Your favorite paniculata?

last year

last modified: last year

What is your favorite paniculata based on overall plant attractvieness (even as a stadn alone shrub in the yard), vigor and blooms? I love Limelights, Firelights, Quickfire... I've thought of planting Pinky Winky.. I've read mixed reviews...

Looking forward to your responses..

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pennlake

last year

Berry White today

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Comments (58)

rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
last year
@pennlake, just curious as to how long you have had BW...how big is it now?
ostrich
last year
Hands down, QUICK FIRE! Being in the far north, I have tried many paniculatas (no macrophyllas will grow or thrive here! Ugh!!!) and QF is the best. Not only is it hardy and vigorous, it also looks so beautiful! I much prefer the lace-like flowers than the big flower heads these days - just so much more delicate looking. So after many years, it is still my favourite!

I must say that I am just trying LQF now - who knows, maybe it will take over as my favourite!? We shall see... for now, QF is THE BEST! :-)
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Pinky Winky is a fun plant, but mine is 8' tall x12' wide, so I think is out of the running for you, but if you want more info on it, I'll add more, including a photo. I love Quickfire - it's one of my favorite garden plants and without a doubt my favorite paniculata, though it isn't necessarily to everyone's taste. I really like the lacier blooms on paniculatas rather than the huge and super full ones, so if you prefer the more voluptuous ones, QF may not be for you. Its panicles are more oval and less cone-shaped than most, and large, but not enormous. Mine is in bloom from the last week in June until hard frost and progresses from bright white through salmon pink to a deep cherry pink. For me, QF is about 6' in all directions and has been about the same size for the last few years. The branches are stiff enough so that the panicles are always held up and it's a great scaffold for a clematis. The leaves turn a bit gold in the fall, but aren't spectacularly colored. I like leaving the dried blossoms on for the winter and then most years prune them off in early spring, though didn't get to it this year. QF with Clematis Little Bas in early July QF in August QF in fall
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splaker
Original Author
last year
How big have your quick fires gotten ?
chloe00s
last year
Little Quick Fire - love it! I also have old Annabelle’s and hate the oversized, drooping, now chartreuse blossoms. Also have Endless Summer, which in the Capital Region of NY state, some years don’t bloom. Only now, mid August, are they budding, but on long, tall spikes. I have one Quick Fire and it’s a reliable, neat bloomer!
GardenHo_MI_Z5
last year
My fav is my young limelight tree...2nd is LQF also, love the color changes.

Limelight standard
NHBabs z4b-5a NH
last year
Splaker, My Quickfire is 12 years old I think. It is perhaps 9’ tall. It grew to 5’ in three years and to about 6 1/2’ in the next three. It has added just a few in hes each year since then. I don’t prune it for height.
ostrich
last year
Splaker, my 5 year old QF in Calgary (Zone 3b/4a) was no more than 3-4 ft tall and wide. It was grown in an east facing location. When I lived in Zone 6a, my QF was larger but I could not remember exactly how big it was???

So far, here in Edmonton (Zone 4a), my 2 year old QF are about 30 inches tall. I got three of them and they are all about the same size. I hope that they will stay in the 3-4 ft range here! That will be the perfect size for me.

Curiously, when I was in Zone 6a, my QF turned into this nasty panty hose colour rapidly and that was not the most attractive sight. Here in Alberta, they turn into this lovely clear pink colour after being white for a good few weeks. I am really happy about this - hey, this is a rare advantage that we have in this cold, cold climate here! LOL!
chrysalids
last year
last modified: last year
I love all my paniculatas. If forced to choose, Firelight is my favorite, the deep pink color and the shape of the blossoms are so gorgeous. My next favorite is Vanilla Strawberry (love the large blossoms that look like pink candy cotton), followed by Bobo, Limelight, Firelight Tidbit, and Little Quickfire. This is my first season with Little Lime Punch so I will know where to rank it next year. My least fave is Little Lime. I have a hedge that is thriving, but I just don't like the chartreuse blossoms. I wish that I had only planted one or two. Oh well, I just have to live with it.
splaker
Original Author
last year
How big do your quick fires get abs how big do your fire lights get? Want to plant one in a spot that I'd like to screen
NHBabs z4b-5a NH
last year
I cannot answer about the Firelight because it is not old enough to have reached full size.
chrysalids
last year
Firelights are supposed to reach 8 ft x 8 ft. Below are videos from Proven Winners about the characteristics of its paniculatas.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_C__b-bbhw&t=289s&ab_channel=ProvenWinnersColorChoiceFloweringShrubs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ov-eV7sF8uk&ab_channel=ProvenWinnersColorChoiceFloweringShrubs
lovemycorgi z5b SE michigan
last year
@chrysalids, I agree with you regarding Little Lime‘s bloom color! It’s a shapely shrub with many blooms, but they aren’t white like Limelight. When I purchased five of them, i thought they’d simply be smaller versions of Limelight; not so. I took a pic yesterday to compare bloom colors in August - Little Lime on the left, a few Limelight blooms in the center, and Firelight on the right.
ostrich
last year
chrysalids, I really like the lime colour of Little LIme! While on its own, the colour is not that outstanding, but when paired with other colourful foliage and perennial flowers, that lime colour can look really nice! (see how the other colours really "pop" next to Little Lime in lovemycorgi's photo above! Lovely! :-))

