Wee Bit Giddy® Hydrangea

Light Needs

Partial Sun to Full Sun

(At Least 5 Hours of Direct Sunlight)

Mature Height

2 Feet

Mature Spread

2.5 Feet

Growing Zones

5 to 9

Wee Bit Giddy Bigleaf Hydrangea is a hybrid cross of two very popular Hydrangeas to give you the best of both plants. From Cityline Paris you get the beautiful rosy red color and more compact growing habit, and from Let’s Dance Rave you get the benefit of its spectacular endurance especially in Zones 5 and 6. Win-win all the way around. As a large flowered perennial, Wee Bit Giddy is going to be the star of the show in your summer garden with its long lasting, continuous reblooming mophead style of bloom. It is salt tolerant as well, so coastal gardeners can appreciate its summertime beauty. Before and after blooming, the glossy dark green leaves will be an attraction all of their own.

Hydrangea macrophylla are native to Japan and possibly to Korea, growing along seaside coasts as well as up into the mountains. Wee Bit Giddy is hardy in Zones 5 to 9, weathering lower winter temperatures like a champ. This hydrangea is a hyperaccumulator of aluminum ions in the soil, meaning it will produce pink/red flowers in a neutral (7.0) soil, and a more violet/blue tone in an acidic soil. If you want to know what color your flowers will be, have your soil tested for its pH range, or be pleasantly surprised when it blooms as it is equally beautiful either way.

Wee Bit Giddy® Hydrangea Care

Wee Bit Giddy is going to appreciate a well drained humus rich soil. It will not tolerate a soggy heavy soil, so amend clay soils with some peat moss and sharp sand. Plant in full sun with some light shade, or just in full sun. It will appreciate the light shade in the hotter regions of its hardiness zone, though. Water when natural rainfall is inadequate, about 1 inch per week is about right. Hydrangeas are heavy feeders, so apply a granular rose fertilizer to the soil in early spring after the ground thaws, and then again when the plant starts to flush out with new growth. To avoid excessive winter damage to fresh foliage, stop fertilizing after July. Hydrangea will tolerate a wide variety of soil pH as it responds by changing its bloom colors. Mulch with 2 to 3 inches of good quality mulch to help retain moisture in the root zone.

Deadheading hydrangea will extend the bloom period. The proper time and the proper way to cut the spent head depends on your variety. For mop heads, cut right above the first set of leaves. If you would like to harvest some of those beautiful flowers for use in your home floral arrangements, cut a longer stem, making sure to leave the old wood uncut. This is where your new growth will be generated from and cutting old wood will reduce next year's flowers considerably. Do not cut after July and August as the plant is then developing next year’s new growth. Avoid all pruning other than deadheading and removing stems for use in your home, or the occasional trimming of a dead branch as needed.

Wee Bit Giddy® Hydrangea Spacing

Space your plants about 30 inches apart. Wee Bit Giddy will grow to 24 inches tall but spread out to 30 inches wide. Good air circulation will improve its disease resistance. Leave the spent flowers on the bush for winter interest or harvest them for a unique dried arrangement for your home. Whether you plant this hardy cultivar as a specimen plant, or in borders in your landscape, you are going to appreciate the beautiful color and form of this spectacular perennial in your garden this spring.