Nikko Blue Hydrangea – 3 Gallon Pot

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The classic blue mophead Hydrangea, ‘Nikko Blue’ is prized for its vigor and the abundant, large, 8 inch diameter rounded clusters of bright blue flowers it produces during summer. That said, the flowers will be a rich blue in acidic soil and bright pink in alkaline soil. Simply apply aluminum sulfate for bluer flowers. The cut flowers are carried on strong stems making them great for fresh or dried cut flower arrangements. 

Growing naturally 4 to 5 feet tall and wide in a rounded mound, Nikko Blue Hydrangea can be grown in garden beds or containers. It is ideal for use as a specimen or accent in home foundation plantings, flowering shrub borders and perennial gardens. In larger landscape spaces it is especially dramatic in small to large groupings or in straight or staggered rows as a colorful hedge.

Suggested Spacing:  3 to 3.5 feet apart for solid hedges;  8 feet or more apart for space between plants

Note: For our customers who live and garden north of USDA Cold Hardiness Zone 5a, where this Hydrangea is not reliably winter hardy, you’ll be happy to know that it can be grown in containers that can be brought indoors during winter and place back outside when temperatures warm up in spring.

Nikko Blue 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 sunlight 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. Simply apply aluminum sulfate for bluer flowers and pelletized lime for pink flowers.

Note:  Nikko Blue 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.

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