Snowball Plant Hydrangea macrophylla
Other Common Name(s):
- Phonetic Spelling
- hy-DRAN-jee-ah mak-roh-FIL-uh
- This plant has low severity poison characteristics.
- See below
- Description
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Bigleaf hydrangea is a woody, deciduous, perennial shrub in the hydrangea family (Hydrangeaceae) and is native to Japan, China, Korea, and Southeast Asia. Depending upon the cultivar, of which there are many, the plant produces ball-shaped flower clusters ("mop-heads") or flat clusters of small flowers surrounded by a ring of more prominent flowers ("lacecaps").
Bigleaf hydrangea performs best in areas with dappled sunlight, partial shade, or deep shade. Protect it from afternoon sun. It is tolerant of both clay and sandy soil and has some salt tolerance. Plant it in a site with good drainage; occasionally wet soil is okay. Colors range from white to pink, blue, or purple flowers, depending on the soil's acidity. Blue flowers develop with acidic soil and pink flowers from alkaline soil. Aluminum sulfate can be added to acidify the soil, and lime to produce a more alkaline soil. It blooms during the late spring and summer on the previous year's growth, often described as "old wood." Some cultivars, classified as reblooming, bloom again, later in the summer, on new growth. Do any pruning before August 1. Propagate this shrub by layering or stem cutting.
This plant rapidly grows into a multi-stemmed shrub with a rounded habit and is generally 3 to 6 feet tall and wide at maturity. It has many uses in the landscape. Mass plant it in a woodland or naturalized area, a foundation planting, hedge, or as a privacy screen. A single specimen can accent a patio or be grown in a container. It is a good addition to Asian, children’s, cottage, cutting, or shade gardens.
Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: It can suffer leaf spot, bacterial wilt, and powdery mildew under some conditions. It is susceptible to damage by deer.
VIDEO Created by Elizabeth Meyer for "Trees, Shrubs and Conifers" a plant identification course offered in partnership with Longwood Gardens.
- Profile Video:
- See this plant in the following landscapes:
- Collector’s Garden Foundation Planting: Back of House Flower Bonanza Garden Hydrangeas in the Garden Davidson County Extension Demonstration Garden Sun to Shade Garden in Craven County Paths & Walkways Coastal Foundation Garden Border Landscape Pinewild County Club, Moore County
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- 'All Summer Beauty'
blue to pink mop-head. Rebloomer. - 'Ayesha'
Pale pink (or blue) mop-head, with spoon-like petals. Lightly fragrant. - Blue Wave® 'Mariesii Perfecta'
Blue (to pink) lace-cap. - 'Blushing Bride'
Mop-head type with semi-double flowers that emerge white and mature to blush pink or blue. - 'Cardinal Red'
Mop-head type with deep pink flowers that fade to red. - Cityline® Paris 'Paris Rapa'
Compact plant with deep pinkish red, mop-head blooms. - 'Dooley'
Blue (or pink) mop-head. - Endless Summer Bloomstruck® 'PIIHM-II'
blue to pink mop-head. Stems and leaf veins reddish. Rebloomer. - Endless Summer® The Original 'Bailmer'
Blue (to pink) mop-head. Reblooming. - Everlasting® Amethyst 'Hokomathyst'
Mop-head type with dark pink (or purple) flowers that age to green. - 'Fuji Waterfall'
Lacecap type with double, white flowers.
'Glowing Embers'
- 'Goliath'
Large pink (or purplish) mop-head type. Flowers have coarsely serrate margins. - 'Jogasaki'
Lacecap type with double, blue or pink flowers with long pedicels.. - L.A. Dreamin'® 'Lindsey Anne'
Mop-head type with blue, pink, and lavender flowers, often all at once. - 'Lady in Red'
Lacecap type with deep pinkish red (or blue) flowers. Stems and leaf veins reddish.
'Lemon Daddy'
- 'Libelle'
- 'Mariesii'
- 'Mariesii Variegata'
6' x 6' with striking white leaf margins - 'Masja'
- 'Mathilda Gutges'
- 'Merrit's Beauty'
- 'Monrey'
- 'Nantucket Blue'
- 'Nigra'
- 'Nikko Blue'
- 'Penny Mac'
- 'Pia'
- 'Pink Elf'
- Pistachio™ 'Horwack'
Mop-head with deep pink and lime green flowers; reblooming. - 'Shakira'
- 'Sister Theresa'
- Stargazer® 'Kompeito'
Lace-cap type with double pink or blue flowers. Rebloomer. - 'Teller White'
- 'Todi'
- 'TwistNShout'
Abundant, 8-inch, mop-head-type flower heads, reddish pink to crimson.
