But what many florists tend to overlook is that the Hydrangea is not just an autumn flower.

The association of the fully-coloured varieties with Autumn is understandable, but according to Menno Kroon, arguably Holland’s most famous and successful retail florist, you are missing out big time when you don’t use Hydrangea as a ‘spring flower’ too.

Cut Hydrangea designs by Menno Kroon

Putting his Euros where his mouth is Menno Kroon has created a range of designs to use Hydrangea in the Spring and once again he demonstrates how Hydrangea bring an element of surprise and beauty to both romantic and contemporary styles.

Love ‘em but take ‘em for granted
A survey of more than 750 florists clearly showed that Hydrangea have lost none of their popularity - if anything they are even more popular as a contemporary flower.  Their graceful delicacy is belied by their substantial flower head size but that makes them all the more appealing.

However what the survey did throw up was that a surprising number of florists did not appreciate how broad a range of colours is available in the Spring.  Factor in that few florists think of Hydrangea as a focus point for impulse arrangements and the extent of the missed opportunity becomes apparent.

We’re all a little different
As might be expected, the survey, which was conducted in Holland, Germany France as well as the UK, found striking differences in our national preferences.
Whereas we in the UK tend to go for white and the paler shades, blue and pink being especially popular, the Dutch are less subtle preferring the more pronounced colours of dark blue and dark pink.

So perhaps the message is if your shop is in a busy tourist resort that attracts lots of Northern Europeans then go for the stronger colours, but otherwise you will be on solid ground with the lighter tones.

Whichever colours you choose, you can sell a lot more flower arrangements featuring Hydrangea that has been the case in the past – the consumer loves them and just needs to have them promoted to her.

Further information:

Background information

Menno Kroon designs

Cut Hydrangea: a voluminous eye-catchers!