Climbing hydrangea has rich green foliage, mid-summer white flowers, yellow fall color, and striking exfoliating bark in winter. This vine is an early summer bloomer and is excellent for a massed effect on brick or concrete walls, arbors, gazebos, or almost any free-standing garden structure. It clings and/or climbs not only by twining but also by aerial rootlets. This woody vine has an almost shrub-like appearance due to its lateral branches and is native to wooded valleys, stream banks, and on rocky mountain slopes. Climbing hydrangea is somewhat slow to establish and slow to begin flowering after transplanting. It prefers rich, well-drained, moist soil, will grow in sun or shade, and can easily grow 60 to 80 feet. Once established, it has no serious pest problems. More information on Hydrangea .
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Dappled Sunlight (Shade through upper canopy all day) | Deep shade (Less than 2 hours to no direct sunlight) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Clay; High Organic Matter; Loam (Silt); Sand
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0); Alkaline (>8.0); Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist
Available space
6-feet-12 feet
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 30 ft. 0 in. - 60 ft. 0 in. | Width: 5 ft. 0 in. - 6 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Rapid
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
6 - Vine (vertical)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Climbing; Mounding; Multi-stemmed
Texture
Coarse
Foliage
Deciduous
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Opposite
Leaf shape
Cordate; Elliptical; Ovate
Leaf margin
Serrate
Leaf feel
Glossy
Leaf size
3-6 inches long, 3-6 inches wide
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
opposite, simple, 2.5-5" long, ovate to broad-ovate to oval, acute to acuminate, cordate, serrate, glabrate, dark green and lustrous above, paler below with vein axillary pubescent tufts; petiole to 4" long.
Fall color
Gold/Yellow
Flower color
Gold/Yellow; White
Flower value
Fragrant; Good Cut; Good Dried; Showy
Flower form
Corymb; Cyme
Flower shape
Dome; Wheel
Flower size
1-3 inches
Flower detail
Flat cluster up to 8 inches wide, flat corymbs 6-8" diam.; peduncle 1-1.5" long. Flowers are dimorphic, with a peripheral ring of large sterile flowers, 0.5-1.5" wide; numerous small, creamy white, sweetly fragrant, fertile flowers in the center.
Bloom time
Spring; Summer
Fruit type
Capsule
Fruit detail
Small, dehiscent urn-shaped capsule. Seeds are brownish, ellipsoid to oblong, compressed, 0.7-1 mm with a wing encircling each seed.
Bark color
Dark Brown; Light Brown; Red/Burgundy
Bark detail
Exfoliating, reddish-brown, attractive in winter
Stem detail
Brown, bark shaggy and exfoliating; shoots with bark exfoliating. Buds greenish brown with slight reddish tinge, acute, scales imbricate.
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Non-native
Origin
Himalayas and China, Japan, Sakhalin, Korea, Taiwan
Play value
Attractive Flowers; Fragrance; Screening
Food & Medicine
Harvest time
Fall
Fruit type
Capsule
Uses (ethnobotany)
The bark is used as a paper substitute.
Landscape Use
Landscape location
Recreational Play Area; Riparian; Rock Wall; Slope/Bank; Vertical Spaces; Woodland