Chartreuse green leaves. Mop-head type with blue or pink flowers. - 'All Summer Beauty'
- 'All Summer Beauty', 'Ayesha', Blue Wave® 'Mariesii Perfecta', 'Blushing Bride', 'Cardinal Red', Cityline® Paris 'Paris Rapa', 'Dooley', Endless Summer Bloomstruck® 'PIIHM-II', Endless Summer® The Original 'Bailmer', Everlasting® Amethyst 'Hokomathyst', 'Fuji Waterfall', 'Glowing Embers', 'Goliath', 'Jogasaki', L.A. Dreamin'® 'Lindsey Anne', 'Lady in Red', 'Lemon Daddy', 'Libelle', 'Mariesii', 'Mariesii Variegata', 'Masja', 'Mathilda Gutges', 'Merrit's Beauty', 'Monrey', 'Nantucket Blue', 'Nigra', 'Nikko Blue', 'Penny Mac', 'Pia', 'Pink Elf', Pistachio™ 'Horwack', 'Shakira', 'Sister Theresa', Stargazer® 'Kompeito', 'Teller White', 'Todi', 'TwistNShout'
- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
-
- 'All Summer Beauty'
blue to pink mop-head. Rebloomer. - 'Ayesha'
Pale pink (or blue) mop-head, with spoon-like petals. Lightly fragrant. - Blue Wave® 'Mariesii Perfecta'
Blue (to pink) lace-cap. - 'Blushing Bride'
Mop-head type with semi-double flowers that emerge white and mature to blush pink or blue. - 'Cardinal Red'
Mop-head type with deep pink flowers that fade to red. - Cityline® Paris 'Paris Rapa'
Compact plant with deep pinkish red, mop-head blooms. - 'Dooley'
Blue (or pink) mop-head. - Endless Summer Bloomstruck® 'PIIHM-II'
blue to pink mop-head. Stems and leaf veins reddish. Rebloomer. - Endless Summer® The Original 'Bailmer'
Blue (to pink) mop-head. Reblooming. - Everlasting® Amethyst 'Hokomathyst'
Mop-head type with dark pink (or purple) flowers that age to green. - 'Fuji Waterfall'
Lacecap type with double, white flowers.
'Glowing Embers'
- 'Goliath'
Large pink (or purplish) mop-head type. Flowers have coarsely serrate margins. - 'Jogasaki'
Lacecap type with double, blue or pink flowers with long pedicels.. - L.A. Dreamin'® 'Lindsey Anne'
Mop-head type with blue, pink, and lavender flowers, often all at once. - 'Lady in Red'
Lacecap type with deep pinkish red (or blue) flowers. Stems and leaf veins reddish.
'Lemon Daddy'
- 'Libelle'
- 'Mariesii'
- 'Mariesii Variegata'
6' x 6' with striking white leaf margins - 'Masja'
- 'Mathilda Gutges'
- 'Merrit's Beauty'
- 'Monrey'
- 'Nantucket Blue'
- 'Nigra'
- 'Nikko Blue'
- 'Penny Mac'
- 'Pia'
- 'Pink Elf'
- Pistachio™ 'Horwack'
Mop-head with deep pink and lime green flowers; reblooming. - 'Shakira'
- 'Sister Theresa'
- Stargazer® 'Kompeito'
Lace-cap type with double pink or blue flowers. Rebloomer. - 'Teller White'
- 'Todi'
- 'TwistNShout'
Abundant, 8-inch, mop-head-type flower heads, reddish pink to crimson.
