{"product_id":"hydrangea-aspera-hot-chocolate","title":"Hydrangea aspera 'Hot Chocolate'","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHydrangea aspera 'Hot Chocolate'\u003c\/strong\u003e is the hydrangea reimagined as a foliage exotic: big, velvety leaves in chocolate-bronze with rich burgundy undersides, so every breeze flickers the shrub between darkness and wine. In late summer, wide lacecap heads of lilac-blue florets ringed with blush-pink sterile flowers hover above that moody canopy, a combination no mophead can touch.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBred from the Himalayan rough-leaved hydrangea, it is rated H4 and flowers reliably on old wood with almost no pruning. Bees work the fertile florets hard in August when borders start to flag.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eHow and where to grow\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePosition:\u003c\/strong\u003e partial shade, sheltered from cold winds and frost pockets.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSoil:\u003c\/strong\u003e moist but well-drained, humus-rich; unfussy about pH.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e to around 2 m tall and wide.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eHardiness:\u003c\/strong\u003e H4; only late frosts on new leaves need watching.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003eUse it at the woodland edge with ferns and \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/plants-for-shade\"\u003eplants for shade\u003c\/a\u003e, or as the dark heart of an \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/exotic-border-plants\"\u003eexotic border\u003c\/a\u003e beside \u003ca href=\"\/products\/farfugium-japonicum-giganteum\"\u003eFarfugium giganteum\u003c\/a\u003e and its rare evergreen cousin \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dichroa-daimingshanensis-guiz-48\"\u003eDichroa 'Guiz 48'\u003c\/a\u003e. First aspera in our \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/hardy-exotics\"\u003ehardy exotics\u003c\/a\u003e range.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNursery-grown, well-budded plants. Winter notes in the \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/hardy-exotics-what-to-expect\"\u003eseasonal expectations guide\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"GROW TROPICALS","offers":[{"title":"17cm \/ 2L","offer_id":58370029093247,"sku":"HYDRASPE17","price":22.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0361\/9645\/0348\/files\/hotchocolate.jpg?v=1789653289","url":"https:\/\/growtropicals.com\/products\/hydrangea-aspera-hot-chocolate","provider":"GrowTropicals","version":"1.0","type":"link"}