Most cultivated hydrangeas, lacecaps and mopheads, have been bred to give large heads of showy flowers. (It is actually the sterile flowers around the edges of the heads that provide almost all of the colour.) The species are much more refined, but just about all of them are excellent garden plants, and provide colour and interest in late summer and autumn. They grow in similar conditions to rhododendrons, so complement them extremely well. There are a very few climbing species, which provides further opportunities for growing them to give impact in the garden.

Hydrangea paniculata 'Phantom' is a large shrub that is easy to grow if it isn't allowed to dry out.