Chartreuse green leaves. Mop-head type with blue or pink flowers. - 'All Summer Beauty'
- 'All Summer Beauty', 'Ayesha', Blue Wave® 'Mariesii Perfecta', 'Blushing Bride', 'Cardinal Red', Cityline® Paris 'Paris Rapa', 'Dooley', Endless Summer Bloomstruck® 'PIIHM-II', Endless Summer® The Original 'Bailmer', Everlasting® Amethyst 'Hokomathyst', 'Fuji Waterfall', 'Glowing Embers', 'Goliath', 'Jogasaki', L.A. Dreamin'® 'Lindsey Anne', 'Lady in Red', 'Lemon Daddy', 'Libelle', 'Mariesii', 'Mariesii Variegata', 'Masja', 'Mathilda Gutges', 'Merrit's Beauty', 'Monrey', 'Nantucket Blue', 'Nigra', 'Nikko Blue', 'Penny Mac', 'Pia', 'Pink Elf', Pistachio™ 'Horwack', 'Shakira', 'Sister Theresa', Stargazer® 'Kompeito', 'Teller White', 'Todi', 'TwistNShout'
- Tags:
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Attributes:
- Genus:
- Hydrangea
- Species:
- macrophylla
- Family:
- Hydrangeaceae
- Life Cycle:
- Perennial
- Woody
- Recommended Propagation Strategy:
- Layering
- Leaf Cutting
- Stem Cutting
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- Japan, China, Korea and Southeast Asia;
- Play Value:
- Attractive Flowers
- Attracts Pollinators
- Colorful
- Easy to Grow
- Shade
- Dimensions:
- Height: 3 ft. 0 in. - 6 ft. 0 in.
- Width: 3 ft. 0 in. - 6 ft. 0 in.
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Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Perennial
- Poisonous
- Shrub
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Habit/Form:
- Erect
- Multi-stemmed
- Rounded
- Growth Rate:
- Rapid
- Maintenance:
- Low
- Texture:
- Coarse
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Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Dappled Sunlight (Shade through upper canopy all day)
- Deep shade (Less than 2 hours to no direct sunlight)
- Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
- Soil Texture:
- Clay
- High Organic Matter
- Loam (Silt)
- Sand
- Soil pH:
- Acid (<6.0)
- Alkaline (>8.0)
- Neutral (6.0-8.0)
- Soil Drainage:
- Good Drainage
- Occasionally Wet
- Available Space To Plant:
- 3 feet-6 feet
- NC Region:
- Coastal
- Mountains
- Piedmont
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b, 11a, 11b
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Fruit:
- Display/Harvest Time:
- Fall
- Fruit Type:
- Capsule
- Fruit Description:
- cup-like capsule
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Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- Blue
- Pink
- Purple/Lavender
- White
- Flower Inflorescence:
- Corymb
- Cyme
- Umbel
- Flower Value To Gardener:
- Good Cut
- Good Dried
- Long-lasting
- Showy
- Flower Bloom Time:
- Summer
- Flower Shape:
- Dome
- Saucer
- Flower Petals:
- 4-5 petals/rays
- Flower Size:
- 1-3 inches
- Flower Description:
- Flowers in a terminal, round or umbrella-shaped cluster of white, pink, or blue; 4- 5-parted, the sterile flowers (around the margin or the entire cluster) are much enlarged. Large flat-topped corymb with numerous flowers; borne on previous season's growth. Some varieties have a more mop-head shaped bloom. Flowers 2" diameter, toothed or entire; pink, white, blue or purple; color can depend on the soil pH.
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Leaves:
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Leaf Color:
- Gold/Yellow
- Green
- Leaf Feel:
- Fleshy
- Glossy
- Rough
- Deciduous Leaf Fall Color:
- Gold/Yellow
- Insignificant
- Leaf Type:
- Simple
- Leaf Arrangement:
- Opposite
- Leaf Shape:
- Elliptical
- Obovate
- Ovate
- Leaf Margin:
- Serrate
- Hairs Present:
- No
- Leaf Length:
- 3-6 inches
- Leaf Width:
- 3-6 inches
- Leaf Description:
- Opposite, simple, stalked, toothed, and sometimes lobed, lustrous medium to dark green above, underside glabrous or may have short hairs, stout petiole about 1" long.; Obovate to elliptic or broadly ovate, 4-8" long, 3-6" wide, short acuminate tip, coarsely serrate.
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Bark:
- Bark Color:
- Light Brown
- Bark Description:
- Tan colored, large leaf scars
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Stem:
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
- Stem Description:
- Emerge from ground; rarely branch.
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Landscape:
- Landscape Location:
- Container
- Naturalized Area
- Patio
- Woodland
- Landscape Theme:
- Asian Garden
- Children's Garden
- Cottage Garden
- Cutting Garden
- Shade Garden
- Design Feature:
- Accent
- Foundation Planting
- Hedge
- Mass Planting
- Screen/Privacy
- Resistance To Challenges:
- Salt
- Problems:
- Poisonous to Humans
- Problem for Cats
- Problem for Dogs
- Problem for Horses