Hydrangeas for American Gardens

Rating:
Summary: A Valuable Contribution
Review: Far too often the horticulture literature consumed by American gardeners is written from a European perspective. While useful, such accounts miss the idiosyncracies endemic to gardening in the United States. For example, Hydrangea macrophylla -- the star of this book -- displays grossly different tendencies depending upon growing climate. Dirr attempts and succeeds in turning the tide with this new book. Information is dispensed in an easy-to-read, organized format that has become one of Dirr's trademarks (along with his opinionated voice, which is apparent here, as well). The author's insights gleaned from many years spent growing and observing plant material across the continent is invaluable. Perhaps most satisfying, however, is the book's presentation of the current state of the genus Hydrangea. The new horticultural forms of H. quercifolia, H. arborescens and, especially, the Japanese imports of H. macrophylla and H. serrata are all addressed in detail. While it is unfortunate more attention could not be given to EVERY cultivar (a full paragraph would have been wonderful, but length limitations are understandable), tables are presented. It is my opinion that Schizophragma and Decumaria should have been addressed here, as well. Despite these minor flaws, anyone interested in this most ornamental group of small trees, shrubs and vines will benefit from this effort.

Rating:
Summary: For Horticulturalists Only
Review: Full of beautiful pictures and containing much helpful information, one would think that this book is the perfect resource for home gardening enthusiasts and hydrangea lovers. However, the most important information for gardeners without a degree in horticulture is the USDA Hardiness zone. In my opinion, without this information, the book is useless. I had high hopes that this book would contain it all; I was sorely disappointed. Keep searching unless you just want to add one more hydrangea book to your collection.

Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Book for Hydrangea Lovers
Review: Hydrangeas have been a favorite of mine ever since I moved to an old farmhouse in the middle of Baltimore City and saw an old fashioned Mop Head Hydrangea in full, glorious bloom in the back yard. The plant was probably fifty years old and incredibly big and vigorous. This one plant sparked a passion that is still going strong over twenty years later.

Hydrangeas for American Gardens by Michael Dirr is the most comprehensive book available on Hydrangeas. This is not just another pretty coffee table book. If you are interested in Hydrangeas, you will probably frequently refer to the book's in depth information on Hydrangeas.

The book gives extensive information on many of the cultivars available, but neglects to give extensive zone hardiness information. This oversight is particularly unfortunate, since the book is written for gardens here in the USA, where Texas gardens are in an extremely different climate from Maine gardens. However, the book does note some hardiness information in the descriptions of various cultivars and it also has several lists of plants that are hardy and aren't hardy below zone 7.

The book begins with the standard information that any good book on a single plant species covers. It discusses taxonomy and nomenclature. However, don't let this scientific information put you off or make you feel the book will be too difficult to read. You can always move straight to chapter two.

I was pleased to see that chapter two of the book covers the usually neglected climbing hydrangea. I have a special fondness for these quiet, lush vines. Chapters three to ten continue to discuss hydrangea species, with chapter eleven covering some less common varieties. Chapter seven, Hydrangea macrophylla, includes an excellent cultivar chart that allows you to compare cultivars of these popular hydrangeas. A wonderful bonus in this book is the lovely colored pencil drawings scattered throughout these chapters.

Chapter twelve, Garden Care and Culture, discusses the best growing conditions for these plants. The section on flower color is particularly useful for those people longing for blue flowers on their pink bushes.

If you are interested in growing your own hydrangeas, don't neglect the propagation advice in chapter thirteen. The information is simple enough for even a beginner to understand.

Chapter fourteen discusses pests and diseases, while fifteen covers a variety of additional information, such as how to cut blossoms. The final chapter covers the future of the hydrangea.

The book ends with a useful appendix of resources for anyone interested in tracking down some of the rarer cultivars.

I thoroughly enjoyed this exceptional book. It is a definitive guide for anyone interested in hydrangeas. I give Hydrangeas for American Gardens five out of five sunflowers.

Rating:
Summary: This is the best book available on Hydrangeas in the U.S.
Review: I could not wait for this book to come out. It is the only book written on the cultivation of hydrangeas by a comtemporary American author (as of 2004). As the title indicates, the material in this book focuses on hydrangeas in American gardens, however, the author has visited hydrangea gardens all over Europe and Japan, and brings a world wide perspective to his subject. I think the most valuable part of this book is the extensive coverage of hydrangeas of all types, their characteristics and growth habits. It makes choosing hydrangeas for the landscape a real adventure. I noticed that the author has taken all the gorgeous photographs himself, and his wife has done the illustrations and watercolors.

The author is known for his innovative work in developing new hydrangeas for cold climates. He has also discovered some rare hydrangeas. He discusses this breeding program as well as future prospects in his last chapter. I found this fascinating.

Also included is a hardiness planting zone chart.