Find the best white hydrangeas to grow for their elegant blooms.

Hydrangeas are rock stars of the shrub world, and white hydrangeas have a little extra elegance. White hydrangea flowers can light up a shady area, give the space a sense of calm, act as a neutral foil against other colors, and serve as an exclamation or focal point. Select from these varieties to fit the growing conditions you have.

Choosing the Best White Hydrangea

There are several types of white hydrangeas (Hydrangea spp.), each needing specific locations and care to perform best. These are the four most common types:

Smooth (H. arborescens): ‘Annabelle’ is the most popular variety. Smooth hydrangeas flower best in full sun, but southern gardeners should site the plants in part shade.

Bigleaf (H. macrophylla): Bigleaf hydrangeas are the classic florist hydrangea that everyone loves, but not everyone can grow. Bigleafs grow best with partial shade in moist, well-drained soils. Most are hardy to Zone 5 or to Zone 4 with winter protection.

Panicle (H. paniculata): Tough and easy to grow, panicle hydrangeas produce cone-shaped flowers. They prefer full sun and survive in all but the coldest climates (Zone 3). Panicles bloom later than other varieties, usually midsummer. Heights can range from 3 to 10 feet, depending on the variety.

Oakleaf (H. quercifolia): These plants have oak-shaped leaves, which turn eye-catching shades of burgundy, rust, or orange in the fall. The white flower heads usually transform to pink or tan as the weather cools. Cultivars of this native species, generally hardy to Zone 5, do well in dry soils and sun to partial shade.

‘Annabelle’ Smooth Hydrangea

‘Annabelle’ is a bit like Garrison Keillor’s famous Lake Wobegon, the little town that time forgot. Smooth hydrangeas are native to much of the eastern United States, so changes were bound to occur. In the 1960s, a horticulture professor discovered that a smooth hydrangea bush growing in Anna, Illinois, had bigger white flowers than the traditional species. Since then, this variety has become a popular favorite.

Name: Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’

Hydrangea Type: Smooth

Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade. Provide extra water in extreme heat.

Size: 5 feet tall and wide

Zones: 3-9

‘Incrediball’ Smooth Hydrangea

‘Incrediball’ is ‘Annabelle’ with even bigger flower heads, as large as 12 inches wide, held on sturdy stems. This shrub is tall and wide, making it perfect as a screen or focal point in the landscape. Like ‘Annabelle’, it’s cold-hardy, so a harsh winter won’t affect its summer blooming performance. It might even perform a little better in northern climates than in the south.

Name: Hydrangea arborescens ‘Incrediball’

Hydrangea Type: Smooth

Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade. Provide extra water in extreme heat. Prune in late winter to early spring to encourage new growth and blooms.

Size: 4 to 5 feet tall and wide

Zones: 3-9

‘Haas’ Halo’ Smooth Hydrangea

Imagine ‘Annabelle’ if you flattened out the blooms so they were about 14 inches wide and an inch or two deep. That would describe ‘Haas’ Halo’. This lacecap smooth hydrangea is drought-, humidity- and heat-tolerant.

Name: Hydrangea arborescens ‘Haas’ Halo’

Hydrangea Type: Smooth

Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade; prefers morning sun and afternoon shade.

Size: 3 to 5 feet tall and wide

Zones: 3-9

‘Snow Queen’ Oakleaf Hydrangea

Oakleaf hydrangeas are native to the southeastern United States, so they tolerate hot, humid weather and aren’t quite as cold-hardy as other hydrangeas. ‘Snow Queen’ has 4- to 12-inch-long white panicles that change to a rosy shade by fall when they coordinate with the red-burgundy-purple color change of the leaves. Attractive peeling cinnamon-color bark adds interest in the winter after the leaves have dropped.

Name: Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Snow Queen’

Hydrangea Type: Oakleaf

Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade (tolerates more sun the farther north it grows). Prefers well-draining soil with average moisture.

Size: 4 to 8 feet tall and wide

Zones: 5-9; may need winter protection in northern gardens

‘Gatsby Gal’ Oakleaf Hydrangea

If you like ‘Snow Queen’ oakleaf hydrangea but don’t have enough room, take a look at ‘Gatsby Gal’. The white flower cones are oversized for the shrub’s dimensions and held upright on strong stems. Tim Wood, product development manager at Spring Meadow Nursery, calls it “a showy flower display.”

Name: Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Gatsby Gal’

Hydrangea Type: Oakleaf

Growing Conditions: Moist, well-drained soil in full sun to part shade.

Size: 5 to 6 feet tall and wide

Zones: 5-9; may need winter protection in northern gardens

‘Gatsby Moon’ Oakleaf Hydrangea

The individual flowers on the upright cones of ‘Gatsby Moon’ are packed tightly together. They present an attractive quilted look that makes you want to run your fingers across them. The white panicles age to green over time, and the foliage turns a shiny burgundy in the fall. This white hydrangea almost seems to glow in the evening.

Name: Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Gatsby Moon’

Hydrangea Type: Oakleaf

Growing Conditions: Moist, well-drained soil in full sun to part shade.

Size: 5 to 8 feet tall and wide

Zones: 5-9; may need winter protection in northern gardens

‘Gatsby Star’ Oakleaf Hydrangea

When it comes to double-flowered oakleaf hydrangeas, ‘Gatsby Star’ lives up to its name. This white hydrangea variety sports gorgeous white double petals that are pointed instead of rounded, so each blossom looks like a tiny star. In the fall, the flower color turns pink, and the leaves are burgundy. This is a white hydrangea you’ll want to see up close.

Name: Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Gatsby Star’

Hydrangea Type: Oakleaf

Growing Conditions: Moist, well-drained soil in full sun to part shade.

Size: 5 to 6 feet tall and wide

Zones: 5-9; may need winter protection in northern gardens

‘Little Lamb’ Panicle Hydrangea

‘Little Lamb’ is as cute as its namesake. Tiny, densely clustered blossoms make each white flower head look like a fluffy baby sheep. This variety begins blooming in midsummer, and the flowers turn a rich pink in the fall.

Name: Hydrangea paniculata ‘Little Lamb’

Hydrangea Type: Panicle

Growing Conditions: Full sun to part shade. Tolerates drought.

Size: 4 to 6 feet tall and wide

Zones: 3-8

‘Bobo’ Panicle Hydrangea 101965963.tif

If you have room for a large container, you have enough space to grow ‘Bobo’, a dwarf white hydrangea that reaches 3 feet if it’s feeling tall. Though it’s on the small side for a hydrangea bush, ‘Bobo’ is still a total show stopper with pure white flowers that almost appear to glow in the garden. “This dwarf hydrangea has so many flowers it looks like a little puff ball of blooms; you can hardly see the leaves,” Wood says.

Name: Hydrangea paniculata ‘Bobo’

Hydrangea Type: Panicle

Growing Conditions: Part shade, especially afternoon shade, in evenly moist, well-drained soil.

Size: 3 feet tall, 3 to 4 feet wide

Zones: 3-8