Bigleaf hydrangea
Hydrangea macrophylla · Hydrangeaceae Popular
The classic mophead and lacecap hydrangea, with big, glossy leaves and large flower heads. The flowers are blue in acid soil and pink in alkaline soil.
- Size
- 5 ft tall, 5 ft wide
- Zones
- 6 to 9
- Light
- Part sun to part shade
- Flowers
- Late June to late August
- Pets
- Toxic (mild)
- Job in a bed
- Anchor
A bed built around bigleaf hydrangea
The planner designed this bed around bigleaf hydrangea when this page was made: a 16 × 8 ft (4.9 × 2.4 m) English border in zone 6, part sun. It chose the other plants from the 708 that suit those conditions, and says below why bigleaf hydrangea stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Bigleaf hydrangea × 1, blue
- 2 Mossy saxifrage × 21, pink
- 3 Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana' × 26, yellow
- 4 Garden phlox 'Jeana' × 4, pink
- 5 Siberian iris 'Caesar's Brother' × 5, purple
- 6 Palm sedge × 3, green leaves
- 7 Columbine meadow rue × 3, lavender
- 8 Easter lily × 3, white
- 9 Camassia × 5, blue
- 10 Checkered lily × 7, purple
Why this plant
- The only bold leaves here. The rest are fine and medium. A change of leaf keeps plants distinct when nothing is in flower.
- Part of the bed's structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down. So does palm sedge.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 5 ft it is the tallest plant here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to garden phlox 'Jeana' (4 ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- One plant, alone. A shrub is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- In flower for 9 weeks. From late June to late August.
- In company. With garden phlox 'Jeana' and Easter lily in mid July: 3 kinds at once.
Planned as an English border: 11 of the 12 groups (92%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana' is planted in 7 places along the bed, which gives it rhythm. Cool colours (blue, pink, purple and lavender) with yellow as the warm note, and white to calm things between them.
The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 6 Good.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where bigleaf hydrangea goes in a border
At 5 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is tall (4 to 5 ft).
Its job: anchor. A shrub that gives the bed permanent structure. Planted singly, as soon as the front edge is laid; everything else is arranged around it.
You can choose the colour by treating the soil: aluminium sulphate for blue, lime for pink. Most flower on old wood, so prune only just after flowering; reblooming kinds are safer in cold zones.
- Summer colour in part shade
- Coastal gardens
- Cut and dried flowers
What to plant with bigleaf hydrangea
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Hosta: its green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; spires rising out of its mound; low enough (18 in) to stand in front of it.
- Japanese painted fern: its silver leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; fine leaves against its bold ones; low enough (18 in) to stand in front of it.
- Astilbe: in flower together for four weeks, from late June; fine leaves against its bold ones; low enough (24 in) to stand in front of it.
Choosing between it and a look-alike? Bigleaf hydrangea vs Panicle hydrangea 'Limelight'.
Questions about bigleaf hydrangea
Does bigleaf hydrangea need sun or shade?
Bigleaf hydrangea grows in part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun) and part shade (2 to 4 hours of sun, mostly in the morning).
It wants soil that stays evenly moist, rich in organic matter, and plenty of water.
What zones does bigleaf hydrangea grow in?
USDA zones 6 to 9. It is hardy to zone 6, which means it survives winter nights down to about 0 °F (−18 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does bigleaf hydrangea flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late June to late August. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 6 | Late June to late August |
|---|---|
| Zone 7 | Late June to mid August |
| Zone 8 | Late June to mid August |
| Zone 9 | Mid June to early August |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should bigleaf hydrangea be planted?
4 ft (120 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 5 ft (150 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 5 ft (150 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many bigleaf hydrangea plants do I need?
Usually one. At 4 ft (120 cm) across, it is a plant you place, not one you mass. For a hedge or screen, set them 4 ft apart: three plants for a 10 ft run.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is bigleaf hydrangea poisonous to dogs and cats?
Yes: mild toxicity to people, dogs, cats and horses. Leaves and buds can cause vomiting and diarrhoea if eaten.
