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Let's Dance Can Do!® Reblooming hydrangea Hydrangea macrophylla × serrata

Flower Season
  • Summer
  • Fall
Mature Size
4' 3' 1.2m 91cm
Height: 3' - 4'
Spread: 3'
Height: 91cm - 1.2m
Spread: 91cm
  • Details

    36 - 48 Inches
    36 - 36 Inches
    36 - 36 Inches
    91cm - 1.2m
    91cm
    91cm

    Features

    Not just another pretty face!

    One look at Let's Dance Can Do hydrangea tells you it's beautiful - but there's more to this innovative new hydrangea than that. It has the unique ability to create flower buds along the entire length of the stem instead of only at the top like other big-leaf hydrangeas. That means that even if winter does its worst and kills back a portion of the plant, there will still be flower buds to open in early summer. It's also what makes Let's Dance Can Do hardy to USDA zone 4 - not only will it survive in such a cold area, it will actually bloom there!

    Let's Dance Can Do also reblooms quicker than others: in other words, you won't have to wait until fall to see the new flowers. And about those flowers! They are lacecaps, but the size and quantity of the showy sterile florets obscures the tiny fertile florets. Flowers are a luscious strawberry pink in neutral/alkaline soils and a lovely lavender in acidic ones.

    If you've been reluctant to try a big-leaf hydrangea, or been disappointed in others, Let's Dance Can Do hydrangea is the perfect place to start. Available in better garden centers in spring 2021.

    Top reasons to grow Let's Dance Can Do hydrangea:

    - Unique ability to create flower buds on entire length of stem, not just at the top

    - Fastest to rebloom for a longer season of fab flowers

    - Elegant lacecap flowers with outstanding color


    Previously named Let's Dance Can Can hydrangea.

    Continuous Bloom or Rebloomer
    Salt Tolerant

    Characteristics

    Plant Type: 
    Shrub
    Shrub Type: 
    Deciduous
    Height Category: 
    Medium
    Garden Height: 
    36 - 48 Inches 91cm - 1.2m
    Spacing: 
    36 Inches 91cm
    Spread: 
    36 Inches 91cm
    Flower Colors: 
    Blue
    Flower Colors: 
    Pink
    Flower Colors: 
    Purple
    Flower Shade: 
    Rich violet-purple in acidic soils, saturated pink in basic ones
    Foliage Colors: 
    Green
    Foliage Shade: 
    Green
    Habit: 
    Mounded
    Container Role: 
    Thriller

    Plant Needs

    Light Requirement: 
    Part Sun to Sun
    Light Requirement: 
    Sun

    The optimum amount of sun or shade each plant needs to thrive: Full Sun (6+ hours), Part Sun (4-6 hours), Full Shade (up to 4 hours).

    Maintenance Category: 
    Easy
    Blooms On: 
    New Wood
    Blooms On: 
    Old Wood
    Bloom Time: 
    Summer
    Hardiness Zones: 
    4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b
    Water Category: 
    Average
    Soil Fertility Requirement: 
    Fertile Soil
    Uses: 
    Border Plant
    Uses: 
    Cut Flower
    Uses: 
    Dried Flower
    Uses: 
    Landscape
    Uses: 
    Specimen or Focal Point
    Uses Notes: 

    Landscapes, perennial gardens, low hedges - big-leaf hydrangeas are versatile garden plants for anywhere you need some summer color.

    Maintenance Notes: 

    Soil and exposure: Big-leaf hydrangeas should be planted in moist but well-drained soil - they cannot tolerate wet conditions. It's a good idea to have a 2-3" layer of mulch in all climates. Plant with at least some sun each day; the hotter your climate, the more shade the plant can withstand.

    Pruning: big-leaf hydrangeas cannot be pruned at any point in the year without negatively impacting the flowering. As such, it's best to avoid pruning this type of hydrangea altogether. If portions of the plant were damaged from winter weather, they can be removed in spring when it is clear where the new growth is emerging.

    Fertilizing: The key to getting reblooming hydrangeas to produce new-wood flower buds is to keep them growing vigorously all summer. Hence, fertilizer can be beneficial. Apply a granular rose fertilizer in early spring, when the ground has thawed, and again in late spring. Never fertilize after late July; that can interfere with the plant going dormant.

