I have seen only Limelight used in a non-mixed hedge but that does not mean there are other ways to design. The pictures I find just happen to have only one single paniculata for the whole length of the hedge. Mixed may look better with spaced shrubs since they are so large and have different dimensions too. Maybe someone with a long mixed paniculata hedge will chime in and show photos!!!

Quickfire starts blooming ahead of most (all?) paniculatas, Limelight is middle of the road and Tardiva is late. So if you are interested in several, you could put QFs were you want early blooming panics, Tardivas were you want late blooming ones and just about anything else (Limelight, Pinky Winky, Pink Diamond, Vanilla Strawberry, White Diamonds, etc) in the rest of the space. But check their flopping, width and tall dimensions so they do not look too different one beside the others.

Does this whole area have a source of water for the hedge for when it is needed?

Do you have a picture of the driveway? Are you putting hedge only on one side? Straight line or curved? How deep is the bed where you're planting them (or is that flexible)?

I love Limelights, but I'd still want to mix that up to provide a much longer season of interest.

I have both limelight and quick fire in my yard. My only reservation would be quick fire does not grow as tall or quickly as limelight, so you may have to do more pruning to keep the height uniform. That could get tricky. Or you could stagger them with quick fire in the foreground and limelight in the back. Just some thoughts. I wish you luck with this project. Sounds fun. I love my limelight hedge.

how long is your Limelight hedge? do you leave the spent blooms during winter?

Thank you for all your comments and suggestions.Let me answers your questions.

1. The area does not have water supply yet but I plan to put a drip system. I too have only seen either only limelight hedge or many mixed shurbs.

2. I plan to have a curved hedge and on one side only. I will upload a picture. Past three days have been non-stop rain but I will post one tomorrow. There is 40 year old hemlock hedge that has lost its bottom branches and is no longer providing any privacy. I wanted to put these hydrangea in front of them to get that privacy. It will get 6 hours of morning/ early afternoon sun as it will be outside the canopy of hemlock. There is a lot of space so I also was considering putting some salvia/ russian sage, peonies/ iris in front of them for continuous bloom. Will that look weird? I cannot visualize how that will look so I am looking for ideas.

2. I am interested to keep them same height and I thought both grew 6-8 feet..at least that is what PW website said.

What about Dappled Willow in the mix?

Those that have a hedge of these can you please post pictures?

I like LL because we had one in our old house which got no special attention and the 3 feet shurb quickly grew to 6-7 feet in couple of years. I know nothing about QF except I like the look of it and the longer bloom time is enticing.

Please help :(

Jem- your LL is beautiful.

Is it losing battle trying to keep that hedge at 6 feet tall? I was thinking of plant spacing of 6 feet too. Is that too far?

One more question for Jem--how long did it take for your hedge to get that size and fill in? I have a forsythia hedge that I'm thinking of replacing but wondering how long it will take to establish, assuming normal-sized nursery plantings.

ajs- I had a LL that was under 3 feet tall when I purchased. In two years it reached over 6 feet- almost 7 feet. This time I bought smaller plants last fall (a gallon container) as it was cheaper and because it grows quickly.

I have occasionally seen hedges that alternated plants, and to my mind it isn't particularly attractive. I find myself noticing the pattern, but it seems to take away my appreciation of the plants themselves, unlike either a hedge of all of one kind or a more varied shrub border.

IME also Limelight is much larger and has a rather more exuberant feel than QF due to its larger blooms that bend the branches outward ever so slightly, so I wouldn't alternate them. My QF, which is probably just about my favorite plant in my garden since it always looks lovely, seems to have pretty much decided to stay around 6' or a titch more and really hasn't increased in height over the last few years. It holds its lacier bloom panicles totally straight, and they are a bit smaller and rounder in form. they also turn a deeper shade of pink as they age.

If you can afford the space, front the hedge with a spring bloomer of some kind that has contrasting foliage and doesn't need frequent dividing. Maybe daffodils or single peonies or both? Just be sure to plant them far enough from the hydrangeas so that they don't get swallowed as they grow; Limelight can reach 8' wide.

For ajs317, there is a whole thread on Limelight hedges with dated images and comments on size and spacing, so you can figure out growth rates from the dates. A few of the photos have been removed at some point from wherever they were hosted, but there are several folks who have added posts with photos over years. My various H. paniculata cultivars have taken about 4 years to reach full size from tiny rooted cuttings. They are one of the faster growing shrubs for me.

So I started my hedge using cuttings from the center shrub in 2010. I planted them in 2011 4-1/2 ' apart. So 6 of the plants were quite small. The thread referenced above contains a link to a great website that details pruning methods to keep height in check and blooms on all sides. I followed these guidelines for the center, larger shrub until the cuttings caught up. They did that in year 4 or 5. I am no longer pruning, but may again if I find it necessary in the future to reshape the hedge. I did fertilize the cuttings several times in spring and early summer with alfalfa tea in their first few years. But I am still amazed at how fast the hedge filled in (about 5 years, should be less if plants are larger than mine were). My photo does not do this hedge justice. I'd love to see other's photos.

I saw this picture in Houzz and really liked it. It is LL with quickfire in between. But looking at the size of those QF, it looks like the little QF rather than regular one. But in the picture they are in same line. Wont LL engulf QF as it grows taller and more mature?

https://www.houzz.com/photos/summer-exuberance-contemporary-landscape-new-york-phvw-vp~28221383

Nice, very nice contrast but difficult to gauge the separation between the shrubs from the picture. Also something to consider... the owner may eventually prune the Limelight shrubs to get them more in sync with QF.

Since early blooming QF turns pink earlier, you would expect to get the look in the picture. Also, you would expect QF blooms to brown out ahead of Limelight. Not sure how that would look (still white Limelight blooms? against brown QF blooms?) but, I saw once a picture of a white blooming hydrangea besides a "brown blooming" hydrangea and they looked very nice too. I assumed it was a pair like QF (early) and Tardiva (late blooming).

This is indeed one picture that makes me want to see the shrubs in person as well as in other stages during the growing season. The only thing that is missing from the picture is a button that says "Buy" because I would love to have one such hedge too! Thanks for posting the link.

That photo does look like QF and Limelight. Do you see how the LL are growing out wider and taller than the QF? If I were to do this, I would be more likely to choose two cultivars that were matched in size. Alternatively, plant mostly LL with perhaps a clump of a few QF on each end and one or two clumps (not single plants) in places toward the middle.

do limelight hydrangeas tolerate high wind..?

My Little Lime has not had issues. It has experienced this year high winds of 60+ mph. Then again, a taller Limelight, with its 10' long stems, may have a little damage. Pee Gee paniculata trees can also handle winds... up to a point. If you do not mind me asking, what exactly did you have in mind??? You could prune damaged wood if necessary.

thanks luis

We live near the bay on a hill 62' above sea level. I want to put in a hedge that will act as a buffer to a building that is going up between us and the bay. We face west and when it is windy, it is very strong. I have tried growing azaleas on the west side and they always die. Also, no immediate water source nearby so will have to water to get them established and then they will be on their own. New building will be 50' in length, about the length of our house , so it will be right there . I have an established limelight in my side yard which is at least 10' tall and it has been very hardy and beautiful. SOme have suggested a mixed hydrangea hedge with quickfire and limelight but I don't know quickfire and don't know how well it would withstand the winds. Wind is my biggest obstacle to overcome as well as providing a screen which will block the building in front while still allowing a view to the bay. My dream is a hedge that will be like an infinity pool. You will look over the top , block the bottom of the n ew building and still see the water.

Where are you, geographically speaking? Will it be an issue in the summer when the hydrangeas loose their leaves? Just wondering if you may want an evergreen plant there instead?

quickfire doesn't make a great hedge as the flowers are very open and its growth is not particularly bushy. Limelight, on the other hand makes a great hedge as the flowers are dense and the growth is bushy.

If you want to alternate the plants that may be a possibility but to try to grow as a hedge I would not recommend.

As I said above, I wouldn’t alternate these two. They are different sizes and different textures. The Limelight will tend to overwhelm the Quickfire. I love Quickfire and don’t find it sparse, but the blooms are lacier than Limelight. Don’t you think the new building will send wind upwards and somewhat shelter your hedge?