Stars of the Summer Garden: Three 'Dancing Snow' Bigleaf Hydrangeas Now Grace the Seattle Japanese Garden
By Corinne Kennedy
Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Dancing Snow,’ a recent addition to the Seattle Japanese Garden. Flower clusters are newly opened. (photo: Corinne Kennedy)
Bigleaf hydrangeas, native to and long cultivated in Japan, are one of the loveliest and most beloved of summer-blooming shrubs. We’re fortunate that three of these beautiful plants now grace the Seattle Japanese Garden. All are the relatively new cultivar, Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Dancing Snow’—also and more commonly known by its trademark name, Wedding Gown™ (Double Delights series). Two are planted in Area G, on the east side of the main east path, and a third is in Area X, south of the teahouse garden.
The genus Hydrangea includes about 75 species, including deciduous and evergreen shrubs and climbers, and it’s likely that many more are yet to be discovered. Most are native to southern and eastern Asia, including Japan, China, Korea, the Himalayas and Indonesia. In the Western hemisphere, many species are native to Mexico and South America, and two are native to the Eastern U.S.
The genus name, Hydrangea, was created from the Greek hydor, meaning “water,” and angeion, meaning a “jar” or “vessel”—but contrary to popular belief, it doesn’t refer to hydrangeas as water-loving plants. The most likely explanation is that their dry, cup-like fruits resemble the water-carrying vessels used in ancient Greece. (Hydrangeas are not edible, however, because all parts contain a cyanogenic glycoside. Though poisonous to pets and people, they rarely cause fatalities.)
The species name of our Garden’s plants, macrophylla, is derived from the Greek makros, meaning “large,” and phyllon, meaning “leaf”—a reference to their large leaves. Hence their common name, bigleaf hydrangea. The true meaning and origin of ajisai, the Japanese word for Hydrangea macrophylla, has not been clearly determined. However, it’s been generally accepted that it derives from aji, “congregation” or “assemblage,” and sai, “indigo or deep blue,” and means “assemblage of indigo blue color,” a reference to the flower color that often develops when plants are grown on acidic soils.
The bigleaf hydrangeas that most of us are familiar with have large snowball-shaped flower clusters. They’re not from plants that occur in nature, but rather from breeding efforts beginning in the Kamakura period (1185-1333), when the Japanese used selected forms of the wild plants growing in Japan’s coastal areas to develop plants with showier blooms. The cultivated plants they created had flowerheads consisting primarily of large, sterile florets and few of the small fertile florets that predominated in the wild blooms. The sterile florets are made up of sepals, which are modified leaves, not true petals. Eventually, the cultivated forms were taken to the West, where their ball-shaped flowerheads were called “mopheads,” and sometimes “hortensias.”
The wild hydrangeas, on the other hand, had flower clusters that became known in the West as “lacecaps.” Named Hydrangea macrophylla f. normalis, they have flattened flowerheads of mostly small fertile florets and large sterile florets in a ring along the cluster’s edge and sometimes also scattered within it. The Japanese name, gaku ajisai, includes the word gaku (“frame”)—a reference to this ring or frame of showier flower parts. This hydrangea form includes not only the wild forms from which the showier cultivars were derived but also cultivated plants with flowerheads that retain the original “lacecap” appearance. (Many of the more modern mopheads and lacecaps were probably not developed solely from H. macrophylla stock. They’re likely hybrids between it and another Japanese species—the hardier Hydrangea serrata, commonly known as “mountain hydrangea.”)
Hydrangea and Swallow, a woodblock print depicting mophead hydrangeas. (Print by Katsushika Hokusai, circa late 18th or early 19th century)
Hydrangeas were mentioned in the 8th century Manyoshu, the oldest extant collection of Japanese poetry, and images of hydrangea flowers appear in other Japanese arts, such as pottery, paintings, and woodblock prints. During the Muromachi period (1333-1573), though, the samurai viewed the changeable flowers as symbols of inconstancy and faithlessness, and their reputation suffered. Nonetheless, breeding efforts continued, and by the end of the Edo period (1600-1867) hydrangeas had developed more positive associations, including heartfelt emotion and enduring love. They were planted in gardens, along roadsides and city streets, and at shrines and temples. One of the most famous is Kamakura’s Meigetsu-in, often referred to as the “hydrangea temple.”