Can we see a photo of your Little Lime hedge please? Thanks!
pennlake
last year
@rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a) Berry White is about 5’ tall and wide after 5 years No significant pruning
splaker
Original Author
last year
last modified: last year
I know pollinators are necessary but one of the problems I see is the excessive amounts of wasps many paniculatas attract. I am allergic to wasps..I have one standard (forget which variety) and that one in particular is really bad.. and it's along a walkway i use frequently. I didn't know that they attracted so many.
chrysalids
last year
last modified: last year
@ostrich, below is my Little Lime hedge. They are three years old. The one on the left flopped and a branch broke when we had a thunder storm which is why it has that gap. At the beginning of this season, I planted a Little Lime on each side of the one in the middle to fill in the hedge (they are blooming, but small so you can barely see them). However, now I see that it was unnecessary and might have to move them in a couple years.
ostrich
last year
last modified: last year
Hi chrysalids, I see why you don't like your Little Lime hedge. I think that on their own, they look a bit blah and I am totally with you there. However, I really wonder if they can be dressed up there with some companion plants? I think that this lime colour could be a very nice back drop for some colourful perennials. Let me show you what I have done with my 2 Little Limes:

OK, these are nowhere near as lime green as yours! However, you get the idea. I started with these heucherellas which provide a nice contrast to the foliage, and the long-lasting pink spikes of flowers really look nice against the LL!

I see that you have planted something in front of the LLs. I am wondering if you could really dress up that area with some colourful perennials? I think that dark-leafed heucheras could also be a nice contrast to the lime colour too!

BTW, please ignore those pathetic coreopsis Zagreb which I transferred from another bed earlier this season - 5 of them were planted in another bed last season, and only 2 barely survived our winter!!! Then I redid the flower bed and yanked these barely survived coreopsis out and put them here as a potentially temporary home.... LOL! Yes, I have a nasty habit of moving plants around if they don't behave or do well... LOL! Who would have thought that Coreopsis Zagreb would not do well in my sunny Zone 4b garden!? Sigh....
chrysalids
last year
@ostrich, I appreciate your suggestion. The blooms are turning pink which makes the hedge much more attractive.
rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
last year
Absolutely RIDICULOUS @pennlake! Stunning! (Could I ask you to take another pic, from further back showing the hydrangea in its entirety?)
chrysalids
last year
last modified: last year
Wow! I am with @rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)l Absolutely stunning! I have got to get one.
chrysalids
last year
last modified: last year
I haven't seen Berry White in my local nurseries. I am going to have to buy one or two or three online. LOL!
splaker
Original Author
last year
nice... does anyone have pics of a mature firelight?
lovemycorgi z5b SE michigan
last year
@pennlake, wow, that is fantastic!! I’ve never seen a Berry White at a nursery near me either, what a stunner!!
RNmomof2 zone 5
last year
I was at our Lowe's this afternoon and they must have just gotten a shipment of hydrangeas in. They had probably 12 different varieties including Vanilla Strawberry, Seaside Serenade, a purple/blue version of Seaside, Summer Crush, the new variety of Limelight and more.

Now to do research to see what I'm going to get!
ostrich
last year
WOW! Pennlake, that Berry White is stunning!!! How old is it, and how tall and wide is it now?

I saw ONE earlier in the season but it didn't look great and they only had one so I didn't get it.... but now I am kinda regretting it!? LOL! Anyway, I wonder how early it will bloom in my balmy Zone 4a!? I just can't do late bloomers in my crazy climate here... ha ha...

