Hydrangea aspera Villosa

Hydrangea aspera 'Villosa' is a hardy Hydrangea of medium size, with beautiful lanceolate, velvety and silky foliage, bearing in summer beautiful mauve umbels, a refined variety for shade gardens.

Originally from China, Hydrangea aspera 'Villosa' is a plant with a confusing taxonomy, which is sometimes considered as a separate species, sometimes as a subspecies or variety of Hydrangea aspera.

Its young branches as well as its lanceolate leaves are velvety and soft to the touch. In summer, the bush bears numerous inflorescences in flat umbels of about 15cm (5.9in) in diameter, also called lacecaps. The inflorescences are composed in the centre of a large bouquet of intense mauve fertile flowers and on the periphery they bear fine sterile flowers, also called pseudoflowers, pale mauve pink.

Hydrangea aspera 'Villosa' is a bush that likes cool environments, plant it in partial shade in a place protected from cold and dry winds, in humus-bearing, acidic and fresh soil. This bush with a rather late flowering is not afraid of spring frosts.

Plant it on the edge of the undergrowth, at the back of a bed, under tall trees or near a shady wall of the house, in a cool atmosphere mixed with hostas, knotweeds, Pieris and Thalictrums.