Nantucket Blue bigleaf hydrangea
Hydrangea macrophylla 'Nantucket Blue'
USDA zones5 to 9
SunHandles partial sun to full shade
WaterHandles moderate or wet soil
Size4 to 6 feet tall4 to 6 feet wide
- Growth rate
- Rapid
- Habit
- Mounding
- Bloom season
- Summer, autumn
- Bloom color
- Blue
- Foliage color
- Green
- Soil types
- Sand, loam, clay
- Soil pH
- Acidic for blue flowers (pH 4.5-5.5)
- Toxicity
- Toxic to dogs, toxic to cats, toxic to horses
Garden uses
Notes
'Nantucket Blue' bigleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla 'Nantucket Blue') is a shrub for borders, specimen plantings, shade gardens, and foundation plantings. It is hardy to USDA zone 5, or down to -20°F (-29°C). This plant likes part sun to full shade and average to wet, sandy, loamy, or clay soil. Blue flowers open from early to late summer and again in early autumn. Deer tend to pass it by. Acidic soil with a pH of 4.5 to 5.5 keeps the flowers blue.
Pairs well with First Frost hosta, Aureola Japanese forest grass, Lady fern, and Christmas fern.