Plant: Fire Light® Panicle Hydrangea

Plant description

A panicle hydrangea reaching 6 to 8 feet tall and wide with an upright habit and robust flower heads on sturdy stems. The blooms emerge creamy white in summer and age to a vivid red. Proven Winners recommends full sun in zones 3 through 7 with afternoon shade preferable in warmer areas, average water and soil that is not soggy, and pruning in early spring by cutting the branches back about one third. It is used for hedges, specimens, focal points, mass plantings and foundation plantings, and for fresh or dried cut flowers.

Flowers

Robust flower heads on sturdy stems that emerge creamy white and age to a vivid red.

Foliage

Opposite, simple, oval to ovate leaves, sometimes whorled toward the tip, 3 to 6 inches long and 1.5 to 3 inches wide, dark green above and light green beneath, fading to yellow in fall.

Fruit

A brownish pink dehiscent oval capsule that does not attract wildlife, appearing in summer and fall.

Bark & stems

Grayish brown bark that shreds when mature and is irregularly furrowed; stems tend to droop under the weight of the flowers.

Pruning

Panicle hydrangeas are best pruned in early spring; cut the branches back by about one third their total length. Mulch 2 to 3 inches.

Native range

Eastern and southern China, Japan, Sakhalin, Taiwan and Kuril Island

Plant details