General Culture:
Best grown in organically rich, medium moisture, well-drained soil in full sun to part shade. Blooms on current season's growth, so prune in late winter or early spring. Can be trained as a single trunk tree, but is best grown as a large, multi-stemmed shrub. May display best shrub form if regularly pruned to a height of 6-10'. One of the most cold hardy of the hydrangeas.
Noteworthy Characteristics:
This Hydrangea cultivar is a vigorous, upright, rapidly growing, somewhat coarsely textured, deciduous shrub which typically grows 8-12' (less frequently to 15') tall. Features upright, pyramidal, sharply pointed, terminal panicles (to 8" long) of mostly sterile flowers. The showy, white, sterile flowers are somewhat loosely packed in the panicles and slowly turn purplish pink with age. The much smaller, fluffy, fertile flowers are partially visible beneath the showier, sterile ones. Larger flower panicles can be obtained by thinning the plants to 5-10 primary shoots. In full bloom, the weight of the flower panicles will typically cause the branches to arch downward. Blooms from late summer well into September, one of the latest shrubs to bloom. Oval to ovate, serrate, dark green, leaves (to 6" long) with undistinguished, yellow to purple-tinged fall color.
Problems:
No serious insect or disease problems. Many species of Hydrangea, including this one, are susceptible to a number of diseases including bud blight, bacterial wilt, leaf spot, rust and powdery mildew. Watch for aphids, mites, scale and nematodes.
Uses:
Mass or group in the mixed shrub border or open woodland garden. Also effective as a lawn specimen, accent or hedge. Provides late summer bloom when few other shrubs are in flower.
© Missouri Botanical
Garden, 2001-2010
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