    Color: The "default" color for big-leaf hydrangeas tends to the pink/red tones, and that is the color they will display in neutral (pH 7.0) or higher soil. The soil must be acidic (at least 6.5 or so) for the blue color to develop, and aluminum, a naturally occurring soil mineral, must be present. If you are not satisfied with the flower color in your yard, get a soil test so that you know exactly what must be changed. We do not recommend applying any kind of treatment "just in case" - that's a waste of time and money, and could potentially lead to pollution or create inhospitable conditions in the soil.

    Let's Dance Can Do!® Hydrangea macrophylla × serrata 'SMNHSI' USPP 32,548, Can PBRAF
  • 8 Reviews

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    Browse reviews from people who have grown this plant.
    • Gorgeous plant and easy to grow but it cannot take full sun, no matter what the tag says. I had to move my three to an area that gets mostly shade except for some morning sun. Even there, the leaves are subject to burn in the mid-morning hot sun. Plant it where it gets shade from 10:00 a.m. to 6 p.m. It needs sun to bloom but will fry in hot, direct sunlight. Grows quickly and is easy to care for.

      Rachel Hale
      , North Carolina
      , United States
      , 13 weeks ago
    • I planted a Let’s Dance Can Do! hydrangea in 2021. It didn’t grow very much the first year so I moved it the second year to a spot with a bit more morning sun and it exploded! The entire plant is loaded with gorgeous strawberry pink lacecap flowers, not just the tips. It seems to bloom earlier than my other hydrangeas and will continue to bloom throughout the summer. Another thing about this plant is that it has tolerated weather extremes, both hot and cold. Very vigorous!

      dakr
      , Illinois
      , United States
      , 13 weeks ago
    • A lovely surprise! Bought these in the winter marked as limelights but they were Can Do and we love them so much! Beautiful leaves and bloom and extremely tolerant of hot afternoon sun. Looks beautiful next to a blue evergreen and red twig dogwood with angel frost euphorphia nearby. Happy to hear the bloom on old and new wood and love the line green that peaks out on the bloom before it goes completely pink. Flowers have maintained color for weeks. Will definitely get more of these!

      Margaret Huffman
      , North Carolina
      , United States
      , 15 weeks ago
    • I won this in a contest Held by a virginia gardening facebook page administrator. It almost immediately died back, but by the end of fall. It looked like it had some life to it, but it never did have greenery and it never did have buds, I've now had it almost a full year And without being completely brittle, it does seem to be dead.. I have other hydrangeas in the area.So I don't believe it is my planting conditions but I don't know what could have happened to it. Im in va, 8a.

      Holly Insley
      , Virginia
      , United States
      , 29 weeks ago
    • I bought six of these in 2021 they grew well that summer season. I live in zone 4B. Only two survived the mild winter we had 2021-2022 and they were in a protected spot with snow cover. Now summer 2023 the two that survived have put one very little growth and are simply surviving after our last winter. We have nice loose black soil and all other plants especially hydrangeas are looking fabulous. It was pretty disappointing not only the money wasted but they are a beautiful plant. I am doubtful these are a zone 4.

      Krystal Ruka
      , Minnesota
      , United States
      , 1 year ago
    • Purchased in 2021 this plant just kept blooming/reblooming all summer long! This year 2022 we have had a late COLD wet spring and in May I already have a lot of big buds all over it. Very vigorous! I have it in dappled shade and I can tell you I want more!!

      Robin Ney
      , Kansas
      , United States
      , 2 years ago
    • A family member and I both planted "Let's Dance Can Do!" hydrangeas this year. The foliage and blooms are BEAUTIFUL! HOWEVER, we've both found our plants can only take so much sunlight. Mine has sun scald, so I'm moving it when fall comes, as my dad (a Master Gardener) instructed. My relative has already moved hers and says it's thriving with more shade. This hydrangea variety CANNOT take unlimited sun exposure! I won't know how well this variety does until it's had years in an *optimal* spot. What beauty, though!

      Lindsay
      , Ohio
      , United States
      , 3 years ago
    • I purchased "Cando" as a "Cancan" in 2020. It has just bloomed (one bloom) for the first time. I grow over 400 cultivars of Hydrangea and have a large collection of Serrata's. This one is not very vigorous., and is apparently more like a pot Hydrangea. Hopefully I will eventually be able to give it a better grade and find it more vigorous. I have every Hydrangea grown by Proven Winners and find most of them excellent plants. However this series, Cando, Big Band, Grumpy, and Giddy are all under performers so far.

      GARY STARRETT
      , Georgia
      , United States
      , 3 years ago
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