Hydrangea heteromalla Species Complex Cultivars

'Bougie'

Sterile flowers double, each with an elongated, pendulous axis bearing whorls of white to cream or greenish sepals. Originated at Arboretum Mustila, Finland, well before 2015; very hardy and probably referable to H. bretschneideri. The name reflects a supposed resemblance of the sterile flowers to Bouganvillea (Arboretum Mustila 2024). Very distinct.

Hydrangea heteromalla 'Bougie' is a unique selection, with double sterile flowers on long, elegant pedicels. White House Farm, Kent, UK; 3 July 2025. Image Jack Aldridge.

Hydrangea heteromalla 'Bougie' in flower at White House Farm, Kent, UK. 3 July 2025. Image Jack Aldridge.

'Fan Si Pan'

Young branchlets and petioles conspicuously red; young leaves bronze-tinted. Collected as seed (BSWJ 8311) on Fan Si Pan, Vietnam where H. heteromalla formed relatively small shrubs no more than 3 m tall. Introduced by Crûg Farm Plants (Crûg Farm Plants 2024).

'Gidie'

Shrub to about 3 m, with very dark, peeling bark; flowers cream ageing red, sweetly scented. Selected from hundreds of seedlings by Peter Vanlaerhoven, 1997, and named for fellow Dutch nurseryman Gidie van Vugt (van Gelderen & van Gelderen 2004).

'Jermyns Lace'

Broad inflorescences with white flowers ageing pink; vigorous, to about 4 m. Named from a plant at the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, Hampshire, UK, originally labelled H. heteromalla var. xanthoneura, and probably referable to H. xanthoneura if one recognizes that poorly differentiated species; selected 1981. One of the more widely grown cultivars. (Edwards & Marshall 2019; Foster 2023; Association Shamrock 2022)

Hydrangea 'Jermyns Lace': the flowers are initially white, but age pink (White House Farm, Kent, UK). Image Maurice Foster.

'June Pink'

Inflorescences white ageing pink to red; potentially tall, to 5 m. Selected in the 1970s at Arboretum Kalmthout, Belgium, by Jelena & Robert de Belder (van Gelderen & van Gelderen 2004; Plantentuin Esveld 2024; Association Shamrock 2022).

'Kalmthout'

Petioles red; large inflorescences, white ageing red. Selected 1999 by Jelena de Belder, Arboretum Kalmthout, Belgium, and distributed by Esveld Nurseries, The Netherlands. (van Gelderen & van Gelderen 2004; Association Shamrock 2022)

'Krista'

Vigorous, to 6 m tall; leaves initially green, ageing red. Raised 1990 by Dutch nurseryman Pieter Zwijnenburg, and named for Krista Bontan, an employee’s daughter. Bears some resemblance to H. xanthoneura (van Gelderen & van Gelderen 2004; Pépinière de la Thyle 2024; Royal Horticultural Society 2009).

'Long White'

Flowers white, not ageing red; claims of elongated inflorescences are not noticeably supported by our observations, including a trawl of online images (pers. obs. 2023–4); upright habit, to 4 m or more; selected before 1997 by Dutch nurseryman Gidie van Vugt (van Gelderen & van Gelderen 2004; Staels 2024; Association Shamrock 2022).

Hydrangea heteromalla 'Long White' with ageing inflorescences, at Darley Park, Derbyshire, UK (21 August 2023). Image Jack Aldridge.

Hydrangea heteromalla 'Long White' has made a large shrub outside the walled garden at Darley Park, Derbyshire, UK (21 August 2023). Image Jack Aldridge.

'Morrey's Form'

Lower growing, to around 3 m; large inflorescences to 20 cm across; flowers white ageing pink, sepals of sterile flowers relatively narrow and curled; free-flowering; origin unknown, before 2000 (van Gelderen & van Gelderen 2004; Crûg Farm Plants 2024; Foster 2023).

