How to Grow and Care for a PeeGee Hydrangea Tree

Spread the love

PeeGee hydrangeas bring classic cottage garden charm with their large, showy blooms and elegant structure. On our brick homestead, I’ve learned how to grow and care for a PeeGee hydrangea tree in a simple, practical way, ensuring it thrives year after year with minimal fuss.

Contents show

This post may contain affiliate links at no cost to you. Read my very boring disclosure for more information.

PeeGee hydrangea trees are a favorite on our brick homestead for their dramatic, old-fashioned beauty. Their large, cone-shaped blooms create a statement in any garden, yet caring for them doesn’t have to be complicated. With the right planting, pruning, and seasonal attention, these hydrangeas thrive and reward you with a long-lasting show of flowers each summer.

I’ve found that positioning them in the right location, providing proper soil and water, and giving a little guidance each year helps them reach their full potential. PeeGee hydrangeas are both elegant and practical—perfect for creating height, texture, and charm in a cottage garden without demanding constant maintenance.

In this guide, I’ll walk you through exactly how I grow and care for a PeeGee hydrangea tree on our homestead. From planting and pruning to fertilizing and winter care, these tips will help you enjoy a hydrangea tree that’s healthy, beautiful, and a centerpiece in your garden for years to come.

This is a pinnable post. Tap or hover over any image in this post to pin to your Pinterest Boards.

Image illustrates a peegee hydrangea tree.

The Season When PeeGee Hydrangea Trees Bloom

The PeeGee hydrangea tree blooms from mid to late summer through early fall. The flowers are rather large and look like puffy snowballs! If you find that your PeeGee hydrangea tree is not blooming or producing enough blooms, consider the climate conditions, such as extreme drought, heat, or too much exposure to the sun. Be sure to keep the tree well-hydrated and mulched.

The PeeGee hydrangea tree does well in full sun or partial shade. Properly pruning in early spring can help increase blooms and foliage and prevent diseases from spreading throughout the tree from season to season. Pruning is especially important for PeeGee hydrangea trees, considering new blooms grow on new growth every year.

You can expect to see new growth of buds in early spring, with blooms starting in July that last well through early fall. You can cut fresh stems throughout the summer and bring them inside in watered vases to spruce up your home and enjoy them inside!

Preparing the Soil

Prepare your soil with well-composted organic matter before planting your PeeGee hydrangea tree. You do not need to stress over the acidic level of your soil with a PeeGee hydrangea tree since it will not affect the color of the blooms. Since they need enough moisture and water to provide blooms, keep the soil mulched at all times throughout the life of the tree.

Be sure the soil is well-draining to prevent root rot. Do not allow the tree to sit in standing water. To perform an easy soil-draining test before planting, follow the simple steps provided in my other post 4 Easy DIY Garden Soil Tests to Do Now to help prepare your soil for planting.

Planting Your PeeGee Hydrangea Tree

This is one of my bare-root PeeGee hydrangea trees planted in the ground, waiting for its mulch.

Early summer or fall is the best time to plant your PeeGee hydrangea tree. Choose a location with well-draining soil with full to partial sun exposure. Allow ample space for the tree to grow with a drip line of ten feet.

To prevent root rot, plant it in a shallow hole approximately half the depth of the nursery container it came in and twice as wide. Planting too deeply could cause the roots to rot. Pat down the soil around the tree until it is snuggled neatly in the earth in its new home. Provide the tree with mulch to help retain water and moisture.

While these plants are low maintenance, they do require a regular watering schedule. Keep the tree well-watered two to three times per week, as it is not a drought-tolerant plant.

Step-by-step backyard farming tips in Becoming a Backyard Farmer!

Get it on Amazon →

If you notice the flowers are wilting in the summer heat, provide water and shade. They do best in the morning sun, so if the area provides morning sun and afternoon shade, your tree will live a happy life!

While fertilizer is not necessary, you can help them remain healthy with regularly seasoned compost amended each year. Prune off old growth to allow new growth of the tree to produce healthy foliage and flowers.

These plants can live a long life up to fifty years, so be sure to plant them in an area where they can permanently remain.

Growth Rate of a PeeGee Hydrangea Tree

PeeGee hydrangea trees are fast-growing trees that can grow five to ten feet high with a radius of ten feet. Again, be sure to provide them with enough growing space for their long lifespan.

I am excited about the two hydrangea trees I planted this late spring, and watching them grow at a fast rate from their bare-root state. Right now, mine look like little sticks poking out of the ground, but soon they will be a gorgeous tree/shrub with gorgeous blooms on either side of our front porch!

Their beauty will bring joy and happiness, and a wonderful fragrance to the entry of our little cottage home. They will be the focal point of the front cottage garden growing alongside colorful roses, hollyhocks, irises, and foxgloves!

I grow a lot of different perennial flowers in my cottage garden. I try to mix plants up to provide my cottage garden with blooms from early spring with tulips and irises, to summer to fall with hydrangeas and roses.

Conclusion

PeeGee hydrangea trees are a true showstopper in any cottage garden, bringing height, texture, and those iconic, cone-shaped blooms that feel timeless and elegant. On our brick homestead, I’ve found that with just a little care—proper planting, regular pruning, and seasonal attention—they thrive year after year, creating a focal point that draws the eye and adds charm to the garden.

Growing a PeeGee hydrangea tree isn’t about perfection; it’s about creating a living feature that evolves with the seasons. By understanding its needs and giving it space to flourish, you’ll enjoy a tree that’s both practical and beautiful, enhancing your garden’s structure while complementing roses, tulips, hollyhocks, and other cottage favorites.

These hydrangeas reward patience and attention with spectacular blooms, making them a worthwhile addition to any homestead. With the right care, a PeeGee hydrangea tree can become a centerpiece that fills your garden with color, life, and old-fashioned charm for many summers to come.

You can learn more about how I started growing my cottage garden at How to Design a Cottage Garden: Growing a Beautiful Mess. You can also learn more about what is growing in my cottage garden in my Cottage Garden category.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. When do PeeGee hydrangeas bloom?

PeeGee hydrangea trees typically bloom in mid to late summer, producing large, showy cone-shaped flowers that can last several weeks.

2. How tall do PeeGee hydrangea trees grow?

These trees can reach 8–12 feet tall and wide at maturity, making them excellent focal points or background plants in a cottage garden.

3. How should I prune a PeeGee hydrangea tree?

Prune after flowering to maintain shape and encourage healthy growth. Remove dead or weak branches and trim spent blooms to promote next year’s flowers.

4. Can PeeGee hydrangeas grow in partial shade?

Yes, they tolerate partial shade, but full to part sun produces the best blooms. Morning sun with afternoon shade works well on a brick homestead to protect blooms from harsh heat.