'Woodlanders' is a H. serrata introduction by Woodlanders Nursery, Aiken,SC. It was initially grown from seed obtained from the Chollipo Arboretum in Korea. It grows to a height of 3-4 ft. and width of ?. I have one that is about 10 years old and is about 7 ft. wide. The lace-cap flowers are a stunning electric blue in acidic soil and pink in near neutral to alkaline soil. With some direct sunlight, the foliage will begin to change color by early summer and by fall they are a deep burgundy color. Plant it in a location where it receives several hours of sunlight each day and it will be a show-stopper. We have motorist's on our street that often turn around and return to stop and admire the huge plant covered with hundreds of blooms in Spring. Without hesitation, it is our favorite Hydrangea of the hundreds we grow, that includes many of the Japanese cultivars of H. serrata.

I have 4 Woodlanders (purchased over the last couple of years at Sid's in Bolingbrook, IL, which is the only nursery around here that I've seen them at). All have performed beautifully so far in full to partial shade at my Naperville home. The canes have shown no winter dieback here--the only winter protection I have offered them the last 2 years is to pile up some hardwood mulch at their bases. But if the buds start to break dormancy before the last frost date (as they did this past spring), then the plants might need to be covered over to protect the tender new leaves and flower buds from late frosts. But in spite of incurring some frost damage this year, all of my Woodlanders have flowered profusely. Their lacecap flowers have relatively fewer of the showy sterile sepals than the H. serrata more commonly-seen around here, 'Bluebird' (which needs more extensive winter protection in my yard). I find the growth habit of Woodlander to be denser and more compact than that of Bluebird, but both are really stunning in flower. I have been extremely pleased with Woodlander.

I forgot to mention color, bloom time, etc. In my alkaline soils, the showy sepals on Woodlander and Bluebird are pink, but the much smaller fertile flowers are a sparkling combination of pink and purple--almost jewel-like. They are in full bloom now (flower buds were first noticeable back in May). I do not find Woodlander to be floppy in the least--the canes are strong, and the lacecaps are 2-4" in diameter. Bluebird's canes are somewhat leggier in similar lighting conditions, and its lacecaps are a bit larger in diameter, but still not what I would call floppy. With respect to size, my Woodlanders are currently 2-2.5' tall and wide. I've had Bluebirds in the yard for many more years, and they have never exceeded 3-3.5' in height and width. As a benchmark, my Nikko Blues max out at about 4 feet.

Thanks to you both for your responses.

Dwk....I could hardly believe it when you told you purchased them at Sid's. That is the nursery I saw them at!!

Glad to hear that you are enjoying them. How large do you think they will be at maturity?

Thanks again,

Cathy

I bought one a couple of years ago at Pike's, it's also listed on the Monrovia Site with info but no pic. I've seen a couple this year at Lowe's too. I'm surprised you don't seem them more often. I think most people migrate towards the "Blues" (Bluebird, Blue Billows, etc.) which all give somewhat the same effect. Woodlander's don't seem to show up often in the trade (see my note on propogation below - that may be one reason.)

I definitely agree with the statements above, it's a great serrata, the flowers individually are not that big but have a nice delicate feel, it puts out a lot of flowers though for a nice overall effect. Maybe it's just mine, but he habit is very low and dense, which I love.

The purple color on estblished leaves are great, especially when the new shoots are still green.

My only complaint is that in trying to propagate it for friends and plant swaps, it has the lowest success rate from cuttings of any hydrangea I have (10-20%). The best luck I've had has been with rooting low branches directy into the soil off the main plant.

By comparison, takes on my rootings for Lady-in-Red, run 100%.

I have never seen one. It would be nice if some one would post a picture. So I can recognize it, and be on the look out for a woodlander for my yard. Looking forward to have the opportunity. It would be nice if razorback would post one. thanks
bwr

Here is a link to a photo FoxesEarth posted a while back showing 'Woodlander' in full bloom (lower left; blue in acidic soil).

Cathy, I'm not surprised you saw Woodlander at Sid's--I've never seen this cultivar offered anywhere else in the Chicago area, and I do look around. While performance after 2 winters in my yard is hardly definitive, it does appear that Woodlander is really hardy--there has been absolutely no dieback on the canes, with no extraordinary winter protection being provided to them; all four plants leafed out all the way to the tips of the canes. With respect to ultimate size in our zone, I suspect my Woodlanders will remain shorter than my Bluebirds (perhaps maxing out at 3 feet or less), but as Razorback attests, the plants could become much wider than tall.

Here is a link that might be useful:

thanks for the picture. I will be on the look out for the woodlander.
bwr

dwk001, I have just put in a Bluebird and live in zone 5 - southern wisconsin. I am hearing such conflicting information on how they over winter. What would you recommend for protection?

wigardenerwannabe, I've been following one of Hayseedman's suggestions for winter protection. I tie up the canes, place a tall chicken-wire cage around the shrub, and then stuff plastic garbage bags filled with fallen leaves around the tied-up canes inside the chicken wire. If the tips of the canes are still exposed, I place a bag of leaves on top of the pile. I have 3 Bluebirds, and they all bloomed last year and will again this year. Before I started using this winter-protection method, they bloomed sparsely or not at all.