Bigleaf hydrangea (mophead hydrangea)

A rounded deciduous shrub with glossy, coarsely toothed oval leaves and large domed clusters (mopheads) of showy four-petalled sterile florets, here in soft pink fading to cream. Native to coastal Japan, it is one of the most widely planted ornamental shrubs in temperate gardens. Flower colour in many cultivars shifts with soil chemistry tinthat turns blooms blue in acidic soils and pink in neutral to alkaline soils.