Vanilla Strawberry™ Panicle Hydrangea

Vanilla Strawberry earns its name honestly: white at the top, pink through the middle, strawberry red at the base, all on the same flower head at the same time. Hydrangea paniculata 'Renhy', sold as Vanilla Strawberry, grows 6 to 7 feet tall and 5 to 6 feet wide in full sun to part sun with at least four hours of direct light. Hardy from Zone 3 through Zone 8, reaching full size in three or four seasons.

Bloom starts in midsummer with creamy white panicles, and the color begins working up from the base within a couple of weeks. Because new panicles keep opening white while older ones deepen to red, a mature plant carries the full range at once from August onward.

How much red you get depends on where you garden. The change is driven by cool nights, so northern gardens color up strongly while warmer southern gardens tend to hold cream and soft blush instead.

The branches are dark red, which shows against the flowers and gives the plant something to look at after the leaves drop. Panicle hydrangeas flower on new wood, so a hard winter cannot take the display, and soil pH does not affect the color. Cut back by about a third in late winter. It wants well-drained soil and handles sun, cold, and drought better than the other hydrangea groups.