Hydrangea Section Macrophyllae Cultivars B

'Bachstelze'

(Teller Series, introduced 1987) Sterile flowers white, fertile flowers bluish/pinkish; sometimes with later flowers on lateral shoots. Rather more compact and less floppy than ‘Libelle’, the original white flowered Teller, which was its pollen parent as well as its seed parent’s pollen parent (Hempel, Hohe & Tränkner 2018). Suitable for pot or garden culture (van Gelderen & van Gelderen 2004). Bachstelze is the White (Pied) Wagtail, a passerine bird of Europe and Asia.

Hydrangea 'Bachstelze' is more compact than its earlier stablemate 'Libelle'. Image Maurice Foster.

'Bailday'

Sterile flowers white, with rounded sepals; fertile flowers pigmented; overall very like H. ‘Mariesii’ in flower. Leaves variegated, green and white; height claimed as 1.5 m. Probably best in light shade to avoid leaf scorch. Claimed as a sport / shoot selection from “Mariesii Variegata” (presumably ‘Tricolor’); this seems likely. A trawl of internet images (pers. obs. 2024) suggests more conspicuous and regular white edging than in ‘Tricolor’, although there will inevitably be selection bias here; small blue-green zones can sometimes be seen. Interestingly, ‘Bailmer’ throws various sports in commercial production, including some with uniform light yellow foliage. Marketed by Bailey Nurseries, USA. (Dirr 2021). It never flowers in upstate New York for Boebel (2011).

Hydrangea 'Bailday' (LIGHT-O-DAY), with white-edged leaves: note the shoots with larger white zones or plain green leaves (Morton Arboretum, IL, United States; 28 September 2014). Image Deborah J.G. Brown, Courtesy of The Morton Arboretum.

'Bailmacfive'

(Endless Summer® Series) Flowers purplish or raspberry red / deep pink; remontant. Compact, branching habit; height to about 1 m, claimed as dwarfer than its parent ‘Agrihydradrie’ (HOT RED). Selected 2014 by Michael Dirr and colleagues, University of Georgia, from a cross between ‘Agrihydradrie’ and ‘Piihm-II’ (BLOOMSTRUCK®). Introduced 2019 by Bailey Nurseries; protected by US Plant Patent 30,359 and European Plant Breeder’s Rights (Dirr 2021; Google Patents 2024; Endless Summer 2024). Dirr cites good performance at the North American Hydrangea Test Garden in coastal Massachusetts.

Hydrangea 'Bailmacfive' (SUMMER CRUSH®) does not blue at all readily (nursery stock at Plant Introductions International, Georgia, USA; 4 May 2022). Image Michael Dirr.

Hydrangea 'Bailmacfive' (SUMMER CRUSH®), a notably compact selection, under garden conditions (24 May 2019). Image Michael Dirr.

Hydrangea 'Bailmacfive' (SUMMER CRUSH®) (nursery stock at Plant Introductions International, Georgia; 30 May 2016). Image Michael Dirr.

'Bailmer'

(Endless Summer® Series) Flowers blue/pink, remontant; height to about 1.5 m. In many ways a run-of-the-mill mophead, ‘Bailmer’ is amply redeemd by two features. Firstly it is very hardy, able to flower even in USDA Zone 4 gardens. Secondly it is remontant, producing a succession of flowers on lateral shoots but also on the current year’s shoots coming from the base (‘new wood’). The original plant was spotted in 1983 flowering in the yard of Dennis Bostrom, St Paul, Minnesota (Zone 5a) by Vernon ‘Vern’ Black, propagator at Bailey Nurseries, where it was propagated and evaluated over some years. On the lookout for remontant parents to use in breeding, Michael Dirr, University of Georgia, saw the plant in 1998, recognized its potential and instigated wider trials before it came to market. (Other very similar remontant finds made in the United States around the same time include ‘Penny Mac’.) Protected by US Plant Patent 15,298. The trade designation ENDLESS SUMMER® was jotted down by Dirr as he returned home from first seeing the plant. It became one of the genetic founders of the remontant Endless Summer Series, and is now often known as ENDLESS SUMMER® THE ORIGINAL (ESTO) to distinguish it. (Dirr 2021; Google Patents 2024; Endless Summer 2024)

‘All Summer Beauty’, as well as ‘Dooley’ and ‘Semperflorens’ (not described here), are extremely similar to ‘Bailmer’ (Boebel 2011): note that nobody claims ‘Bailmer’ as anything other than an unidentified plant noticed in a garden. They may, at the very least, share a common genetic origin. ‘Semperflorens’ is the earliest of these names, a plant imported under that name from Japan (Association Shamrock 2022).

