A LITTLE MORE LIFE
Smooth hydrangea
Hydrangea arborescens
Fertile native flowers feed pollinators, and the foliage hosts hydrangea sphinx moth caterpillars.
MAKE IT FEEL AT HOME
A spot to thrive.
Choose a form with plentiful fertile flowers; give moist, drained soil and protection from hot afternoon sun.
- Sunlight
- Part sun & shade
- Soil moisture
- Average moisture
- Mature size
- 3–5 ft tall · 3–5 ft wide
- Season of interest
- Spring–Summer
- Hardiness
- USDA zones 3–9
- Garden role
- A summer-flowering woodland shrub
ONE GOOD SWAP
Instead of japanese spirea.
Spiraea japonica
Try smooth hydrangea for a summer-flowering woodland shrub.
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Photo credits & licenses
Smooth hydrangea: Michelle Campbell · CC0
Japanese spirea: Milada · CC-BY-SA 2.0
Resized, converted to WebP, and cropped in the layout. Each photo retains its listed license. All photo credits