I do love some Barry White songs so I am a bit biased towards the name Berry White too... :-)
rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
last year
I’ve never seen a Berry White at a nursery near me either.

Snagged one! (Only because of @pennlake ;)).

Don't you dare ask me where I am going to plant it :(.
chrysalids
last year
last modified: last year
Nice! I bought two small ones online. I was going to buy a third, but space is a premium in my garden at the moment.
lovemycorgi z5b SE michigan
last year
@rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a), you crack me up!! Nice purchase! I have also run out of room in my established beds…but I have a yew hedge adjacent to one of my perennial beds and I’m going to start removing yews, one by one, to make space for more pretties. :-)
pennlake
last year
Here is a wider shot of berry white. I believe that is two plants together. About 7’ tall. The owner does irrigate which helps these pinks color better. We’ve had a dry summer up until the last couple of weeks
rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
last year
I N C R E D I B L E @pennlake !

(No picture in this thread or any other in this Hydrangea forum can even come close).

(Funny, I just got in from watering my just recently planted Berry White).
lovemycorgi z5b SE michigan
last year
You’re killin’ me, @pennlake!! What a spectacular hydrangea, this one is going on my list of must-haves for next year…just WOW!
chrysalids
last year
Wow, that photo of the Berry White! They are HUGE. I wonder how many years old.
ostrich
last year
pennlake, that is truly spectacular! How many years has it taken for this Berry White to get so big!? Aren't you in Zone 6 again!? I wonder how big it would get in Zone 3/4!? Gosh, we have all gone crazy over this amazing Berry White!!!!!!!! :-)
pennlake
last year
last modified: last year
I'm just south of Minneapolis, zone 4. The one in my yard is about 6' tall after 5 years. I don't prune to control size, just remove the flowers in early spring.
ostrich
last year
pennlake, I think that you must be in at least Zone 4b!!! Here in Edmonton, we are supposedly Zone 4a (probably 3b in some areas) but I have not seen any paniculata that are taller than 4 feet tall really. I wonder if there are other factors that caused the shorter stature of our paniculatas? Mind you, I am not complaining - I like the more compact sizes better as our yards are not that huge! LOL!
GardenHo_MI_Z5
last year
Pennlake how wide is your Berry White? I found 2 on sale and hoping I gave them enough room...
rpwoodard
last year
Limelights are my favorite. These are about 6’ tall. I planted about 35 Little Limes around the house in foundation beds. Like others have said, I thought the blooms would be white like the Limelights. They were close to white for a few weeks. Mid-late August, they turned more lime. They turn the late summer pink sooner than Limelights. I like that the Limelights stay white longer into September. I’m in MA, Cape Cod area.
rpwoodard
last year
Little Limes on the left, Limelights on the right
chrysalids
last year
@rpwoodard, your Limelights are gorgeous. How many do you have? I am envious that you have the space for them.
pennlake
last year
@GardenHo_MI_Z5 My Berry white is about equally as tall as wide at the moment, 5' x 5' More mature specimens I've seen seem a bit taller than wide.
GardenHo_MI_Z5
last year
Thanks penn good to know...I think mine will be fine then.
rpwoodard
last year
@chrysalids, I have at least 50 Limelights & Little Limes around the yard. Yes, I am fortunate that we have the space & the sunlight.
rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
last year
Yesterday I bought another of @pennlake Berry White hydrangeas :).
Esther-B, Zone 7a
last year
I am waiting for my new Strawberry Vanilla (my first hydrangea) to finish leafing out and then flowering. It's only about 18" tall, the nursery having pruned it down for the winter. And how fast will it grow?
oreolucca1
last year
I have five vanilla strawberry’s in my back yard that I love. They grow fairly quickly.
Gardening_7bAtlanta
9 months ago
Could somone please post your recent pictures of Berry White? I want to make sure it does look better than Vallia Strawberry before making the purchase. Thanks.
Esther-B, Zone 7a
9 months ago
My Vanilla Strawberry has really taken off. It's now about 4' high and fully leafed out. It has several bunches of all-white flowers on it so far. I'm waiting for those to turn the promised cherry-pink.
mazerolm_3a
9 months ago
Oh wow, you’re way ahead of me, mine is not showing buds yet!
Gardening_7bAtlanta
9 months ago
@oreolucca1 I just notice you live in Alpharetta, which is where I live. Could you please tell me how tall and wide your VS are and how old they are? Thanks a lot.