Limelight Prime® Panicle Hydrangea

Limelight Prime is the panicle hydrangea for full sun and cold winters. This Proven Winners® selection, Hydrangea paniculata 'SMNHPPH', grows 4 to 6 feet tall and 4 to 5 feet wide, hardy from Zone 3 through Zone 8. Give it full sun for the strongest stems and the heaviest bloom, and expect noticeably slower growth in part shade. It reaches full size in three or four seasons.

Bloom opens lime green in midsummer, holds that color for weeks, then shifts through bright pink to deep red by fall. The panicles are dense and upright, carried on stems stiff enough to hold them without staking, and they dry on the plant and stand through winter. They cut well fresh or dried.

This one blooms earlier than the original Limelight and stays more compact, with a brighter pink as the flowers age.

Panicle hydrangeas flower on new wood, so the buds form in spring on the current season's growth and a hard winter cannot take the display. That is why they bloom reliably in Zone 3 where the mopheads will not. Soil pH does not affect the color. Cut back by about a third in late winter to keep the framework strong. It wants well-drained soil and dislikes ground that stays soggy.