Hydrangea anomala subsp. petiolaris

I just picked one up today and there are 2 things I am actually wondering about this vine.
1. Will it grow through gravelly sub soil ok
2. Does it get pretty heavy? Will a chainlink fence support it or is a tree best?

These vines actually prefer a rich, organic soil. I'd try to amend as much of the surrounding soil as possible with things like leaf compost, mushroom compost and/or cow manure. As far as the weight is concerned, I've seen them develop a stem that is quite trunk-like. I wouldn't be surprised if the vine could almost stand alone after (many years of) thickening up).

That is why I am asking about the subsoil. In this particular spot I have planned for it, it has been the dumping spot when I get truckloads of compost, over the passed few years. So there is actually a few of inches of compost and soil over the gravel.
So you think it can possibly be more tree like than vine like? That is cool. The branches that are on it now are pretty thick for a vine. Now that you mention it. Thanks for responding, plantfreak!

But why is there gravel at all? Is that just your normal soil? Most roots don't grow that well in gravel because there are too many air pockets between the particles. If your soil is just gravel-y then maybe there's enough small particles to fill up the empty spaces. Otherwise, the gravel (with air pockets) would essentially form a barrier through which the roots would not grow (or not grow well).

No. A previous owner decided to do an RV parking strip or something and put down a bunch of gravel. Could have even been the builders for all I know. It is deep and I can't remove it without a lot of expense. Now that I think about it though, whenever I dig a new bed or plant a bush or tree, I always find large rocks. That's not a big issue though.
Ahhh. Ok. Thanks!

Weeds, I wish I found large rocks in my yard. All I find a smaller ones. Do you put yours to use?

Hi kwanjin. Nice to hear from you again!
In a sense. I give them to the neighbor who has built his back yard out of boulders and concrete. Some of those boulders came from my place. When I find smaller ones that I can lift, I use those to hold something down. Like if I am doing a new garden by lasagna method, I use those to hold down the foundation layer. But that is about it. I am not much into landscaping with rocks.

Depending on the type of gravel (i.e. limestone or otherwise,) it may affect the pH of the soil around it. I'd dig an extra-large pit for your hydrangea, just to be sure it recieves adequate nutrient and drainage for the first year or so. The benefit of having alkaline gravel in the soil next to a hydrangea is, a deep blue-purple bloom coloUR.

...except on this climbing Hydrangea which only blooms white (ok, maybe pink, but rarely). But, pH is still an important consideration.

my mistake, it was early in the morning :)

No worries. If you catch me pre-coffee, I'm totally useless ... pre-coffee, pre-lunch, post-lunch, pre-dinner... But the rest of the day I'm awesome! LOL

"...I need my sleep. About eight hours a day, and ten at night."

Actually for hydrangeas that do change color due to soil ph, alkaline soil would produce a pink bloom, acidic soil produces the blue colors.

Doug

Thank you landscapetech.