Hydrangea ‘Limelight’
Form of 'Limelight,' pruned as multi-stemmed shrub.
* Common name: Hydrangea ‘Limelight’
* Botanical name: Hydrangea paniculata ‘Limelight’
* What it is: An upright summer-flowering shrub that gets large, cone-shaped flower clusters of lime-white. An improved, compact “PeeGee-type” tree hydrangea with strong enough stems to keep the flowers from flopping.
* Size: 8 feet tall and 6 feet wide is a good mature maintenance size. Can be pruned smaller or pruned into mini-tree form.
* Where to use: Excellent specimen for a house corner or as a bed centerpiece. Full sun to part shade locations.
* Care: Thin out excess older branches and shorten the rest in early spring to maintain at desired size. An annual spring scattering of Plant-tone or similar balanced organic fertilizer is plenty. Water in a drought. Otherwise, it’s durable and trouble-free. Cut a few flowers for arrangements.
* Great partner: Hardy geranium ‘Rozanne’ or ‘Jolly Bee’ (perennial) or white petunias (annual).
Closeup of 'Limelight' flower.
Looking at this Limelight or Pinky Winky to put at corner of house that faces Northwest & gets loads of sun. Since I am almost eighty I want something that is easy to take care of. Would either of these be easier. I like both of them.
Judy H.
Judy,
Both are equally easy, but I like the color of Pinky Winky a little better. And it stands up a little stronger if you like something more upright than gently arching.
Happy planting and good choice either way!
Hi, I bought a house that has many large “limelight” hydrangeas, and I really love them. But the stalks are very tall (8 ft or so) and quite thin and overwhelmed by the weight of the flowers. They bend nearly to the ground, almost a full U. This really detracts from the beauty of the flower. Last year I tried staking them up with little success. Suggestions for this year?
thanks in advance
Roberta
Roberta,
‘Limelight’ can get a bit leggy from the weight of the flowers. They can get even leggier if they’re not in a full-sun location. So if that’s the case, there’s not a lot you can do, other than attempt to move the plants to a sunnier spot.
Heavy pruning may be worth a try. I cut my panicle hydrangeas down to 1 to 2 feet at the end of each winter. That both controls size and reduces the leaning by late season.
Staking also is an option, but that works best if you get the supports in place early — before the plants get too big and have to be “coralled” back into place. For smooth hygrangeas (which get even floppier), I hammer stakes around a grouping of them and wrap jute from post to post to make a sort of straitjacket. The leaves and branches grow to hide most of the staking by summer.
Hi George,
First l’d love to thank you so much for all the helpful information!I live in PA, zone 6b. I did purchase 5 Limelight standards last fall and planted them immediately to a temporary spot since their permanent spots were not ready to plant back then. I want to move them to their permanent spots as soon as possible.
I’ve already googled for helpful information, but there are two different bits of information. One of them is that hydrangeas should be planted or transplanted in early spring while they are dormant. The other one is hydrangeas should be transplanted in late spring when there’s no chance of snow.
As you know about our springs in PA, what do you recommend please?
Saadet,
I’d transplant them while they’re still dormant and getting ready to open leaves (which you’ll be able to tell by the buds swelling on the branches and beginning to show color). That usually happens after we’re done with our worst cold and chance of heavy snow.
Calendar-wise, a good time to plant/transplant your plants would be from the end of March through mid-April.