Hydrangea Magical® Amazone Bigleaf Hydrangea

Magical® Amazone, a bigleaf hydrangea, is a compact deciduous shrub offering year-round interest. A classic type, creating an exquisite season-long floral display, Amazone blooms on old and new wood throughout summer, with dependable flowering farther north and possible reblooming in warmer regions. The large mopheads are dense with tight clusters of dainty, cup-shaped florets, which are typically pink with green tips, aging to a blend of dusty violet-purple and green hues, giving them a lovely antiqued appearance. But florets will be shades of blue in acidic soils. Held aloft fleshy, medium green foliage on long, strong stems, the long-lasting flowers have a delicate, lacy appearance that softens garden spaces and makes excellent cuts for fresh and dried arrangements.

After the first frost, the flower clusters turn tan to caramel, and along with the shredding and peeling papery brown bark on mature plants that reveals glimpses of the underlying cinnamon hue of stems and branches, they add a textural element to the winter garden, especially pleasing in a snowy landscape. The hollow stems also provide nesting habitats for bees.

With cain-like growth, this multi-stemmed, suckering shrub has a mounded habit and a rapid growth rate. The shrub's compact size is perfect for small-space urban gardens. It is a great container or specimen plant but is shown to best effect when massed in beds, borders, or cutting gardens.

Easy to grow and maintain, hydrangea grows best in locations with some morning sun and afternoon shade; rich, well-draining soil; and plenty of water. A shade-friendly shrub, it can tolerate more sun if the soil is kept consistently moist.

Hydrangea macrophylla change colors with the pH of the soil, turning pink in alkaline soil and blue in acid soils.