Hydrangeas for American Gardens by Michael A. Dirr, Bonnie L. Dirr (Illustrator)

From the Publisher

The sheer number of choices among Hydrangea species, hybrids, and cultivated varieties can be overwhelming even for the most advanced gardeners. How to choose from among the hundreds of mopheads, climbers, lacecaps, and oakleafs, to name just a few? And how to care for hydrangeas in American gardens, when nearly all the books offering advice about them come from England and Europe? Respected plantsman Michael A. Dirr comes to the rescue in this refreshingly forthright and practical guide to these distinctive shrubs and climbers.

Publishers Weekly

Hydrangea is a broad and varied genus, one "difficult to compress under a small umbrella." University of Georgia horticulture professor Dirr casts a wide net to provide comprehensive information about these versatile plants. That his passion for hydrangeas "knows no bounds" is clear from this enthusiastic combination of rigorous science, concise description and seasoned advice. The first chapter, "Characteristics, Taxonomy and Nomenclature," is the most academically oriented but brief and readable enough for the home gardener. Ten well-organized and liberally illustrated chapters follow, each devoted to a single species and its subspecies, ranging from the familiar and hugely popular H. macrophylla and H. paniculata, to relative rarities boasting flower buds that remind Dirr of "purple-brown cauliflowers" and are sometimes "quite large and Martian." Chapters on care and culture, propagation, pests and diseases, potpourri, and breeding offer a wealth of practical insights equally valuable to the casual green thumb and the professional horticulturist, in every region of the country. Readers will learn the often-misunderstood chemistry behind pink/blue color shifts, how to dry and dye flower heads and where to register new cultivars. A first-rate listing of resources and nursery sources and 160 luscious color photos complete this definitive and irresistible tribute to one of America's favorite shrubs. (June) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Like many beloved, old-fashioned garden shrubs, the hydrangea comes in many more forms than commonly grown. One usually sees a mop-headed hydrangea in white, blue, or pink, depending on the species and soil conditions, or perhaps an oakleaf hydrangea growing in shade. In this comprehensive study of the genus, gardener Dirr (Dirr's Hardy Trees and Shrubs) devotes chapters to nine species of hydrangeas, with charts and descriptions of important varieties, including new forms recently hybridized. In other chapters, he covers general care, propagation, pests, and diseases. Dirr clearly adores hydrangeas, but he doesn't gloss over their occasional problems, such as drooping leaves, Japanese beetle infestation, and old flower heads that look like "dirty brown socks." Gardeners will find useful advice about which varieties perform best in their part of the United States. However, much of the text is extremely technical, suggesting that breeders and nursery owners make up the primary audience. Toni Lawson-Hall and Brian Rothera's Hydrangeas: A Gardener's Guide, also from Timber, is out of print, but smaller libraries owning that title may not need another on the same topic. Recommended mostly for comprehensive gardening collections.-Beth Clewis Crim, Prince William P.L., VA Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

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