Family Hydrangeaceae.
Garden Origin.
- Deciduous young foliage matures from green to sensational purple-black.
- Deep cerise or purple flowers appear all summer and autumn, perfectly set off by the leaves.
- A compact, easy-to-grow shrub, great in pots or planted out in part shade.
Daredevil in Your Garden
Dark and intense, this new hydrangea variety brings a rich and refined burst of colour to semi-shaded spots. Hydrangea ‘Daredevil’ forms a low, wide shrub, its handsomely veined leaves emerge green with vigorous-looking red tints. They soon develop dusky bronzy tones and deepen to purple-black, making a richly coloured, dense mass of foliage.
Hardy in all UK gardens, this compact, richly coloured patio hydrangea is perfect for growing in pots. It reaches 80cm high and 1.2m wide in 3–5 years, making a star-of-the-show impact despite its diminutive stature. Its cerise flower colour (purple in acidic soil) makes a stunning combination with its dark foliage, shining in dappled shade.
Sensational in front-of-border positions in Suffolk’s woodland gardens or placed on Norfolk’s city garden terraces. Its colours have an impact from afar, but their intricate structure warrants viewing close-up. Their elegant ray florets surround a central dome of clustered flowers, making complex, graceful ‘two-part’ blooms. It completes its season’s display with a blaze of orange and red autumn foliage colour.
Growing Tips Your Lacecap Hydrangea Daredevil
- Soil and Sun: Plant in any non-waterlogged, moist soil; part shade is ideal.
- Planting: Set in spring or autumn; summer planting requires extra attention to watering. Plunge for 20 minutes to drench the root ball before planting.
- Watering: In pots, keep compost moist in summer; allow it to dry out between watering in cooler temperatures. Water newly set plants in the ground regularly while rooting out. Established plants planted out tolerate occasional dry spells.
- Pruning: Cut back hard in early spring for profuse blooms.
This hardy variety of the reliable serrata species offers so many qualities, it’s a must-have. Outstanding colours in all its parts, all season, from early spring until late autumn, combined with a compact vigorous habit. It’s perfect as a border specimen or planted in pots as an outstanding richly coloured patio hydrangea.
Planting Ideas for the Hydrangea serrata Hybrid, Daredevil
Create a heavenly hydrangea assemblage and relax all summer and autumn amongst their frothy, lacy blooms in dappled shade. Plant taller Hydrangea ‘Pinky Wink’, ‘Vanilla Fraise’, ‘Tardiva’, and ‘Wims Red’ as a backdrop. Add Daredevil and the white Hydrangeas quercifolia and ‘Limelight’ for front-of-border contrasts.
Hydrangea Daredevil excels in its dense mound-forming habit, making soft organic shapes in lower-level planting schemes. Match its fiery colours with Penstemons ‘King George’ and ‘Shoenholzeri’; add the smaller Primula ‘Miller’s Crimson’ and Houttuynia ‘Chameleon’. Daredevil’s dark foliage, used in repetition throughout such a composition, would form a solid backbone for this hot woodland planting.
