Featured Plant

Native to the rich, mixed forests within a broad range of Southern Asia, from China to Tibet, India, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and to the islands of the Philippines and Java, this colorful accent is also a common resident of several themed areas within our Garden.

A close relative of Hydrangea, Dichroa offers a similar shrubby habit to seven feet tall and 5 feet wide with a subtle, yet colorful cluster of flowers at the tip of the stems, each individual a botanically “perfect flower” with pink, purple, or blue petals. Flowering season is quite long for blue evergreen hydrangeas and occurs late spring through summer, followed by a small, candy-blue to purple berry that extends the ornamental nature of the specimen through the fall season. Dichroa prefers part sun to light shade and moist, well-drained soil. If mulched to retain soil moisture, watering may be reduced to once or twice weekly. As with other hydrangeas, flower color can vary depending on both soil acidity and soil aluminum concentration. At low pH (pH<7.0, acid range), aluminum in the soil is in a more soluble form, that is, a form that is much more available to be taken up with water by the plant’s root system. At high pH (pH>7, alkaline/basic range), aluminum is in a form that is much less available for root uptake, as it forms insoluble compounds that cannot readily be absorbed by the root system. Acid soil with a higher concentration of available aluminum will produce deep blue flowers, while soils with a higher pH and lower concentration of available aluminum can range from purple to pink.