Blooming primarily in June and July, hydrangeas are associated with Japan’s rainy season (tsuyu), and summer flower-viewing is popular with both tourists and the Japanese. Special hydrangea festivals (Ajisai Matsuri), originally associated with hopes for a productive harvest, are held at many shrines and temples. Even today, the blooming of hydrangeas at the start of summer is seen as a good omen.
One very old and beloved Hydrangea macrophylla cultivar was introduced to Europe in 1860 as ‘Otaksa.’ It has shiny dark green leaves and large showy mophead flowers, colored blue or pink depending upon soil pH. Phillip Franz von Siebold, a German physician and botanist who lived in Japan for many years, named it after his Japanese wife, Taki Kusumoto, known as Otaki-san.
Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Dancing Snow,’ with fully opened flower clusters. (photo: JC Raulston Arboretum)
The Seattle Japanese Garden’s Hydrangea macrophylla cultivar, ‘Dancing Snow,’ was released by Japanese breeder Toyokazu Ichie in 2003. Bred for a compact habit, strong stems, double white flowers, mildew resistance, and a long bloom period, it received a US patent in 2010.
Like other bigleaf hydrangeas, ‘Dancing Snow’ is a multi-stemmed deciduous shrub that grows best in part shade, with evenly moist, organic, well-drained soil. (In cool summer climates, like our own, it tolerates full sun. In addition, when kept well-watered, its flowers are resistant to sun scorch.) Plants prefer moderately acidic soils, but tolerate a range of soil types. The flowers, unlike those of most bigleaf cultivars, are not affected by soil pH, and so will not turn pink or blue.
‘Dancing Snow’ is reliably cold hardy to USDA Zone 6 (minimum temperature -10 degrees Fahrenheit), and is tolerant of urban pollution. It attains a mature size of about 3 feet tall by 3-5 feet wide. Its large, glossy, dark green leaves are held in pairs along the stems. Egg-shaped, with toothed edges and pointed tips, they’re attractive in summer but without notable fall color. Both flowers and foliage add a bold texture to the garden, providing an effective contrast to more delicate-looking plants.
In addition to reliability and its sturdy, compact habit, ‘Dancing Snow’ blooms over a long season. The elegant white flowers have a modified lacecap form that’s often described as resembling a bridal bouquet. The fertile florets are still visible, but the flowerhead’s center fills in with additional sterile florets, creating a mophead-like appearance. Here is Naomi Slade’s description in her 2020 book, Hydrangeas: beautiful varieties for home and garden:
Every stem bears a bloom that is lush and lavish, each a bouquet in its own right. Every bloom is a fully double star, opening gradually from green to chartreuse, and finally to pure white. As more and more florets unfold, they unite to create a dramatic white dome, at the same time exceedingly restrained and utterly fabulous. (p. 59)
Blooming begins in late spring or early summer and continues until fall. ‘Dancing Snow’ is considered a “reblooming” hydrangea, with the ability to flower early on growth produced during the previous year, and then bloom again on the current year’s growth. After the initial flowers fade, they should be removed (dead-headed) to promote reblooming.
I love hydrangeas even when their flowers have faded, and leave their dried flowerheads to decorate the plant throughout winter. Doing so helps to protect the stems during cold spells, but for me it’s also a way to acknowledge the passing of the seasons.
‘Dancing Snow’ is an excellent choice for cut flowers, and for growing in containers and in gardens of all sizes. Its flowers are beautiful and elegant in vases, table arrangements, and bridal bouquets. And like other bigleaf hydrangeas, it will bring pleasure to gardeners—and beauty to the most humble of gardens.
hydrangea and a wild
thicket, providing a little garden
for this cottage.
--Matsuo Basho (trans. by Makoto Ueda)
Corinne Kennedy is a Garden Guide, frequent contributor to the Seattle Japanese Garden blog, and retired garden designer.