Hydrangea 'Bailmer' (ENDLESS SUMMER®), a hardy and remontant mophead (Morton Arboretum, IL, United States). Image John Hagstrom, Courtesy of The Morton Arboretum.

Hydrangea 'Bailmer' (ENDLESS SUMMER®) flowering on new growth (Morton Arboretum, IL, United States). Image John Hagstrom, Courtesy of The Morton Arboretum.

Hydrangea 'Bailmer' (ENDLESS SUMMER®) in blue mode (Morton Arboretum, IL, United States; 22 July 2015). Image Deborah J.G. Brown, Courtesy of The Morton Arboretum.

Hydrangea 'Bailmer' (ENDLESS SUMMER®) in an intermediate mauve shade (Morton Arboretum, IL, United States). Image John Hagstrom, Courtesy of The Morton Arboretum.

'Beauté Vendomoise'

A giant in every way. Large sterile flowers palest blue/pink, each to 8 cm across, with long-clawed sepals leaving distinctive gaps between them; fertile flowers similarly coloured; inflorescences huge, to 25, even 30 cm across. Very vigorous, ‘aggressive’ (Boebel 2011); a large shrub, especially in warmer climates, height to 1.5–3 m. Selected 1908 by Émile Mouillère, France, from ‘Mariesii Grandiflora’ × ‘Rosea’ (Church 2007; Foster 2023; van Gelderen & van Gelderen 2004; Association Shamrock 2022).

Hydrangea 'Beauté Vendomoise' has very large sterile flowers with gaps between the sepals. Image Maurice Foster.

Hydrangea 'Beauté Vendomoise': fertile flowers are more strongly coloured than the very pale sterile ones (private garden, Argyll & Bute, UK; 22 August 2023). Image Julian Sutton.

'Beni-gaku'

Sterile flowers with usually only 3 unequal sepals, white, maturing through pink to red, the centres usually paler; fertile flowers white; a weak grower best given light shade and good moisture levels. An old Japanese cultivar; in Europe the name is usually seen attached to the stronger ‘Beni-yama’: the usually 3 rather than 4, larger sepals on the sterile flowers, and white rather than lilac fertile flowers are diagnostic. (Foster 2023)

Hydrangea serrata 'Beni-gaku' is not a strong plant. Note the white fertile flowers as the sterile flowers mature through pink to red. Image Maurice Foster.

'Beni-temari'

Sterile flowers white, maturing soft pink, sometimes eventually reddish, in loose mopheads; a rounded shrub to about 1 × 1 m. Discovered by Takeomi Yamamoto, although similar plants were grown in Japan during the Edo period (1603–1868) and subsequently lost. (Foster 2023; van Gelderen & van Gelderen 2004; Association Shamrock 2022)

Hydrangea serrata 'Beni-temari' showing good late colour at Darley Park, Derby, UK (21 August 2023). Image Jack Aldridge.

Hydrangea serrata 'Beni-temari': pink tones intensify as the flowers age. Image Maurice Foster.

Hydrangea serrata 'Beni-temari', a mophead cultivar. Image Maurice Foster.

'Beni-yama'

Sterile flowers white, maturing through pink to red, the centres usually paler; fertile flowers lilac; the extended flowering period means that various tints are mixed across the plant. Vigorous, to about 1 m height; easy, and tolerant of open, sunny positions although partial shade is ideal. An old Japanese cultivar, sometimes wrongly labelled ‘Beni-gaku’ (a weaker plant) in Europe. (Foster 2023; van Gelderen & van Gelderen 2004)

The pink/red of the sterile flowers intensifies with time in Hydrangea serrata 'Beni-yama' (White House Farm, Kent, UK; 30 July 2023). Image Jack Aldridge.

Sterile flowers of Hydrangea serrata 'Beni-yama' end up a rich red. Image Maurice Foster.

Hydrangea serrata 'Beni-yama' has white sepals maturing towards pink (Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, Hampshire, UK; 23 June 2024). Image Julian Sutton.

Hydrangea serrata 'Beni-yama', a vigorous and tolerant cultivar (Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, Hampshire, UK; 23 June 2024). Image Julian Sutton.

