Hello carrieb and hello to your cat. Hydrangea seedlings do not usually come true. If you want them to be same as the parent, you can propagate by cuttings.

Thanks, Luis. In a way, I'd kind of rather they NOT come true to seed. Kind of more exciting that way, you know? It'll be a surprise to see how they come out, unless the seedlings tend to be less garden worthy.

Mopheads are not entirely sterile :-) If you examine the flowerheads closely, you will find the tiny, fertile flowers hidden amongst the larger sterile ones. Same with the paniculatas, oakleafs and all the other large-flowered or so-called sterile flower forms. While the bulk of the flowers may be sterile, there will always be fertile flowers included in the inflorescense.

Controlled seedling crosses are what gave rise to the plethora of reblooming hydrangeas on the market today but garden variety or uncontrolled seedlings can produce very nice plants as well.

Gardengal - thank you! Those are some nice nuggets of information. Now I want to keep & grow out every one of those seedlings in my tiny urban garden so I can see what they turn in to. I'll have to give them to people I visit.

Carrie B,

How did the hydrangea seedlings turn out to be? And how long did it take you to grow the seedlings?

You know, I have no idea! I gave a bunch of them away - maybe all of them. Though, it's quite possible that my sidewalk planter lacecap is one of those. I've attached a photo, though I'm not sure it's one of them. In other good news - the stray cat in the photo, Goliath, now has a wonderful new indoor home!

Thank you for your feedback