Hydrangea bushes are stunning all on their own! But when our expert growers train them into a single-stem tree form with a nice uniform head that covers itself with flowers...the results are breathtaking! … the results are breathtaking!
Hydrangea Trees take all the drama and elegance of the shrub form, many of which are already your favorite varieties, and elevate them into a high-end display!
Check out Nature Hills' favorite Hydrangea Trees and our #ProPlantTips to care for them!
Nature Hills Top Tree Form Hydrangeas!
Unlike Mophead Hydrangeas with round puffball-type flowers, or Lacecap Hydrangeas with their flattened flower clusters. Instead, Panicle Hydrangeas form upright, almost columnar to conical-shaped flowering spires that have pointed ends.
Typically, Panicle Hydrangeas are used to create these deciduous shrubs grown on a 2-3 or 3-4 foot standard (trunk). The cultivar used to produce these plants will dictate the mature size of the head that will grow on top of the standard. The shrub can reach its mature size atop this trunk to create a flowering lollypop-type tree that stands head and shoulders above other flowering shrubs!
Panicle Hydrangeas are used to make these unique forms because they are hardy, easy to grow, and only need some sun, well-drained soil, and a once-a-year prune job to keep them nice. There is no need to worry about soil pH or what color your flowers will turn depending on acid or alkaline soil with Panicle Hydrangeas! They are fantastic for pollinators and look great as cut flower focal points in bouquets!
Tree Form Flowering Hydrangeas are fantastic for large planters, as front yard curb appeal specimens and sunny garden focal points, most any location where you need a living sculpture or flowering exclamation point will greatly benefit from one of these amazing plants!
For a cohesive look, mix these tree-form Hydrangeas with their matching shrub forms for a tiered landscape effect, or mix among Roses and other flowering shrubs as accent pieces. Or a Hydrangea tree on its own on a berm stands out big time with a lacy skirting of flowering perennials or flowering groundcover around its base.
Check out these great options and find which is best for your landscaping needs!
The Fan Favorite - First Editions® Vanilla Strawberry™ Hydrangea Tree
Delivering a huge floral display that lasts for months, the Vanilla Strawberry™ Hydrangea tree form becomes a living work of art for your garden! Big white blooms start turning pink after a touch of cooler evening weather. Starting in the center, it spreads across the bloom, finally developing a memorable shade of strawberry red. Featuring a more cascading look as the limbs become burdened with their flower clusters!
- Large Creamy White Flowers Gradually Transform Strawberry Red
- Cascading Branches & Tall Yet Narrow Form
- Growing Zones 3 - 8
- Mature Height 6 - 7 feet atop of the standard
- Mature Spread 4 - 5 feet
- Flower Color Changes Year To Year - Depending On The Weather
Need A Petite Garden Treat? Strawberry Sundae™ Hydrangea Tree
The mini-form of the Vanilla Strawberry Hydrangea is this smaller, more compact Hydrangea! Elevated cone-shaped flower clusters emerge creamy white in mid-summer, and then transform to pink as the cooler nights roll around in fall. The color finally deepens into a luscious strawberry red! Backed by dark green foliage, the First Editions® Strawberry Sundae™ Hydrangea Tree is cold-hardy, and keeps its flowers until frost!
- White Flowers Age Pink & Finish Strawberry Red
- A Compact Version of Vanilla Strawberry Hydrangea
- Cold Hardy & Easy To Grow
- Growing Zones 3 - 8
- Mature Height 4 - 5 foot tall head on 2 - 3 foot tall standard (6 - 8 feet total)
- Mature Spread 3 - 4 feet
Need Football-Sized Green Flowers? - Limelight Panicle Hydrangea Tree
Showy, foot-long, pale celadon-green flower clusters from mid to late summer. These rare lime-colored blooms are tall, and conical, and are an extraordinary standout in the garden! LImelight then transitions from green, to bright white to pleasing pink, and even mauve and burgundy in the fall depending on the weather. Not just known for its large flowers, but in overall size as well, Limelight Hydrangeas are also wonderfully heat and cold-tolerant!
- Incredible Lime-Green Hydrangea Blooms Age Pink to Burgundy/Mauve
- Enormous Flowers - Enjoy Football-Sized Flowers At Eye Level
- Wide Range Of Hardiness - Growing Zones 3 - 9
- Mature Height 6 - 8 feet atop a 2-3 foot tall standard
- Mature Spread 6 - 8 feet
Large & In Charge - Check Out The Phantom Panicle Hydrangea Tree
One of the largest Hydrangea Trees in height and width, the Phantom will quickly become a grand display! Tightly packed and full, immense blossoms made up of classic Hydrangea florets emerge a soft green in mid-summer. When this deciduous specimen fully opens, the effect is a ghostly white before blushing pink later in the season. These panicles often reach 15-18 inches long!
