Hydrangea macrophylla 'Green Mantle' – Mophead Hydrangea
'Green Mantle' opens a clear apple-green, in full rounded mopheads of broad cupped sepals, finely veined, the outer ones edged in rose. As the heads age the pink advances inward, marbling the green with rose before settling to a soft pink that often keeps green at its centre. An established plant carries every stage at once, so no two heads on the bush match.
Growth is slow and compact, settling at around 50 cm, which puts that detail at close range in a large container or at the front of a shaded border. Give it a sheltered position with morning sun and afternoon shade, in soil that holds moisture but drains freely. Soil pH steers where the colour settles: acid ground draws a blue cast into the green and carries the ageing heads towards purple, while neutral to alkaline soil takes them to rose-pink. Prune only to remove spent heads.
Last exhibited at the Chelsea Flower Show in 1949, 'Green Mantle' has since vanished from cultivation in the United States and is scarcely seen in Britain. Vigour was never its strength, as is often the way with varieties that fade from the trade, but nothing else in the genus colours quite like it.
A rare, small-scale mophead for growers who collect for colour rather than size.
- Mature height: 50 cm
- Mature width: 50–60 cm
- Light needs: Part sun to part shade
- Habit: Slow-growing and compact
