Tuff Stuff Red Hydrangea: Planted Fall 2017

This fall is the first fall in our #newoldbackyard, so I've been busy with various fall plantings.  Starting with the tulip and allium bulbs, the harvested hostas, ferns and hydrangea from our neighbor's yard and most recently with a Disneyland Rose plant and a Everlasting Revolution Hydrangea - both from Jackson and Perkins. 

This one above, the Tuff Stuff Red Hydrangea, is the last in the series of plants that we were given by Nat's mom as an anniversary gift.   I put it in a spot adjacent to the Everlasting Revolution variety (the multi-colored one) as outlined in the most recent landscape plan documents.   

If you look closely at the photo above, you can get a sense for the soil we're dealing with in the #newoldbackyard.  It isn't great.  In the Spring, I have plans to amend the soil with some organic material and till it in where the beds are located.  That might require me pulling some of these plants out and replanting them, but they'll be better off for it.  

Below, you can see the identification stick that came with the plant.  It calls for Full Sun/Part Shade and grows to between 2 and 4 feet tall.  

You can see the small size, but bright green color of the specimen that we received below.  

But, unlike the Everlasting Revolution Hydrangea, this one is all one color:  a beautiful reddish pink.  Here's a photo from the Jackson & Perkins site to give you an idea of what it looks like in full bloom.

Photo via Jackson & Perkins site.  

Turns out, this is a 'mountain hydrangea'. From the description:

Tuff Stuff™ lives up to its name, offering nonstop blooms from early summer well into fall! This new selection of Mountain Hydrangea is well-branched with huge, numerous clusters of flowers. 

Tiny red flowers are held in clusters surrounded by larger pink flowers, creating the lovely lacecap pattern. The large magenta blooms are semi- to fully double, adding a new aspect of texture. They arrive with a bang in early spring and continue blooming throughout the heat of the summer and into fall. 

The delicate blooms are backed with brilliant green foliage. The heart-shaped serrated leaves break up the vibrant flowers just enough to add dimension without taking away from the color, complimenting them perfectly. The green foliage turns to rich shades of bronze and burgundy in autumn, a tribute to the pink flowers that are still hanging in there!

What is a mountain hydrangea?  Morton Arboretum describes it thusly:

Mountain hydrangea is a small, 2 to 3 foot high shrub from the mountains of Korea and Japan with light pink, lace cap flower clusters in mid-summer.

Welp...mine isn't planted in the mountains of Korea or Japan, but rather...just in our backyard. 

And, because this blog is part garden diary, I'm posting this photo to show where I planted it for future year's review.  When it comes up (or doesn't come up!) in the Spring, I'll want to remember what it was/where I planted it.  You can see it in this photo below.  Note to self:  it is sitting in the middle of the fourth fence panel in the low section on the south property line and you can see it on the very far right of this photo.  Also...the Everlasting Revolution can be seen right next to the wood pile - at the very far western edge of the 3rd panel of low fencing.