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
I have always hesitated to buy a 3 gallon plant because smaller ones at a lower price meant I could buy more, right? Well, those smaller ones from other companies died. So I splurged and got the 3 gallon, hoping that it would be magnificent. And it totally is!! I smile every time I see it. Loved how it was sent to me, from the packaging to the health of the plant. Would and will order from here again.——————————————-Thanks for the kind words and wonderful review! We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy it for years to come! 🙂 Beth Steele | WBG
I can’t wait to see these flower! The hydrangea arrived well packaged and healthy – the leaves are strong and very green. We were most impressed with the planting and care instructions! I highly recommend ordering from Wilson Bros. – they promise and deliver high quality plants!————————————————————-We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy it for years to come! Thanks for the kind words and great review! 🙂 Beth Steele | WBG
I have ordered approximately 20 shrubs/trees from Wilson Bros Gardens this year and have been amazed at the quality of each plant as well as the secure shipping. This Big Daddy Hydrangea is the most recent purchase (3 gallon) and it arrived in beautiful condition. I am looking forward to 2023 to see this gorgeous plant bloom!———————————————————-We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy them for years to come! Thanks for the kind words and great review! 🙂 Beth Steele | WBG
Beautiful plant and already in bloom when I received it———————————————————-We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy it for years to come! Thanks for the kind words and great review! 🙂 Beth Steele | WBG
I have a friend who lost her father-in-law who was called “Big Daddy”. I found a Big Daddy Hydrangea online and ordered it for her. I was most impressed with the beautiful plant I received. It was healthy, professionally packaged, and received in less than a week from order date. There were notes from the nursery which explained how to remove the plant from the collar which secured it in the box, planting instructions, watering instructions if it was not to be planted immediately, as well as how to get a replacement plant if the leaves arrived damaged in any way. I highly recommend this company as quality and service are their goals.————————————————We are so glad you are pleased and we hope she enjoys it for years to come! Thanks for the kind words and great review! 🙂 Beth Steele | WBG
Big, beautiful leaves, healthy plant. My first time to order from Wilson Bros and they did not disappoint. Extreme care in packaging so much so that it took me longer to unpackage than to plant – but that’s a good thing! This site has been bookmarked on my browser for the next time I need to add to my flowerbeds.———————————————We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy it for years to come! Thanks so much for the kind words and great review! 🙂 Beth Steele | WBG
I am very happy with these hydrangeas. I was a little nervous when they first arrived because there were little to no leaves on them. But after a couple weeks in ground I started to see some leaves sprout. After a couple months they are filling out nicely. Growing well in a shady area even in the south Florida heat.————————————-We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy them for years to come! Thanks for the great review! 🙂 Beth Steele | WBG
We purchased two of the 3 gallon big daddy hydrangeas for friends who had just purchased a new home. Our friends were thrilled to receive such an amazing long lasting present for their forever home. The plants were packaged carefully and arrived fully intact.These are quality plants and I would recommend Wilson Brothers to everyone.—————————————————–We are so glad you are pleased and we hope your freinds enjoy them for years to come! Thanks for the great review! 🙂 Beth Steele | WBG
Hydrangeas I ordered arrived healthy, well packed and well hydrated — their condition was just like I bought them in person at a nursery. In addition, this company has phenomenal customer service.——————————————————–We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy them for years to come! Thanks for the great review! 🙂 Beth Steele | WBG
Left my beautiful old hydrangeas when we moved so very pleased to start again. Plant arrived in wonderful shape. Now I just have to wait until I can get someone to pull the ugly shrubs around my house and replace with camelia, butterfly bushes, and more hydrangeas. Wilson brothers may not be cheap but the quality is unmistakable!——————————–We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy it for years to come! Thanks for the great review! 🙂 Beth Steele | WBG
My wife loved these hydrangeas. They arrived in great condition and are thriving. They’re gorgeous.———————————————————–Thanks for the great review! Beth | WBG
Arrived perfect! already blooming!——————————We are so glad you are pleased! Beth | WBG
This was my first experience with purchasing plants online and it could not have been better. My Big Daddy hydrangea arrived in perfect condition. Not a single leaf was damaged and the plant looked beautiful and healthy. I will be returning to Wilson Brothers in the future.———Thanks for the great review!! Beth | WBG
Although my Big Daddy Hydrangea arrived a little battered, most leaves were brown and fell off. It was extremely hot in my area and I’m sure it sat in the heat at the UPS over the weekend, UPS paid no attention to the arrow pointing upwards, so it was delivered on its side, and lost a lot of water, I’m assuming because of this. The good news is, it is starting to bounce back and new leaves are sprouting up all over. Wilson Bros Gardens said they will replace it if it does not come back. I hope it will still bloom next year. The blue color looks gorgeous. Thank you ————————- Hi Bonita – For sure, if your Big Daddy doesn’t bounce back “Bigly” we’ll be more than happy to send you a replacement. A few areas of the country have has some incredibly hot temperatures for short periods this summer and any unforeseen delays in shipping have caused a few problems…nothing too severe though. As you noticed, most types of plants bounce back from heat-stress fine. Just keep us posted as to how yours does. It should produce buds this fall and then bloom next year, repeating into summer from buds produced on new growth. You might even see a few blooms this fall. Thanks for review and we hope you enjoy the Big Daddy for years to come. Let us know if there’s ever anything else we can do for you. We’re at your service! – Brent | Wilson Bros Gardens
We were very pleased with both the condition of the plant and the packaging upon arrival. When we had a few questions regarding the plant, the team was very quick and thorough with their response. Our only regret is that we wish we ordered a bigger size as we love the look of our new plant but wish it was bigger… we’ll just have to be patient. As new homeowners we will certainly use Wilson Bros Gardens again as we continue to improve our property and would recommend them to others as well. ——————– WBG Reply: Hi Chris & Cara – Congratulations on your new home and thanks so much for your review of the Big Daddy Hydrangea. We hope you enjoy it for years to come. This one sure is a magnificent beauty with it’s enormous flowers and it grows quickly. Just plant it in average garden soil and water only enough to keep the soil moist but not constantly soggy. You’ll find detailed advice under the Planting & Care tab on every plant page in WilsonBrosGardens.com. Let us know if there’s ever anything else we can do for you. We’re at your service! – Brent | Wilson Bros Gardens
Of course, it’s too soon to give a full review for this plant since I’ve only had it a few days…however, I must say that I’m very impressed with the health of this plant. The packaging was excellent. I will continue to purchase plants from this Company. ———– WBG Reply: Hi Portia – Thanks so much for the compliments and for taking the time to provide your review on the Big Daddy Hydrangea. Among the mopheads, this one is a personal favorite of mine. The flower clusters are huge and it reblooms good. You can adjust flower color by adjusting soil pH. If you want bluer flowers apply aluminum sulfate. If you want pink apply pelletized limestone. Before applying any elements you might want to wait to see what color they bloom. Let us know if there’s ever anything else we can help you with. We’re at your service! – Brent | Wilson Bros Gardens





















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