Hydrangea paniculata 'Tardiva'
     
Tried and True Recommended by 8 Professionals
Common Name: panicle hydrangea
Type: Deciduous shrub
Family: Hydrangeaceae
Zone: 3 to 8
Garden Location: Enterprise Rent-A-Car Flower Borders
Height: 8 to 12 feet
Spread: 7 to 10 feet
Bloom Time: July to September
Bloom Color: White
Bloom Description: White
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Medium
Flowers: Showy Flowers
Tolerates: Air Pollution
Uses: Cut Flower, Dried Flower, Hedge

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.

Garden 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.