Big Daddy Hydrangea

Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Big Daddy’

Plant Details

USDA Plant Hardiness Zones: 6a-9b Find Your Zone

Plant Type: Deciduous Flowering Shrub

Height at Maturity: 5-6′

Width at Maturity: 5-6′

Spacing: 4′ apart for solid hedges; 8′ or more apart for space between plants

Growth Habit / Form: Bushy, Dense, Globose/Round

Flower Color: Blue in acid soil or Pink in alkaline soil

Flower Size: Large – up to 14″ inch diameter!

Flowering Period: Early Summer through Fall!

Flower Type: Single in large clusters

Fragrant Flowers: No

Foliage Color: Rich Medium to Dark Green

Fragrant Foliage: No

Berries: NA

Berry Color: NA

Sun Needs: Part Shade – Morning or Filtered Sun is preferred (South). Full Sun or Part Shade (North)

Water Needs: Average, Lower when established

Soil Type: Clay (amended), Loam, Sand (amended), Silt

Soil Moisture / Drainage: Well Drained Moist

Soil pH: 6.0 – 8.0 (Moderately Acid to Moderately Alkaline)

Maintenance / Care: Low

Attracts: Visual Attention

Resistances: Disease, Drought (when established in part shade), Heat, Humidity, Insect

Description

The bigger it grows, the more it flowers and the BIGGER the blooms! Big Daddy Hydrangea produces an abundance of HUGE, 12-14 inch diameter blue or pink flowers (depending on soil pH) from late spring, throughout summer, and into early fall. Flower color is up to you. If you want blue flowers provide an acidic soil pH. If you want pink flowers provide an alkaline soil pH. Learn more about soil pH and how to adjust it.

Big Daddy blooms on old wood (last years wood) as well as the current seasons new growth. The large, glossy rich green leaves provide an excellent background for the magnificent display of constantly appearing new flowers. Equally hardy as it is beautiful, and so easy to grow!

Landscape & Garden Uses

Growing in a rounded mound 5 to 6 feet tall and wide, Big Daddy Hydrangea can be grown in garden beds or containers. It is ideal for use as a specimen, in groupings or a colorful hedge in landscape borders and home foundation plantings. A fine addition to Hydrangea gardens, blur or pink theme gardens (depending on soil pH, cottage gardens and cut flower gardens.

Suggested Spacing: 4 feet apart for solid hedges; 8 or more apart for space between plants

How To Measure Total Square Feet Of A Planting Area

How Many Plants Needed To Cover A Planting Area?

Note: For our customers who live and garden north of USDA Planting Zone 6a, where this Hydrangea variety is not reliably winter hardy outdoors, you can enjoy it in containers that can be moved indoors during winter and placed back outside when temperatures warm up in spring.

Growing Preferences

Big Daddy Hydrangea is very easy to grow in most any moist but well-drained soil with average fertility and full sun to part shade in northern zones and part shade (morning sun with afternoon shade or filtered sun) in southern zones. For best flowering, we suggest 4 hours of direct sun light per day. As with so many other ornamental plants, a constantly soggy or wet soil is problematic. Flower color is your choice. Acidic soils will make blue flowers while a neutral to slightly alkaline soil will make pink flowers.

Note: Big Daddy is a Hydrangea macrophylla species that produces its flowers from buds that formed on “old wood” (during the previous year). This means that even though it is tempting to cut them back in the winter, when they are only bare sticks jutting out of the ground, don’t do it. The flower buds are already formed and hidden in those bare sticks, so don’t cut them off if you want flowers.

Get tips for proper pruning time and technique in our article titled How To Prune Various Types Of Hydrangea

Helpful Articles

Click on a link below to find helpful advice from our experts on how to plant and care for mophead Hydrangeas.

How To Plant Hydrangeas In The Ground & Pots

How To Prune Various Types Of Hydrangea

How To Fertilize And Water Hydrangeas

Plant Long & Prosper!

Meet The Wilson Brothers & Staff

Questions? Contact Us