The last 13-14 months of weather turned me into "The Gardening Curmudgeon." Truth be told, my garden was the most beautiful ever, and I’m not tossing blue sky to you. Well maybe I am to a point, but I’ll explain. A Polar Vortex after a mild fall in 2022 followed by a late freeze after leaf emergence took a toll on buds of many blooming shrubs including hydrangeas.

I was caught whimpering about the hydrangeas that had few to zero blossoms, while right in front of me was a breeding miracle by the name of Let’s Dance Sky View, saying "Look at me, you old coot!" I would have still overlooked it had it not been named Proven Winners 2024 "Hydrangea of the Year."

This caused me to look back at my photos, which caught me totally by surprise. I’ve got sunrise shots and sunset shots of shrubs loaded with blooms while the once-bloomers maybe had one or two and the older re-bloomers had a handful. What in the world was wrong with The Garden Guy?

Tim Woods, aka "The Plant Hunter" said it perfectly in his blog: “With each passing year the genetics on our reblooming Hydrangea macrophylla keep getting better and better. Let’s Dance Sky View is one of the best yet. When we trial reblooming hydrangeas, we cut our plants back hard in the fall and once again in the spring. We do this to simulate untimely frosts. We also trial them multiple years outdoors to make sure they bloom reliably in our harsh Michigan climate. If they bloom here, they should bloom everywhere.”

Bingo! As it turned out, my Let’s Dance Sky View hydrangeas had the most blooms of any hydrangea in my landscape. Because of this national recognition, I also just noticed the parentage behind this bloomer, which is thrilling to an old horticulturist. Let’s Dance is a Hydrangea macrophylla x Hydrangea serrata (Tuff Stuff, mountain hydrangea) cross.

So, this reblooming hydrangea, cold hardy from zones 4-9, will reach up to 3 feet tall with a spread of 4 feet. It conserves its old wood bloom while generating new wood with more blooms. My blooms showed an array of sky blue, pink and light purple.

I am growing mine in west Georgia and chose a spot with just a couple of hours of direct sun then shifting to filtered light overhead. You will want to use a 48-inch spacing in the landscape. I am growing them in partnership with Shadowland Autumn Frost hostas and Soprano impatiens.

Let’s Dance Sky View needs fertile, well-drained soil. Mine are planted in an area where leaves have fallen for decades and I think this may be the best soil I have ever had. If your soil is on the alkaline side, blooms will be pink but the addition of aluminum sulphate fertilizer will turn them blue.

Let’s Dance Arriba also has a somewhat similar parentage and it too came through the weather challenges equally well. It is 3 feet by 3 feet in habit. I have it in an area that gets more direct sun and grows in combination with Rainbow Rhythm, Sound of My Heart daylilies and Fluffy arborvitae.

Planting season is just around the corner and what could be better than celebrating with the Hydrangea of the Year, Let’s Dance Sky View. Follow me on Facebook @NormanWinterTheGardenGuy for more photos and garden inspiration.

____

(Norman Winter, horticulturist, garden speaker and author of “Tough-as-Nails Flowers for the South” and “Captivating Combinations: Color and Style in the Garden.” Follow him on Facebook @NormanWinterTheGardenGuy.)

(NOTE TO EDITORS: Norman Winter receives complimentary plants to review from the companies he covers.)

©2024 Tribune Content Agency, LLC