Hydrangea culture at Stephen F. Austin Gardens^©

INTRODUCTION
There are approximately 23 species of Hydrangea but only five are widely grown in the USA. Hydrangea macrophylla, H. quercifolia and to a lesser extent, H. paniculata are well adapted to East Texas. While H. arborescens, H. aspera, and H. petiolaris survive, but are not well adapted. The hydrangea collection at Stephen F. Austin (SFA) Gardens dates back to the first Arboretum plantings in 1986, but only with the construction of the Ruby Mize Azalea Garden (1997) and Gayla Mize Garden (2011) did the collection expand to its present size. The most current inventory for the hydrangea collection can be found on the SFA Gardens website in three theme garden webpages (http://sfagardens.sfasu.edu): (1) Mast Arboretum (46 cultivars), (2) Ruby Mize Azalea Garden (232 cultivars), and (3) Gayla Mize Garden (39 cultivars). While there is some duplication of cultivars and the most recent plantings have yet to be added to the website database, the collection remains the most extensive in the southern USA.