'Nepal Beauty'

Leaves large, with red margins and petioles; inflorescences large, loose, and later than most in July. Claimed by many as slower and smaller growing (Edwards & Marshall 2019), and difficult to propagate (van Gelderen & van Gelderen 2004), a few have found it tall (to 5 m) and exceptionally vigorous (Pépinière de la Thyle 2024). The single surviving seedling from a wild Nepalese collection grown at Esveld Nurseries, The Netherlands, 1994, it is a possibly a natural hybrid, perhaps with a member of the H. aspera complex (van Gelderen & van Gelderen 2004). As so often with these plants, nobody can really be sure without DNA studies.

Hydrangea 'Nepal Beauty' has large inflorescences (22 June 2006). Image Koen Camelbeke (Arboretum Wespelaar).

'Snowcap'

Vigorous and upright; large, flat, white inflorescences to 20 cm across, not ageing pink; leaves large, with reddish petioles, sometimes developing purplish or bronze tints, especially in full sun. A seedling of Himalayan origin, grown for years as H. robusta (Section Asperae) at the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, Hampshire, UK; recognized as a superior H. heteromalla and named before 1970 (Hillier Nurseries 1970). One of the best and more widely distributed cultivars. (Edwards & Marshall 2019; Foster 2023; van Gelderen & van Gelderen 2004; Pépinière de la Thyle 2024)

Hydrangea heteromalla 'Snowcap' has large, white inflorescences (Arboretum Het Leen, Belgium; 24 May 2014). Image Koen Camelbeke (Arboretum Wespelaar).

Hydrangea heteromalla 'Snowcap' has large leaves with reddish petioles (Arboretum Het Leen, Belgium; 24 May 2014). Image Koen Camelbeke (Arboretum Wespelaar).

Hydrangea heteromalla 'Snowcap' is a superior selection of Himalayan origin, for many years distributed as H. robusta in the nursery trade (Arboretum Het Leen, Belgium; 24 May 2014). Image Koen Camelbeke (Arboretum Wespelaar).

'Willy'

Leaves taking on various yellow, bronze or tobacco-like tints; large, flat white inflorescences much like those of ‘Snowcap’, the plant perhaps a little less tall; flowers sweetly scented. Raised 1990 by Dutch nurseryman Pieter Zwijnenburg (van Gelderen & van Gelderen 2004; Pépinière de la Thyle 2024).

Hydrangea heteromalla 'Willy' is represented in the collection at Darley Park, Derbyshire, UK. 21 August 2023. Image Jack Aldridge.

'Wilsonii'

Referable to H. xanthoneura, what is grown today under this name and the synonyms above is a fine, early flowering plant (sometimes even in early May in southern England), with bright green, lustrous, elliptic-oblong leaves and white flowers in flat corymbs, capable of being pruned into a small tree of 3 m height (Foster 2023; Crûg Farm Plants 2024; Hillier Nurseries 1981). ‘Now very rare in gardens but remains one of the best’ (Foster 2023).

H. xanthoneura var. wilsonii was described by Rehder (in Sargent 1913) on the very tenuous basis of greyish-yellow first year bark, from a few Wilson specimens (W Sichuan, 1908); it has generally been ignored by botanists, even Rehder implying that there was a continuum between it and typical H. xanthoneura. The plant we have may well descend from a Wilson collection, but evidence is absent. It has certainly been passed around clonally for much of the 20th century, the Arnold Arboretum receiving rooted cuttings several times in the 1950s from Hillier Nurseries, UK, who listed it for many years. Perhaps a single clone is grown today; if there prove to be multiple, similar clones a Wilsonii Group would be appropriate.

Hydrangea xanthoneura 'Wilsonii' has pure white flowers in rather flat corymbs (White House Farm, Kent, UK). Image Maurice Foster.

One of the finest cultivars in the Hydrangea heteromalla complex, H. xanthoneura 'Wilsonii' has pure is relatively early flowering (White House Farm, Kent, UK). Image Maurice Foster.

'Yalung Ridge'

Young leaves reddish with red petioles, maturing dark green; inflorescences to 18 cm, pale pink to white; selected from a Nepalese seed collection by Tony Schilling around 1980 (Edwards & Marshall 2019; van Gelderen & van Gelderen 2004; Association Shamrock 2022).