Light-O-Day® Bigleaf Hydrangea

Deep green leaves edged in pure white on a bigleaf hydrangea 3 to 5 feet tall, variegated sharply enough that the foliage carries the plant out of flower. Hydrangea macrophylla Light-O-Day® 'Bailday' spreads 3 to 5 feet in part shade, hardy from Zone 5 through Zone 8.

Lacecap flowers open white with a blue or pink center ring depending on soil pH. This is an older variety that blooms on old wood only.

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.

Prune right after the main flush and leave the stems alone through winter.