Plant: Nikko Blue - Hydrangea
Hydrangea · Hydrangea macrophylla 'Nikko Blue'
Size: 3 gal
Light
Bloom
Mature size
More about this plant
A classic mophead bigleaf hydrangea growing 4 to 6 feet tall and carrying rich blue flower heads in acid soil. Clemson notes that flowers are blue where the soil is acidic at pH 5.0 to 5.5 and pink where the pH is 6.0 and above. The coarse textured shrub has lustrous medium to dark green toothed leaves and blooms in summer on old wood. It does best in partial shade with morning sun and afternoon shade, in moist, well drained soil rich in organic matter, watered deeply about once a week.
- Part Shade
- Grows to 6 ft tall and 8 ft wide
- Blooms in summer
- Hardy in USDA zones 6-11
- Deciduous foliage
Plant description
A classic mophead bigleaf hydrangea growing 4 to 6 feet tall and carrying rich blue flower heads in acid soil. Clemson notes that flowers are blue where the soil is acidic at pH 5.0 to 5.5 and pink where the pH is 6.0 and above. The coarse textured shrub has lustrous medium to dark green toothed leaves and blooms in summer on old wood. It does best in partial shade with morning sun and afternoon shade, in moist, well drained soil rich in organic matter, watered deeply about once a week.
- Flowers
- Rich blue mophead flower heads in acid soil; Clemson notes that in acidic soil at pH 5.0 to 5.5 the flowers are blue while in soils of pH 6.0 and up they are pink.
- Foliage
- Opposite, simple, stalked, toothed and sometimes lobed leaves, lustrous medium to dark green above, with a stout petiole about one inch long.
- Fruit
- A cup like capsule.
- Bark & stems
- Tan colored bark with large leaf scars; stems emerge from the ground and rarely branch.
- Light
- Morning Sun, Dappled/Filtered Light
- Pruning
- Bigleaf hydrangea blooms on old wood, so remove dead canes or rejuvenate an older plant immediately after flowering and avoid pruning after August 1 so that flower buds are not removed.
- Native range
- Japan, China, Korea and Southeast Asia