'Besshi-temari'

Sterile flowers pale blue/pink, fading to cream over a period of months; floriferous. One of the more commonly grown mophead H. serrata cultivars in the West, a domed shrub to 1 m. Origin Japanese. (Foster 2023; Sous Un Arbre Perché 2024).

'Big Daddy'

Flowers blue/pink, with as many as 300 sterile flowers packed into inflorescences to 25 cm across, sometimes even larger. Leaves large, shiny dark green. Not particularly cold-hardy. A seedling of undisclosed parentage selected 1996 by Ozzie Johnson, Georgia, USA; protected by US Plant Patent 14,527 (Boebel 2011; Dirr 2021; Google Patents 2024)

Hydrangea 'Big Daddy' can have huge inflorescences: this is quite a modest example (Norfolk Botanical Garden, Virginia – 15 June 2007). Image Mark Weathington / JC Raulston Arboretum.

Late in the season, Hydrangea 'Big Daddy' showing its large leaves and inflorescences (JC Raulston Arboretum, North Carolina – 18 September 2016). Image Maryann Debski / JC Raulston Arboretum.

Black Diamonds Series

European breeding; we describe ‘Dark Angel’ and ‘Red Angel’ which have persisted well in the trade even though the series seems to be defunct as a marketing concept.

Black Steel Series

Black-stemmed cultivars bred and marketed by Van Klaveren Plant, The Netherlands since about 2003. We describe ‘Zebra’; others include ‘Klazu’ (ZULU, BLUE BALL) and ‘Klahyfla’ (FLAMINGO).

'Blauer Prinz'

Flowers blue/pink with pointed sepals, in small, crowded heads; some find it is a superb blue on acidic soils, as one might hope given the name (Church 2007; Foster 2023), while others find it tends to the pink or purplish (Haworth-Booth 1984; van Gelderen & van Gelderen 2004). Compact, around 1 m in height. Introduced 1923 by German breeder Friedrich Matthes (Association Shamrock 2022).

Hydrangea 'Blauer Prinz' has distinctly pointed sepals and often tends towards pinkish or purplish shades even on rather acidic soils, despite the name (private garden, Argyll & Bute, UK; 22 August 2023). Image Julian Sutton.

'Bläuling'

(Teller Series, introduced 1984) Flowers light blue / shell pink, but blueing easily; sepals of sterile flowers slightly dentate; inflorescences large, sometimes with a few later flowers. Compact, to only about 1 m, and suitable for the open garden (Foster 2023; van Gelderen & van Gelderen 2004). Parentage ‘Libelle’ × ‘Enziandom’ (Hempel, Hohe & Tränkner 2018). Named for a blue butterfly.

Hydrangea 'Bläuling', a compact lacecap. Image Maurice Foster.

Hydrangea 'Bläuling' has large inflorescences, 'blueing' readily. Image Maurice Foster.

'Blaumeise'

(Teller Series, introduced 1979) Flowers tending towards a good mid-blue, but variably pink on alkaline soils; sepals of sterile flowers slightly dentate; free-flowering, sometimes with late flowers on side shoots. Vigorous, robust and hardy; height to 2 m (Church 2007; Foster 2023; van Gelderen & van Gelderen 2004). One of the most popular and gardenworthy Tellers, the German name translates as Blue Tit, a European passerine bird. In upstate New York, borderline for flowering, it may perform better as a young plant (Boebel 2011). From the same very successful cross as ‘Eisvogel’ and ‘Nachtigall’: (‘Möwe’ × ‘Glärnisch’) × (‘Bodensee’ × ‘Enziandom’) (Hempel, Hohe & Tränkner 2018).

Hydrangea 'Blaumeise', a popular and reliable lacecap (private garden, Ayrshire, UK; 24 August 2023). Image Julian Sutton.

Hydrangea 'Blaumeise' in pink mode (Darley Park, Derby, UK; 28 August 2023). Image Julian Sutton.

Hydrangea 'Blaumeise' taking on rather indeterminate shades beside a house wall on what is otherwise a very acidic soil (private garden, Ayrshire, UK; 24 August 2023). Image Julian Sutton.

Hydrangea 'Blaumeise' tends towards blue flowers (private garden, Argyll & Bute, UK; 22 August 2023). Image Julian Sutton.

