Let’s Dance Big Band Hydrangea by Proven Winners (Hydrangea macrophylla)
FEATURES
Strike up the band – Let’s Dance Big Band hydrangea is here!
An endless drive for improvement is what motivates our big-leaf hydrangea breeding, so for us to make a new introduction, a plant has to be signficantly better than what’s already available. That’s why Let’s Dance Big Band hydrangea has been added to the line: it combines bodaciously big mophead flowers with pure, true colors (pink in neutral/basic conditions, blue in acidic conditions) on a plant that survives winter better and reblooms better. That means more flowers, from the beginning of hydrangea season until the snowflakes fly!
Top reasons to grow Let’s Dance Big Band hydrangea:
– Withstands winter cold better than others
– Big, colorful flowers
– Improved reblooming, for more flowers for a longer period
CHARACTERISTICS
Shrub
Deciduous
Medium
30 Inches
30 Inches
30 Inches
Blue
Pink
Purple
Rich violet-purple in acidic soils, saturated pink in basic ones
Green
Green
Mounded
Thriller
PLANT NEEDS
Part Sun to Sun
Sun
The optimum amount of sun or shade each plant needs to thrive: Full Sun (6+ hours), Part Sun (4-6 hours), Full Shade (up to 4 hours).
Easy
New Wood
Old Wood
Summer
5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b
Average
Fertile Soil
Border Plant
Cut Flower
Dried Flower
Landscape
Specimen or Focal Point
Landscapes, perennial gardens, low hedges – big-leaf hydrangeas are versatile garden plants for anywhere you need some summer color.
Soil and exposure: Big-leaf hydrangeas should be planted in moist but well-drained soil – they cannot tolerate wet conditions. It’s a good idea to have a 2-3″ layer of mulch in all climates. Plant with at least some sun each day; the hotter your climate, the more shade the plant can withstand.
Pruning: big-leaf hydrangeas cannot be pruned at any point in the year without negatively impacting the flowering. As such, it’s best to avoid pruning this type of hydrangea altogether. If portions of the plant were damaged from winter weather, they can be removed in spring when it is clear where the new growth is emerging.
Fertilizing: The key to getting reblooming hydrangeas to produce new-wood flower buds is to keep them growing vigorously all summer. Hence, fertilizer can be beneficial. Apply a granular rose fertilizer in early spring, when the ground has thawed, and again in late spring. Never fertilize after late July; that can interfere with the plant going dormant.
Color: The “default” color for big-leaf hydrangeas tends to the pink/red tones, and that is the color they will display in neutral (pH 7.0) or higher soil. The soil must be acidic (at least 6.5 or so) for the blue color to develop, and aluminum, a naturally occurring soil mineral, must be present. If you are not satisfied with the flower color in your yard, get a soil test so that you know exactly what must be changed. We do not recommend applying any kind of treatment “just in case” – that’s a waste of time and money, and could potentially lead to pollution or create inhospitable conditions in the soil.
Photograph courtesy of Proven Winners.
