I grow a lot of Panicle Hydrangeas; Summer Hydrangeas, they are sometimes called. These plants are large, upright deciduous shrubs which produce white diamond-shaped flower heads, which look more like those of the Oakleaf Hydrangea. Those flower heads are called “panicles” by botanists.
The grandmother of all of the Panicle Hydrangeas is called “P.G.” or “Pee Gee,” in America, which stands for Hydrangea paniculata ‘Grandiflora.’ It came over on a boat from China, landing in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1861.
You can still see P.G. Hydrangeas today, especially on older properties, like old farm houses and Victorian-era homes. They flower a soft white in mid-summer, and hold the blossom heads until they dry to a beautiful rose/buff. You can even leave the dried flower heads on through the winter, to add interest. In addition, they are very tolerant of heavy soils, cold and drought.
The only drawback with P.G. is that the shrub has a habit that could be described as “floppy.” It’s a fast-growing shrub, and isn’t terribly picky about which way it goes. The weight of the flower heads can bend branches down. Without care, it can become a malformed mess.
That’s why some of the newer selections available today are so much more common in American gardens than P.G.. ‘Tardiva,’ the Late Summer Hydrangea, grows more upeight, and produces longer, whiter flower heads. It’s branches are more stout, and so they hold the plants more intact. The selection named ‘Unique’ produces probably he largest flower heads of any Panicle Hydangea, while ‘Pink Diamond’ flowers white, but these flowers quickly age to a deep pink.
‘Limelight,’ on the other hand, produces flower heads that begin their cycle bright green, and mature to white, before aging to dusky rose. ‘Limelight has been the media darling for about the past five years or so. I still like ‘Tardiva’ best.
‘Quickfire’ is another popular new selection, which will probably outdistance ‘Pink Diamond.’ as it’s flowers turn a deeper shad of pink, and even earlier in the summer. ‘Little Lamb’ is supposed to be a dwarf cultivar, but I have seen nothing but pictures, so I don’t know how it performs.
Performance is very important to me. That’s why I grow as many plants as I can. I get to prune early and often, so I can get well-balanced, healthy plants form the start. I can also fertilize at my own discretion, which means not-so-much, unlike most commercial nurseries, which pump their plants so full of chemicals that they can have real problems acclimating to real garden conditions when planted.
I’m running some informal trials with some of these Panicle Hydrangeas. (And I still like the grandmother of them all, P.G.. It us takes a little longer in training.) I’ll let you know how it goes.
{ 0 comments }