BloomChampion Series

European-bred cultivars licenced by a Dutch consortium, marketed in North America primarily as compact pot plants, since 2022 (Anon 2021). The growing list includes ‘Hore0007’ (ROSSO GLORY) and ‘Hore0046’ (VIBRANT VERDE) (ThinkPlants 2024).

'Blue Billow'

Sterile and fertile flowers blue/pink, the blue potentially an intense shade. Strong stems and coarse leaves; tall for an H. serrata, potentially to 1.5 m; good autumn leaf colour possible. A wild South Korean collection by Richard ‘Dick’ Lighty of the Mt Cuba Center, Delaware, in 1966. Attributed to H. serrata subsp. yezoensis in the International Register, reflecting Corinne Mallet’s belief that this subspecies occurs in Korea (Church 2007; Dirr 2004; Hydrangea Derby 2024; Association Shamrock 2022). The ‘most robust and floriferous H. serrata at Atlanta Botanical Garden’ (Dirr 2004). van Gelderen & van Gelderen (2004) contend that it usually has double flowers, surely an error.

Hydrangea 'Blue Billow' is a wild-origin H. serrata from Korea (Arnold Arboretum, MA, United States; 27 June 2015). Image William (Ned) Friedman / Arnold Arboretum.

Hydrangea 'Blue Billow', robust and floriferous (Arnold Arboretum, MA, United States; 30 June 2019). Image Regina Mission / Arnold Arboretum. Used under the CC BY-NC 4.0 licence..

'Blue Cassell'

Fertile and sterile flowers blue/pink, in large, flat inflorescences, continuing later into the season to some degree. Stems very strong; foliage dark green; height to about 1.25 m. ‘Developed’ – whether a find, sport or seedling is unknown – before 2010 by Curtis ‘Curt’ Cassell, propagator/ grower at Petitti growers, Madison, Ohio. Dirr (2021), who seems impressed by it, notes that it has much in common with the Teller Series. Widely offered by smaller growers in North America, rather than mass-marketed. (Petitti Garden Centers 2024; Dirr 2021; Anon 2010).

'Blue Deckle'

Sterile flowers light blue / pale pink, sepals rather pointed, usually notably serrate, but oddly sometimes entire (Church 2007); fertile flowers a similar colour; free-flowering in July–August, sometimes on lateral as well as terminal shoots. Ultimate height around 1 m, best in light shade. Usually listed under H. serrata, but on morphological grounds more likely a hybrid with H. macrophylla (Foster 2023), something confirmed by molecular work (Reed & Rinehart 2007). Selected before 1950 by Michael Haworth-Booth, UK: ‘bred with the aim of producing a dwarf rival to “Vibraye” (Haworth-Booth 1984). ‘Irresistible’, and ‘ideal for small gardens’ (Church 2007).

Hydrangea 'Blue Deckle', a macrophylla × serrata hybrid, usually has conspicuously toothed sepals. Image Maurice Foster.

Autumn tints in Hydrangea 'Blue Deckle' (Avenue Cottage, Ashprington, Devon, UK; 17 October 2023). Image Julian Sutton.

Hydrangea 'Blue Deckle' has either light blue or light pink flowers, sometimes both on the same plant (Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, Hampshire, UK; 23 June 2024). Image Julian Sutton.

Hydrangea 'Blue Deckle', a compact and reliable hydrangea for general garden use (Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, Hampshire, UK; 23 June 2024). Image Julian Sutton.

'Bluebird'

Sterile flowers pale blue/pink, with usually 4 rounded, entire, non-overlapping sepals; fertile flowers a darker shade; dense, rather large, dark green leaves. Vigorous, height 1 m or more; easy and cold-tolerant to at least –20°C; some have suggested hybrid vigour. Bean (1981) considered it unusually drought-resistant for a serrata. Japanese origin, before 1940, perhaps originally ‘Aigaku’ but the name ‘Bluebird’ (attributed to Dutch nurseryman Karl Wezelenburg, 1931) is firmly established outside Japan. Deservedly one of the most commonly grown and propagated H. serrata cultivars in Europe. (Foster 2023; van Gelderen & van Gelderen 2004; Haworth-Booth 1984; Association Shamrock 2022)

Hydrangea 'Bluebird' flowers age attractively (Darley Park, Derby, UK; 28 August 2023). Image Julian Sutton.

Hydrangea 'Bluebird' continues to produce some new flowers after the first flush (Logan Botanic Garden, Dumfries & Galloway, UK; 25 August 2023). Image Julian Sutton.

