Little Lime Punch® Panicle Hydrangea

Little Lime Punch turns a harder red than the other dwarf panicles, and it starts doing it earlier. Hydrangea paniculata Little Lime Punch® grows 3 to 5 feet tall and 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.

Panicles open lime green in midsummer, then color from the bottom up rather than all at once, so each cone carries green at the tip and pink deepening to red at the base. A plant in September shows every stage across it at the same time.

How much red you get depends on where you garden. The color 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 stems are strong enough to carry the flower heads without staking, which matters on a shrub bred to bloom this heavily. Panicle hydrangeas flower on new wood, so the buds form in spring and 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 takes more sun, cold, and drought than the other hydrangea groups. Small enough for a foundation bed, a border, or a large container.