Hydrangea paniculata 'SMHPLQF' LITTLE QUICK FIRE
Common Name: panicle hydrangea 
Type: Deciduous shrub
Family: Hydrangeaceae
Zone: 3 to 8
Height: 3.00 to 5.00 feet
Spread: 2.00 to 4.00 feet
Bloom Time: June to August
Bloom Description: White maturing to reddish-purple
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Medium
Suggested Use: Hedge
Flower: Showy
Tolerate: Air Pollution

Culture

Best grown in organically rich, medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. Can be trained as a small 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’ tall. This is one of the most winter hardy of the hydrangeas. It thrives in urban conditions. Bloom occurs on current season’s growth, so prune as needed in late winter to early spring.

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.

Noteworthy Characteristics

Hydrangea paniculata, commonly called panicle hydrangea, is a vigorous, upright, rapid-growing, somewhat coarsely textured, deciduous shrub that is native to China and Japan. It typically grows to 8-15’ (less frequently to 25’) tall, and features oval to ovate dark green leaves and upright, sharply-pointed, conical, terminal flower panicles (to 6-8” long) containing both fertile and sterile flowers (mostly non-showy fertile flowers) that bloom from mid-summer into fall.

The genus name Hydrangea comes from hydor meaning "water" and aggeion meaning "vessel", in reference to the cup-like capsular fruit.

The specific epithet paniculata refers to the arrangement of the flowers in panicles.

‘SMHPLQF’, commonly sold under the trade name of LITTLE QUICK FIRE, typically grows to only 3-5’ tall and to 2-4’ wide. It is a miniature version of Hydrangea paniculata ‘Bulk’ QUICK FIRE (PP16,812). It is particularly noted for its early summer bloom of flowers (about one month prior to the bloom of most H. paniculata cultivars) in upright panicles. Bloom is on new wood and continues throughout summer into fall. Each panicle (to 6” tall) contains abundant showy sterile florets which emerge white but change to pink and finally reddish-purple as the summer progresses. U.S. Plant Patent PP#25,136 issued December 2, 2014.

Problems

Some susceptibility to bud blight, bacterial wilt, leaf spot, rust and mildew. Aphids and mites are occasional visitors.

Uses

Mass or group in a 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.