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- Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Penny Mac’
- USDA Hardiness Zones: 5a to 9b
- ‘Penny Mac’ hydrangea has it all: classic form, lush foliage, and a long season of big beautiful flowers, even in the cold of Zone 4. Huge, 8-inch flowers are blue or pink, depending on soil pH. It was named for Penny Mchenry, founder of the American Hydrangea Society. At 4 feet to 6 feet tall, it is easy to grow in part-sun to full shade and average, well-drained garden soils.
- Need a friend for this plant? Check out these great additions:
- Japanese Painted Fern
- Bloom ’N Again® ‘Pink Explosion’ Azalea
- Not quite what you are looking for? Check out these great products!
- ‘Nikko Blue’ Hydrangea, Mophead Hydrangea
- Woody Ornamentals - Flowering Shrubs
- Growth Size: Medium Shrub - 4 to 6 feet tall, 3 to 4 feet wide
- Growth Habit: Rounded
- Features: Easy to Grow, Long-lived
- Cold Hardy, Disease Resistant, Heat Tolerant, Water once a week in extreme heat
- Attracts: Butterflies
- Garden Ideas:
- Cottage, Shade, Cutting
- Flower features: Showy Flowers, Good for Cut Flowers
- Blue mophead blooms that bloom in spring through fall
- Foliage type and color: Deciduous, Dark Green
- Landscape Uses: Beds, Shady areas, Grouping
- Accent, Border, Container, Mass Planting, Specimen
- ‘Penny Mac’ Hydrangea is a Low maintenance plant
- Growth Size: Medium Shrub - 4 to 6 feet tall, 3 to 4 feet wide
- Growth Rate: Fast
- Spacing: 5-7 ft apart
- Exposure: Partial Shade
- Watering: Evenly Moist
- Soil Types: Adaptable to pH Moist, well-drained Enriched with organic matter
- General Plant Care: Hydrangeas are easy-care shrubs that prefer to be planted in partial or afternoon shade. Hydrangeas will wilt in afternoon heat, but typically recover in morning. Consider planting your hydrangea in a spot where they get afternoon shade or watering more frequently during hot spells.
- General Planting Tips: Choose a site suited to your plant's light, soil, and space needs. Dig a hole twice as wide but no deeper than the container. Remove plant from container and loosen roots slightly. Place the plant in the hole. If using slow-release (coated) fertilizer, you may add it according to package directions at this time. Add soil back to the hole, ensuring the top of the soil from the container is even with the surrounding soil. Water well, and add more soil if needed. Add 2-3 inches of mulch around plant, taking care to keep away from stem or trunk. See our FAQ page for more details on Mulching.
- General Fertilizing Tips: Once in spring with a slow-release fertilizer recommended for this plant (shrub, tree) at a rate according to package directions.
- General Pruning suggestions: It is not necessary to prune hydrangeas, and many have flowers that age to lovely shades of pink, purple, green, beige, etc. if allowed to stay on the plant. If you need to prune, wait until after they bloom (usually late spring to mid-summer). Avoid late summer or fall pruning as mophead hydrangeas bloom on old wood, meaning flower buds are set in fall for the following spring. If your mophead suffers any winter damage to stems, wait until the plant has fully broken dormancy in spring (all new growth has begun). Be patient - this can take longer than you think! Then prune off any dead growth, being careful to not cut into any live stems (inside of stem will be green instead of brown).
- Bloom Tips: Remove flower stalks after blooms have faded
