Hydrangea macrophylla Froggie™
Froggie is a new mophead hydrangea with unique flower coloration. Flowers are green with pink accents or green with blue accents, to varying degrees. Sometimes they are less green than others, so you get a mix of flower colors on each plant.
Besides the green feature, what makes the flower color stand out is that the pink/blue coloration is dotted throughout the sepals and to me there's a bit of metallic sheen when the color appears amidst the green. Honestly, the pictures explain this interesting coloration better than my attempts.
Froggie is not a reblooming (remontant) hydrangea, but it shows better cold tolerance than many of the French cultivars.
The thick, waxy sepals make the flower heads hold up well under high heat and drought. You'll see a significant difference in the texture of Froggie's sepals compared to your other types of bigleaf hydrangeas. The flowers have lasted all summer on my plants, from June to when I'm writing this in October.
Froggie is not going to be a tremendously large hydrangea, like a 'Nikko Blue' can get. It's estimated to be 4' by 4' which is just the right size to put on a good show and fit into almost any sized garden.
The leaves are medium green and remain clean from mildew, even when a neighboring bigleaf hydrangea is filthy with it. Regarding black spot, Froggie shows good resistance, but like all bigleaf hydrangeas in high sun conditions or overhead watering, it will contract the disease. Leaves turn red in the fall and put Froggie in the rare league of hydrangeas with good fall color (fall color is not typically one of their best traits).
You may see this hydrangea as 'Froggy the Gremlin', but Froggie was finalized as its true name. Froggie is a branch sport of 'Greenmantle'.
Shipment Notification: Thanks to the mention in Fine Gardening magazine, we've sold out of Froggie for this spring. More are rooted and will be available later this summer. Please check back with us then or email us at plants@cuttingedgeplants.com and we'll contact you when they're ready.
- green flowers
- single specimen and accent use
- large container use
- grouping and massing - large swaths
- flower and shrub borders
- tolerant of salt spray so great for maritime climates
- heat tolerant
- Spring: medium green
- Summer: medium green
- Fall: red
Yes, Please keep in mind that flower color varies widely and wildly depending on soil pH and the amount of aluminum actually in your soil, the amount of time aluminum has been available to the plant (did you add Al only last month?), the unique propensity of how each cultivar reacts to Al, and if the flower heads get a touch of sunshine as they age.
The flower color is not as you described, it seems darker to me.
Same issues as when it's paler; say after me, "a-lum-i-num-a-vail-a-bil-i-ty plus time plus cultivar plus a touch of sunshine."
This is science for sure, but also a whole lot of art. Enjoy the outcome Mother Nature deals!