I am fairly new to gardening. I planted my first hydrangeas last year (Endless Summer and Blushing Bride). I would like, if possible, to cross pollinate them to see if anything interesting comes about. I know that these two plants are patented, so I guess I should ask first if it is even legal to cross pollinate them?

I've read in a few places that most flowers on mopheads are sterile. Is that right? If so, is there a way to recognize flowers that are fertile? My guess is that would be one of the hardest parts of hybridizing hydrangeas.

After finding fertile flowers, what are the next steps? I suppose it would be basically the same as all other plants: cut the flower from one plant and use it to pollinate the other, wait for the seeds to mature, and plant the seeds.

Do hydrangea seeds need special requirements to germinate, such as a certain dormancy period, lightness/darkness, stratification, heat, etc.

Also, how long would it take to grow a hydrangea from seed to bloom?

That said, I am not a lawyer.

I don't think you need special treatment for the seeds.

But you'd better harvest seeds in winter. This is what I've read someone's blog.

I think you need at least 2 years to see the first bloom.

Good Luck!

Now, it might not hurt to try starting other Hydrangea seeds at the same time, some you know are fertile. This will act as a control so if your hybridized seeds don't germinate, it was due to (probably) being sterile (as a result of one or both parents being sterile, or at least incompatible. Basically something went screwy) rather than bad seed raising.