Hydrangea 'Bluebird' is vigorous, upright and hardy (The Garden House, Devon, UK; 19 January 2024). Image Julian Sutton.

Hydrangea 'Bluebird', an H. serrata clone or close hybrid (Logan Botanic Garden, Dumfries & Galloway, UK; 25 August 2023). Image Julian Sutton.

'Blushing Bride'

(Endless Summer® Series; Royal Majestics® Series) Flowers with a few small, distorted, extra sepals, white maturing light blue / blush pink, drying red in sun. Claimed as remontant, if less so than ‘Bailmer’ (ENDLESS SUMMER®), although not in cold upstate New York for Boebel (2018). Leaves shiny green, darkest near the edges; height to about 1.8 m, stems moderately strong. From a controlled cross, H. ‘Veitchii’ × ‘Bailmer’ (ENDLESS SUMMER®), selected 2002 by Michael Dirr, University of Georgia for improved mildew resistance over ‘Bailmer’. Protected by US Plant Patent 17,169. ‘Hortmabrid’ (BRIDE) is a different plant with very similar trade designation. (Dirr 2021; Google Patents 2024; Endless Summer 2024; Association Shamrock 2022)

Hydrangea 'Blushing Bride' (Wellfleet, Cape Cod, Massachusetts; 14 July 2019). Image Michael Dirr.

Hydrangea 'Blushing Bride' in light blue mode (Vince Dooley's garden, Athens, GA, USA; 28 May 2016). Image Michael Dirr.

Hydrangea 'Blushing Bride' (Wellfleet, Cape Cod, Massachusetts; 14 July 2019). Image Michael Dirr.

'Bodalan'

(Seduction® Series) Sterile flowers with entire sepals, light blue / light pink, ageing purple-green, in very large, hemispherical heads to 25 cm across, weatherproof and long lasting, on stout stems; claimed to flower on first year wood. Height to about 1.8 m. Bred initially for the cut flower industry, marketed in Europe as a garden plant. Selected 2015 or before by Yang Yu Yong and colleagues at the South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou; protected by European Plant Breeders’ Rights. (Meilland International 2024; Polish Nurserymen Association 2024; Association Shamrock 2022)

'Bodensee'

Flowers blue/pink, in tidy rounded heads, freely borne over a very long season. Shoots strong, to about 1.25 m. Introduced before 1950 by the German breeder Brügge, and long popular in gardens and the nursery trade for its remontancy and good habit for pots; named for the lake on the River Rhine. (Church 2007; van Gelderen & van Gelderen 2004; Association Shamrock 2022)

Flowers of Hydrangea 'Bodensee' ageing to an attractive pale, creamy green (East Ruston Old Vicarage, Norfolk, UK; 19 October 2024). Image Julian Sutton.

'Bouquet Rose'

Flowers lilac / soft pink, tending towards pink but never an intense colour; the flowers age earlier than many to green / violet tints, making it a useful subject for drying. Vigorous and free-flowering but stems rather weak and floppy; potentially as tall as 2 m. Good cold-hardiness, flowering well in upstate New York under Boebel’s (2011) regime. A venerable European cultivar, introduced 1908 by Emile Lemoine, France, arguably superseded but still very much in the nursery trade. (Church 2007; Haworth-Booth 1984; van Gelderen & van Gelderen 2004; Association Shamrock 2022)

'Brügg'

Flowers violet-blue / red-pink, tending towards pink. Strong stemmed but compact, height well under 1 m. Tolerant of sun and wind in the RHS trial in S England (Royal Horticultural Society 2018), but considered tender and best grown as a pot plant by van Gelderen & van Gelderen (2004). Introduced 1971 by Swiss nurseryman E. Haller of Brügg (Foster 2023; van Gelderen & van Gelderen 2004; Association Shamrock 2022)

Hydrangea 'Brügg' flowers tend towards pink. Image Maurice Foster.

'Buchfink'

(Teller Series, introduced 1987) Sterile flowers tending towards pink, reddish purple at their bluest, sometimes in a double ring; in contrast, the fertile flowers tend towards the blue; free-flowering, sometimes with late flowers on side shoots. Vigorous, with good garden credentials; height to about 1.5 m (van Gelderen & van Gelderen 2004; Promesse de Fleurs 2024). Buchfink is the Eurasian Chaffinch.