Plant Care Library

Other Names:  French Hydrangea, Bigleaf Hydrangea

Group/Class:  Game Changer Series

Brand:  Green Fuse Botanicals Inc.

Description:

A beautiful compact shrub that features large white and pink lace cap flowers that bloom earlier and longer than other cultivars; lavender tones in acidic soils; dark green foliage with good fall color; a wonderful choice for the flower garden or border

Ornamental Features

Game Changer® Picotee Hydrangea features bold white lacecap flowers with shell pink overtones and rose centers at the ends of the branches from late spring to mid fall. The flowers are excellent for cutting. It has dark green deciduous foliage which emerges coppery-bronze in spring. The serrated pointy leaves turn an outstanding burgundy in the fall.

Landscape Attributes

Game Changer® Picotee Hydrangea is a multi-stemmed deciduous shrub with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its relatively coarse texture can be used to stand it apart from other landscape plants with finer foliage.

This is a relatively low maintenance shrub, and should only be pruned after flowering to avoid removing any of the current season's flowers. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Game Changer® Picotee Hydrangea is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Mass Planting
• Hedges/Screening
• General Garden Use

Planting & Growing

Game Changer® Picotee Hydrangea will grow to be about 4 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 3 feet. It has a low canopy. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 30 years.

This shrub does best in full sun to partial shade. You may want to keep it away from hot, dry locations that receive direct afternoon sun or which get reflected sunlight, such as against the south side of a white wall. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is not particular as to soil type, but has a definite preference for acidic soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution, and will benefit from being planted in a relatively sheltered location. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.