Dear Fellow Gardeners
I inherited this plant when I moved in to my house a couple of years ago. Could you help me identify what it is? It grows really well in spite of not getting a lot of sun and produces lovely big pinky white flowers. It's about 8 feet high now.

Many thanks
Mike

You have a very nice Hydrangea macrophylla. It really likes moist shady places and that's why it does so well .

Happy plant parenting!

Hydrangea. Probably a lacecap type:


Not necessarily this cultivar though. There are many, and to make it more interesting the bloom colors can vary with soil ph

It looks a little chlorotic. Could be exacerbated by the shade, but a soil test would narrow down the cause.

Or you could fertilize it with a balanced fertilizer containing micronutrients.

Chlorosis can be caused directly by nutrient deficiencies, or by ph issues which prevent adequate nutrient uptake. A fertilizer would not address the second issue. You could always try the fertilizer first and see if it solves the problem. It certainly won't hurt, but it might not be your issue.

Always go for the simple fixes first. The Hydrangea is otherwise healthy and blooming.

Oh, it's certainly not going to die, sorry if I made anyone think that. I agree it looks quite healthy overall, but clues like this can point you toward information that may solve sneakier problems.

I guess as someone who lives in an area with alkaline soil, that is what springs first to my mind. Knowing your soil ph can really help choose plants that will do well and understand why others don't.

Also, I don't really fertilize plants in the ground other than mounds of compost, so perusing an unfamiliar isle for a bottle of mystery juice that's going to clutter up the garage for me to use on a single plant and then it might not work anyway (maybe I chose the wrong bottle...). I guess everyone has their own things that are simple.

CalPolygardener said:
You have a very nice Hydrangea macrophylla. It really likes moist shady places and that's why it does so well .

Happy plant parenting!

Very many thanks!