Oversized flower heads open white and drift into soft pastel pink or blue depending on soil pH. Hydrangea macrophylla Endless Summer® Dreamcloud® 'Bailmaceight', a bigleaf hydrangea, grows 3 to 4 feet tall and wide in part shade, hardy from Zone 4 through Zone 9.
Starting white and shifting means the plant carries several tones at once as newer heads open behind the older ones. It reblooms, flowering on old and new wood.
Bigleaf hydrangeas change color with soil pH. Acidic soil below about 6.0 gives blue, alkaline above 7.0 gives pink, and the range between produces purple or a mix of pink and blue on the same plant. White varieties stay white. Aluminum sulfate pushes flowers toward blue and garden lime pushes them toward pink, and either takes a season to show.
Older bigleaf hydrangeas flower only on old wood, meaning buds set in late summer for the following year, so a hard winter or a late frost could cost a whole season. Most varieties now bloom on both old and new wood, though the second round is lighter than the first. Prune in summer after the first flowering and no later than August, since cutting in fall or early spring removes the buds that carry the heaviest bloom. Dead stems can come out in spring, once new growth shows which ones are dead.
Zone 4 hardiness is unusual in a bigleaf hydrangea.
Size at Maturity
Height 3'- 4' Spread 3'- 4'
Growing Zone
USDA Hardiness Zones 4-9
Lowest Temperatures -30°F to -20°F
Light Requirements
Part sun to part shade - 3 to 6 hours of direct sun, or dappled light through the day
Special Conditions
Seasons of Interest
How to Plant
Give your new plant the best start possible. Click here for general planting instructions.
Grow With Confidence
We stand behind every plant we ship. Click here to view our warranty.