Climbing Hydrangea - Added IB2DWs - June 2026

I was surprised to come across a half-pallet of Climbing Hydrangeas at the Menards garden center earlier this Spring. Hydrangea anomala petiolaris.  I've planted a few of these over the years including one back by the firepit that didn't make it (I didn't water it) and another one last year on the dying River Birch tree.  I bought two of them.  Because...well...they were priced pretty good and they were good-sized plants that had a bamboo tripod supporting the growth: 

After sitting on one of these climbing hydrangeas for more than a month, I finally decided to plant it IB2DWs.  I was, at first, planning on planting it along the driveway wall - a big blank wall - but reconsidered due to the possible siding damage from the aerial roots. 

We have mature Mulberry Tree that lives IB2DWs, down by the sidewalk that sits *right* on the property line between us and our neighbor to the north.  It has a massive trunk.  Below is a photo showing the trunk.  Also...a note...this is right next to the Purple Smoketree.  

The climbing hydrangea is already pretty tall - see below for the 'tipped over' shot on the sidewalk:

This large Mulberry tree has a lot of root competition for something planted close to the trunk, so it took a little bit to find the right spot and dig out the hole.  I amended the planting with municipal biosolids and planted the root ball on the 'high' side, so I'll have to keep it happy and watered-in this year.  

Below is a look at the climbing vine as it is planted.  Here's hoping for a big, beautiful climbing vine that flowers in the next few years.  Also...some background on the location of this Mulberry tree is in this post when I was planning out some other front yard trees in 2019.  

Sidenote:  This Mulberry tree has an interesting Fall behavior:  all of the leaves drop at once.  Right around/after a hard frost.  I caught it on camera one morning all the way back in 2017.  Below is a video - check out the carpet of fallen leaves: