15 Magnificent Purple Hydrangea Varieties For Your Garden

Introducing Purple Hydrangeas: Nature’s Color-Changing Beauties

Purple is undoubtedly one of the most popular flower colors you’ll find gracing home gardens across the country. With shades ranging from delicate lavender to deep, almost-black purple, these captivating blooms bring a sense of calm and elegance to any landscape. What makes purple hydrangeas particularly special is their remarkable versatility – they complement virtually any color scheme, whether paired with soft pinks, vibrant oranges, or crisp whites.

While hydrangeas are commonly associated with blue or white blooms, purple hydrangeas offer a refreshing and sophisticated alternative that can transform your garden into a majestic retreat. These stunning shrubs aren’t just beautiful; they’re conversation starters that add depth and character to any garden space.

What many gardeners find fascinating about hydrangeas is their unique ability to change color based on soil chemistry. This color-changing property is particularly evident in the big leaf hydrangea varieties (Hydrangea macrophylla), where flower color is directly influenced by soil pH levels. In fact, what we consider “purple hydrangeas” are actually bigleaf varieties growing in soil with a pH that falls somewhere between acidic and alkaline – the perfect middle ground that produces those coveted purple hues.

Understanding How Hydrangeas Change Color

Before diving into specific purple varieties, it’s important to understand the curious chemistry behind hydrangea colors. Unlike most flowering plants whose colors are genetically fixed, many hydrangeas can shift their flower color based on soil conditions. This phenomenon is primarily seen in bigleaf hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla).

The color-changing ability of hydrangeas is directly related to the availability of aluminum in the soil and the plant’s ability to absorb it. In acidic soils (pH below 6.0), aluminum becomes more soluble and available to the plant, resulting in blue flowers. In alkaline soils (pH above 7.0), aluminum is less available, producing pink blooms. The elusive purple color typically appears when the soil pH hovers around 6.5 – not too acidic, not too alkaline.

This means you can actually manipulate your hydrangea’s color by adjusting the soil pH. To encourage more purple blooms, you’ll want to find that perfect balance in your soil chemistry:

• For deeper purple with blue undertones: Add small amounts of aluminum sulfate to slightly acidify the soil
• For lavender purple with pink undertones: Add a minimal amount of lime to make the soil slightly more alkaline
• For the perfect purple: Test your soil and adjust gradually until you achieve your desired shade

Top Purple Hydrangea Varieties for Your Garden

1. Endless Summer Bloomstruck

Bloomstruck is a standout member of the popular Endless Summer series, prized for its vibrant purple-violet mophead flowers and exceptional reblooming capability. What sets this variety apart are its sturdy red-purple stems that provide structural interest even when not in bloom. The flowers transition between rose-pink and blue-violet depending on soil pH, but often settle into a gorgeous purple range in neutral soils. Growing 3-4 feet tall and 4-5 feet wide, Bloomstruck also offers impressive heat tolerance and disease resistance, making it perfect for gardeners in warmer climates.

2. Twist-n-Shout

As one of the most reliable reblooming lacecap hydrangeas, Twist-n-Shout delivers charming flowers throughout the growing season. The delicate lacecap blooms feature small fertile flowers in the center surrounded by showy sterile florets, creating a lacy, elegant appearance. While this variety naturally leans toward pink in alkaline soils, it can produce stunning lavender-purple flowers in neutral to slightly acidic conditions. The red stems provide additional visual interest, and the foliage transforms into rich burgundy hues in fall, extending the seasonal appeal of this versatile hydrangea.

3. Nikko Blue

Despite its name, Nikko Blue can produce magnificent purple flowers under the right soil conditions. This classic bigleaf hydrangea is one of the most recognized varieties, producing large, rounded mophead flowers that can reach impressive sizes. In strongly acidic soil, the blooms are a vibrant blue, but as the pH approaches neutral, they take on a lovely lavender-purple hue. Nikko Blue grows rapidly to about 6 feet tall and wide, making it an excellent choice for creating dramatic garden focal points or flowering hedges.

4. Let’s Dance Moonlight

Part of the Let’s Dance series, Moonlight is a reblooming hydrangea that flowers on both old and new wood, ensuring a longer bloom period. The large mophead flowers will appear in shades ranging from blue to pink, but in the right soil conditions, they display a beautiful medium purple that brightens any garden space. With a compact growth habit of 3-4 feet in height and width, Let’s Dance Moonlight is perfect for smaller gardens or container planting. Its reliable bloom cycle makes it a favorite among gardeners looking for consistent color.

5. BloomStruck

The BloomStruck hydrangea features stunning rose-pink to blue-violet mophead flowers that can achieve a gorgeous purple color in the right soil conditions. What makes this variety special is its exceptional reblooming ability and heat tolerance. The striking red-purple stems add visual interest even when the plant isn’t in bloom, and the foliage provides excellent fall color as temperatures drop. Growing to a manageable 3-4 feet tall and 4-5 feet wide, BloomStruck is versatile enough for various garden applications.

6. Blushing Bride

While Blushing Bride begins with pure white semi-double flowers, they mature to blush pink or soft blue depending on soil conditions. In properly balanced soil, these flowers can take on a delicate lavender-purple hue that’s subtler than some other varieties but no less beautiful. This compact shrub features stronger stems than many other hydrangeas, allowing the large flower heads to stand upright even after rain. Growing 3-6 feet tall and wide, Blushing Bride provides an elegant presence in any garden setting.

7. Pee Wee

Perfect for smaller spaces, Pee Wee is a compact dwarf hydrangea that grows just 3-4 feet tall and wide. Though technically an oakleaf hydrangea variety with white flowers that mature to pink, in certain soil conditions, they can develop subtle purple undertones. What makes Pee Wee particularly valuable is its excellent fall foliage color, compact size, and adaptability to container growing, making it ideal for patios, small gardens, or as border plants.

8. Purple Passion

As its name suggests, Purple Passion is renowned for its rich purple blooms that make a bold statement in any garden. This mophead variety produces large, rounded flower clusters with an intense purple color that tends to hold better than many other varieties across different soil conditions. The deep green foliage provides a perfect backdrop for the vibrant flowers. Growing to a medium height of 4-5 feet, Purple Passion creates a stunning visual focal point, especially when planted in groups.

9. Jetstream

Jetstream is a compact, dense oakleaf hydrangea variety that offers multi-season interest. While its primary flowers are white aging to pink, under certain conditions they can develop subtle purple tints. What makes Jetstream special is its exceptional disease resistance, sturdy stems, and spectacular fall foliage that turns a vivid orange-red. The exfoliating tawny-brown bark provides winter interest when other plants have gone dormant. At 5-6 feet tall and 4-5 feet wide, Jetstream makes an excellent foundation planting or specimen shrub.

10. Cityline Paris

Part of the Cityline series bred specifically for compact urban gardens, Cityline Paris offers vibrant fuchsia-purple blooms on a neat, tidy plant. The rich color intensity of this variety makes it a standout even among other purple hydrangeas. Growing just 1-3 feet tall and wide, it’s perfect for containers, small spaces, or front-of-border plantings. Cityline Paris also features excellent mildew resistance, a common problem with many hydrangeas, making it lower maintenance than some other varieties.

Tips for Growing Perfect Purple Hydrangeas

Achieving and maintaining that perfect purple hue requires some knowledge and care. Here are essential tips to help your purple hydrangeas thrive:

Soil Preparation and pH Management

The key to purple hydrangeas lies in balancing your soil pH. For that perfect purple color, aim for a soil pH around 6.5, which is slightly acidic to neutral. You can test your soil using a home kit or through your local extension office. To adjust the pH:

• To make soil more acidic (for bluer-purple): Add aluminum sulfate, coffee grounds, or acidic organic matter
• To make soil more alkaline (for pinker-purple): Add garden lime or wood ash
• Make adjustments gradually and retest to avoid dramatic color shifts

Planting Location

Most hydrangeas, including purple varieties, prefer:

• Morning sun with afternoon shade, especially in warmer climates
• Rich, well-draining soil with plenty of organic matter
• Protection from strong winds that can damage stems and flowers

Watering Requirements

The “hydra” in hydrangea refers to water, and these plants need consistent moisture to thrive:

• Water deeply 2-3 times per week during establishment
• Once established, provide about 1 inch of water weekly
• Apply a 2-3 inch layer of mulch to retain soil moisture

Pruning Practices

Proper pruning is crucial for abundant blooms. For most bigleaf hydrangeas that produce purple flowers:

• Prune immediately after flowering ends
• Remove only dead, damaged, or crossing branches
• Avoid heavy pruning as most purple varieties bloom on old wood
• For reblooming varieties, light pruning in early spring can encourage more flowers

Creative Landscape Uses for Purple Hydrangeas

Purple hydrangeas offer versatility in garden design and can be incorporated in numerous ways:

Mixed Perennial Borders

The rich purple tones of hydrangeas create stunning contrast when planted alongside:

• Yellow flowers like coreopsis or black-eyed Susans
• Silver-leaved plants such as artemisia or lamb’s ear
• Ornamental grasses that provide texture and movement

Shade Gardens

Purple hydrangeas shine in partially shaded areas where many other flowering shrubs struggle:

• Plant beneath deciduous trees for filtered light
• Combine with hostas, ferns, and other shade-loving perennials
• Use as a colorful alternative to traditional shade garden plants

Cut Flower Gardens

Purple hydrangea blooms make excellent cut flowers, lasting for weeks in arrangements:

• Harvest in the morning when stems are fully hydrated
• Cut when flowers are fully open but before they begin to fade
• Immediately place cut stems in water to prevent wilting

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Are there truly purple hydrangeas, or do they always need soil adjustments?

A: There are no hydrangeas that are genetically “true purple” – the purple color is always the result of soil chemistry affecting bigleaf (Hydrangea macrophylla) varieties. Some cultivars are bred to produce more reliable purple tones in a wider range of soil conditions, but all purple hydrangeas are essentially either blue or pink varieties reacting to specific soil pH levels.

Q: How quickly can I change my hydrangea’s color from blue or pink to purple?

A: Color changes don’t happen overnight. When adjusting soil pH, expect to see gradual changes over several weeks to months. Complete transformations may take a full growing season. For container-grown plants, changes happen more quickly than for garden-planted specimens.

Q: Can all hydrangea types produce purple flowers?

A: No, only bigleaf hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla) and some mountain hydrangeas (Hydrangea serrata) have the ability to change color based on soil pH. Smooth hydrangeas (H. arborescens), panicle hydrangeas (H. paniculata), and oakleaf hydrangeas (H. quercifolia) will not produce purple blooms regardless of soil amendments.

Q: Do purple hydrangeas need special fertilizer?

A: Purple hydrangeas benefit from balanced, slow-release fertilizers. Avoid high-phosphorus fertilizers as phosphorus can block aluminum uptake, which is necessary for blue/purple colors. Look for fertilizers specifically formulated for acid-loving plants if you want to encourage more blue-purple tones.

Q: Can I preserve the purple color of cut hydrangea flowers?

A: Yes, purple hydrangea blooms can be dried to preserve their color. Cut them when fully mature, remove leaves, hang upside down in a dark, dry place for 2-3 weeks, or use silica gel for faster preservation. The color may fade slightly during drying but will retain much of its purple hue.

Final Thoughts

With hydrangeas being so well known for their blue or white flowers, purple hydrangeas offer a welcome surprise that can elevate your garden’s aesthetic. These stunning shrubs bring a sense of majesty and calm to any landscape, creating focal points that evolve throughout the seasons. Whether you’re drawn to the rich violet tones of varieties like BloomStruck or the subtle lavender hues of Twist-n-Shout, there’s a purple hydrangea perfect for your garden.

What makes these plants particularly special is how they often occur naturally depending on your soil’s pH balance. By understanding the science behind hydrangea colors and providing the right growing conditions, you can enjoy these magnificent purple blooms year after year. Give these purple beauties a try, and add some depth to your colorful gardens with their captivating presence and remarkable versatility.

Author

Shinta

 

Shinta is a biotechnologist turned writer. She holds a master's degree in Biotechnology from Karunya Institute of Technology and Sciences and a PG Diploma in cellular and molecular diagnostics from Manipal University. Shinta realised her love for content while working as an editor for a scientific journal.

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