Hydrangea hydrangea paniculata, Limelight '- care tips

• The peculiarities of 'Limelight'
• The care of the panicle hydrangea
• Cut panicle hydrangea

If you love white flowers and are looking for a pretty extravagant hydrangea for your garden, the Hydrangea paniculata 'Limelight' is for you. In the article there are all the important care tips for this special hydrangea. 'Limelight' is something special, as Hydrangea paniculata, panicle hydrangea, anyway, as a cultivar doubly. However, you will not be overworked with your care if you follow the following care tips:

The peculiarities of 'Limelight'

The 'Limelight' is a special variety of hydrangea Hydrangea paniculata, which due to its up to 30 cm large inflorescences (also somewhat disarming) is called "sheep's head hydrangea".

Limelight grows as a forked branched shrub that reaches a height of about 2 m. The leaves are shiny dark green, long and pointed with pink edges, they show only a yellow color in autumn, before they are thrown off. The flowers are huge and extraordinary - as the name Limelight suggests, they appear in a bright green, reminiscent of lime. Then they turn whiter and finally more or less pink in the blooming, the whole thing lasts from July to September.

Limelight is conspicuous, suitable for harsh areas due to flowering on annual shoots and good winter hardiness, and it is described as very city climate.

The care of the panicle hydrangea

Panicle hydrangeas are generally robust and undemanding, Limelight is no exception:

• It grows in any loose, fairly nutrient-rich soil
• Not overly calcareous, but as sensitive to certain pH levels as some other hydrangeas, Limelight is not
• Preferably in partial shade, in a location with windbreak
• This location may offer some space, limelight is also about 2 m wide
• She does not tolerate strong root pressure from trees so well anyway
• Limelight probably grows in the shade as well, only with abundant blooms it will be tight
• Most flowers will develop when the location offers morning and / or afternoon sun
• Direct midday sun rather not, although white flowers tolerate rather than dark
• Waterlogging please also not, the more sun, the more irrigation is needed
• During the flowering season, limelight needs plenty of water at every location, and it has plenty of biomass to supply
• Limelight is well suited for buckling, it can be quite big in the bucket
• The winter hardiness is exemplary, Limelight is really tough
• It is expected to grow into USDA hardiness zone 4, as made for Germany (5-8)
• That's why she needs winter protection at most in the winter
• Fertilize limelights with normal long-term fertilizer NPK 7/3/6 at the beginning of the growing season

Tip - If you use nutrient-rich mulch in the soil, this is often enough for a limelight in the garden (it always needs fertilizer in the bucket because there are not enough soil organisms in the small earth volume to sufficiently decompose organic nutrients). With mulch, the thirsty limelight also ensures that the moisture is stored longer, can save a lot of water in a hot summer.

Cut panicle hydrangea

Panicle hydrangeas, including the Limelight, are in terms of Beschnitt genuine beginner hydrangeas, cut more compatible hydrangeas or shreds more tolerable shrubs, there are hardly. You can even practice different cuts on it, as it can be pulled as a bush, but also (as the only hydrangea) to the tree. However, you should know their peculiarities:

• If it grows nice bushy, the shoots should be cut down to 50 cm in spring (after the last frost)
• At the upcoming sprouting of the season the Hydrangea paniculata forms its flower buds
• You can cut away blooms in late fall, fruits / seeds does not make limelight anyway
• But you can leave them alone, looks very nice in winter
• Otherwise panicle hydrangeas actually tolerate any pruning
• You can arbitrarily correct the shape, to the cultivation of a single trunk from which all other shoots are cut away
• But you do not have to do that, if you cut the panicle hydrangea only very rarely, they get a characterful greenhouse, but smaller flowers

Anyway, at limelight you will not usually have to cut too much anyway, it's not growing as tall as a more original species of panicle hydrangea in their homeland or friendlier climes (which grows up to 7m).

The point in time for the cut and various cutting purposes in detail is listed in the article "panicle hydrangea, hydrangea paniculata - care and cutting".

Tip - panicle hydrangeas fit with their panicle-shaped flowers, which are not as sterile as the large colorful (fake) flower balls of some breeding hydrangeas, actually even in nature-managed gardens. However, not the 'Limelight', with her, insects are disappointed, fragrance, nectar, fruits - is not everything. If you're already providing enough insect feed through other plants, that's not bad, the birds may use a few petals for nest building. If not, you could plant ecologically more valuable panicle hydrangeas, the prototype ('Kyushu') or the variety 'Tardiva' (with very late flowering from August - October), with fertile flowers and delicious nectar.