Herb: Hydrangea


Latin name: Hydrangea serrata


Synonyms: Hydrangea macrophylla acuminata


Family: Hydrangeaceae



Edible parts of Hydrangea:

Young leaves and shoots - cooked. These leaves do not become sweet like those of sspp thunbergii or amagiana or those of H. macrophylla.

Description of the plant:



Plant:
Deciduous
Shrub

Height:
2 m
(6 1/2 foot)

Flowering:
July to
August

Habitat of the herb:

Woodland to 1500 metres in the mountains of C. and S. Japan.

Other uses of Hydrangea:

Can be grown as a low hedge, it is quite wind tolerant.

Propagation of the herb:

Seed - surface sow in a greenhouse in spring. Cover the pot with paper until the seed germinates. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 8cm long, July/August in a frame. Overwinter in a greenhouse and plant out in late spring. Cuttings of mature wood in late autumn in a frame. Mound layering in spring. Takes 12 months. Leaf-bud cuttings of the current seasons growth in a frame.

Cultivation of Hydrangea:

Woodland to 1500 metres in the mountains of C. and S. Japan.

Medicinal use of the herb:

None known

Known hazards of Hydrangea serrata:

None known

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.