There's no simplicity to any hydrangea species and wild hydrangea is no exception. Let's wade into this particular hydrangea thicket together and figure out some of the eccentricities.

Lacecaps are the wild hydrangeas set up by nature to have two kinds of florets in the lacy flower heads. The showy outer florets ring the edge of the head. Their job is to attract pollinating insects to the less-showy inner fertile florets. It's the job of the fertile flowers to make fruit/seeds and reproduce so the species lives on.

We've asked Mariana DiVita to explain the differences between types of hydrangeas. Experts say there are 25 to 80 different species of hydrangeas, but for the average gardener 6 are the most popular. Each species has different cultural requirements - no matter your garden or garden style there is a hydrangea for you!

Hydrangea serrata (mountain hydrangea) is very similar to Hydrangea macrophylla. So much so that some botanists think it's a variety of macrophylla. Because of a few qualities that strongly distinguish it from macrophylla, we treat them as a distinct species. We'll delve into those different qualities here.

'Irish Lace' is so exotic looking that we are asked, "is it cold hardy?" One parent, 'Lady in Red', is believed to be one of the hardiest macrophyllas. The other parent, H. angustipetala, is likewise known to be a cold-hardy hydrangea. I double checked with the breeder and he says the hybrid is hardy in 6a. Sounds interesting, doesn't it?