Peegee hydrangea is a vigorous, upright, rapidly growing, somewhat coarsely textured, deciduous shrub which grows 8 to 15 feet tall and 8 to 10 feet wide. Its flowers are conical, terminal panicles (typically 6 to 8 inches long) consisting almost entirely of sterile florets. Larger flower panicles (to 18 inches long) can be obtained by thinning plants to 5 to 10 primary shoots. Blooming July to September, flowers emerge creamy white and age to pink and finally fade to brown or tan, persisting well into the fall. In full bloom, the weight of the flower panicles will typically cause the branches to arch downward. Leaves are large and medium green, with a yellow to tan fall color. This cultivar is an old form that was first introduced into cultivation in the 1860s. A number of selections are available, with differing size and slightly differing flowering times.
Best grown in organically rich, medium moisture, well-drained soil in full sun to part shade. Blooms on current season's growth, so prune in late winter or early spring. Can be trained as a single trunk tree, but is best grown as a large, multi-stemmed shrub. One of the most cold hardy of the hydrangeas. Unlike the fancy blue or pink H. macrophylla, peegee is adaptive to our alkaline soils.