Rated from NC State Extension. Where references disagree, the more cautious rating is used.
Do deer eat bigleaf hydrangea?
They may. NC State does not list it as resistant to deer or rabbits. Where they visit, protect it, or plant it among ones they avoid.
What flowers after bigleaf hydrangea?
Bigleaf hydrangea is over by late August. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Japanese anemone: from mid August to early October, 3 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Korean feather reed grass: from late August to mid October, 4 ft tall.
- White snakeroot: from late August to mid October, 3½ ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does bigleaf hydrangea look like in winter?
Bigleaf hydrangea drops its leaves and stands as bare branches. That is when to see its shape, and to prune it if it needs pruning.
More Hydrangea
- Bigleaf hydrangea 'Endless Summer' Hydrangea macrophylla 'Bailmer' (Endless Summer)
- Bigleaf hydrangea 'Nikko Blue' Hydrangea macrophylla 'Nikko Blue'
- Lacecap hydrangea 'Twist-n-Shout' Hydrangea macrophylla 'PIIHM-I' (Twist-n-Shout)
- Mountain hydrangea Hydrangea serrata
- Mountain hydrangea 'Bluebird' Hydrangea serrata 'Bluebird'
- Mountain hydrangea 'Tuff Stuff' Hydrangea serrata 'MAK20' (Tuff Stuff)
- Oakleaf hydrangea Hydrangea quercifolia
- Oakleaf hydrangea 'Alice' Hydrangea quercifolia 'Alice'
- Oakleaf hydrangea 'Munchkin' Hydrangea quercifolia 'Munchkin'
- Oakleaf hydrangea 'Pee Wee' Hydrangea quercifolia 'Pee Wee'
- Oakleaf hydrangea 'Ruby Slippers' Hydrangea quercifolia 'Ruby Slippers'
- Oakleaf hydrangea 'Snow Queen' Hydrangea quercifolia 'Snow Queen'
- Panicle hydrangea 'Bobo' Hydrangea paniculata 'Bobo'
- Panicle hydrangea 'Fire Light' Hydrangea paniculata 'SMHPFL' (Fire Light)
- Panicle hydrangea 'Limelight' Hydrangea paniculata 'Limelight'
- Panicle hydrangea 'Little Lime' Hydrangea paniculata 'Jane' (Little Lime)
- Panicle hydrangea 'Pinky Winky' Hydrangea paniculata 'DVP PINKY' (Pinky Winky)
- Panicle hydrangea 'Quick Fire' Hydrangea paniculata 'Quick Fire'
- Panicle hydrangea 'Tardiva' Hydrangea paniculata 'Tardiva'
- Panicle hydrangea 'Vanilla Strawberry' Hydrangea paniculata 'Vanilla Strawberry'
- PeeGee hydrangea Hydrangea paniculata 'Grandiflora'
- Smooth hydrangea 'Annabelle' Hydrangea arborescens 'Annabelle'
- Smooth hydrangea 'Incrediball' Hydrangea arborescens 'Incrediball'
- Smooth hydrangea 'Invincibelle Spirit II' Hydrangea arborescens 'NCHA2' (Invincibelle Spirit II)
In these guides
- Salt-tolerant plants for roadsides and coasts
- Garden plants toxic to cats
- Garden plants toxic to dogs
- Plants with blue flowers
- Plants for a white garden
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 5 ft (150 cm) tall, 5 ft (150 cm) wide
- Plant
- 4 ft (120 cm) apart
- Height class
- Tall (4 to 5 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Late June to late August; dense clusters; blue, pink, purple, white
- Leaves
- Bold texture, deciduous; green
- Shape
- Rounded, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 6 to 9
- Light
- Part sun, part shade
- Soil
- Rich, evenly moist
- Water
- High
- Feeding
- Moderate, in spring
- Family
- Hydrangeaceae
- Comes from
- Japan, China, Korea and Southeast Asia
- Stands up to
- Salt
Checked against NC State Extension. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.