwarfing the rest, is H. 'Titania' (White House Farm, Kent, UK; 19 August 2012). Image Maurice Foster.

Hydrangea 'Titania' in bud at White House Farm, Kent, UK (23 August 2015). Image Maurice Foster.

Hydrangea 'Titania' in bud at White House Farm, Kent, UK (12 July 2023). Image Julian Sutton.

Hydrangea 'Titania' has red stems, petioles and midribs (nursery stock, Devon, UK; 2 August 2024). Image Julian Sutton.

The large, showy inflorescences of Hydrangea 'Titania' (nursery stock, Devon, UK; 2 August 2024). Image Julian Sutton.

Hydrangea 'Titania' has exceptionally large sterile flowers (nursery stock, Devon, UK; 2 August 2024). Image Julian Sutton.

Hydrangea 'Titania': leaf undersurface (nursery stock, Devon, UK; 2 August 2024). Image Julian Sutton.

'Trelissick'

Flowers white, sterile flowers to 5 cm across. A large-flowered clone attributed to H. longipes, with the usual longipes features of very long petioles and sprawling habit to 2.5 × 5 m. Given to Maurice Foster by the curator of Trelissick, Cornwall, UK, and sometimes available commercially in Europe (Foster 2013). Unfortunately, another aspera clone from Trelissick, a late flowering strigosa-like plant has had a small UK distribution by Mark Fillan and others as H. aspera ‘Trelissick’.

Hydrangea 'Trelissick', with large sterile flowers in addition to the broadly ovate leaves on long petioles characteristic of H. longipes (White House Farm, Kent, UK; 12 July 2023). Image Julian Sutton.

Hydrangea 'Trelissick' flowering with a H. serrata cultivar at White House Farm, Kent, UK (12 July 2023). Image Julian Sutton.

'Velvet and Lace'

Fertile flowers purple-blue, sterile flowers mauve-pink with finely toothed sepals, somewhat nodding and staying attractive for months even as they fade; inflorescences domed, to 22 cm across. Leaves ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, to 22 cm long, with felted hairs beneath. Ultimate height and spread 2 × 3 m. Clearly a superb clone of H. villosa, it was distributed for many years by Hillier Nurseries, UK, simply as H. villosa before being named. Maurice Foster, whose expertise goes far beyond hydrangeas, places it ‘in the first rank of effective flowering shrubs’. (Foster 2023; Edwards & Marshall 2019)

Hydrangea 'Velvet and Lace' remains attractive for months (late September at White House Farm, Kent, UK). Image Maurice Foster.

'Windcliffay'

A dark-leaved seedling from ‘Koki’, grown for 10 years at Dan Hinkley’s Windcliff Garden in Washington State as ‘Clone A’. Described as having ‘supremely dark velveted foliage and large lacecaps of notable pink’, ultimately reaching 2.5 × 2.5 m. The name derives from “Windcliff A” in homage to the naming of Eucryphia × nymansensis ‘Nymansay’. Distributed by Windcliff Plants from 2023/4 (Hinkley 2024)