- Green Flowers Open White & Age Blush Pink
- Large Size & Large Flowers
- Huge 15-18 inch Long Flower Clusters
- Growing Zones 4 - 8
- Mature Height 6 - 8 feet atop the 2-3 foot tall standard
- Mature Spread 6 - 8 feet
Space-Saving Width? Try First Editions® Berry White® Hydrangea Tree
Berry White® has pointed, cone-shaped clusters of flowers that appear bright greenish-white when they first emerge in mid-summer. The coloring transitions as the blooms mature, from the bottom and progresses to the top, gradually becoming a deep pink. Strong upright stems and large blooms make this Hydrangea Tree perfect anywhere!
- Green Buds Open White & Become Deep Pink By Fall
- Upright Stems & Full Flower Clusters
- Columnar Tall Upright Form
- Growing Zones 3 - 8
- Mature Height 6 - 7 feet atop a 2-3 foot tall standard
- Mature Spread 4 - 5 feet
Go Modern & Space-Saving - Little Lime® Hydrangea Tree Form
Add an incredible, modern look to your landscape with the lime green flower clusters of Little Lime® Panicle Hydrangea! Huge, eight-inch, full blooms decorate your landscape for 16 weeks in summer. Watch as they start lime green, and slowly burnish all the way through soft pink with a touch of burgundy for fall. A dwarf form of the Limelight Hydrangea, the well-branched canopy stays compact and rounded, this tried and true, award-winning ornamental will be your new favorite sweet, little accent tree!
- Cone-Shaped Blooms Start Lime Green & Burnish to Sweet Pink in the Fall
- Reblooms Through Summer
- Modern Mid-Sized Form
- Growing Zones 3 - 8
- Mature Height 3-5 feet atop of a 2-3 foot standard
- Mature Spread 5 - 6 feet
Need Small Size & More Color? Choose Fire Light® Hydrangea Tree
Opulent blooms measure 12 to 16 inches long, and are held on sturdy red stems that won't droop! The Fire Light® Hydrangea Tree features extravagant blooms that start off pristine white and age into rich, dark pomegranate pink once the nights start cooling down. They'll stay showy until frost! This durable Hydrangea Tree is very easy to grow and is perfect for the beginner gardener!
- White Flower Clusters Age Dark Pomegranate
- Space-Saving Bright Color & Mid-Range Size
- 12-16 Inch Long Flower Panicles
- Very Cold Hardy and Heat Tolerant
- Growing Zones 3-9
- Mature Height 4 - 6 feet (atop of a 2-3 foot standard)
- Mature Spread 5 - 6 feet
Need Big Blooms, Big Color & Big Size? Pinky Winky® Hydrangea Tree
Astonishingly large blossoms that grow up to 14 inches in length, the Proven Winners® ColorChoice® Pinky Winky® Panicle Hydrangea Tree is already well-known for its thick stems that easily support the huge, pointed blossoms, but when it is made into a large tree-form, it becomes outstanding! Emerging a lovely ivory white and continue to grow throughout the season and as the older flowers turn dark pink the new flowers continue to emerge white!
- Huge Loose Panicle Flowers 14 Inches Long
- White Florets Become Rose Pink By Autumn
- Growing Zones 3 - 8
- Mature Height 6 - 8 Feet atop the standard
- Mature Spread 6 - 8 Feet
Need The Smallest Size Available? Get The Fire & Ice™ Hydrangea Tree
One of the smaller topiary Hydrangeas available, Fire and Ice™ heralds in the early summer with an explosion of creamy white panicles of hundreds of small florets. Then in mid-summer, the flowers blush to pink, and in preparation for the fall show when the flowers turn deep red to match the season - some of the deepest red-pink blooms on the market!
- One of the Darkest Red-Pink Fall Color Panicle Hydrangeas Available
- Smallest Space-Saving Size!
- Growing Zones 3-8
- Mature Height 3 - 6 feet atop a 2-3 foot tall standard
- Mature Spread 3 - 4 feet
Caring For & Maintaining Hydrangea Trees
Planting Hydrangea bushes and trees is easy! Modern growing techniques and expertly grown shrubs and tree-orm Hydrangeas have vigorous root systems and years of being grown outdoors in all weather conditions to toughen them up before they arrive on your doorstep from Nature Hills!
- Choose a location with lots of sun for most Hardiness Zones, but in hotter climates, a location with afternoon shade will have better results.
- Choose a site with organically rich, well-drained soil that won’t become soggy after rainfall
- Install irrigation in the ground around your Hydrangea tree or be ready with the hose to keep these plants well hydrated with moderate amounts of consistent moisture access, especially during the hot summer months.
- All plants appreciate a 3-4 inch deep layer of arborist bark chips to conserve moisture and insulate the roots. Just don’t let the mulch pile up against the trunk.
- In areas with strong winds, choose a protected location so you don’t watch your leaves wilt and flowers turn brown. A stake will keep your young Hydrangea trees growing straight until they are established.
- Fertilize with slow-release flowering plant fertilizer each spring as you see new growth emerging.
- Container-grown plants also need a regular schedule of water and in planters with very good drainage. Choose a quality potting mix that is moisture-retentive. Please protect your investment with regular water during dry spells and do not let them dry out for too long as this results in brown leaf tips and browning/wilting blooms.
Give these Hydrangea Trees a wide berth of mulch or groundcover plants when planting them in the lawn. This keeps lawn fertilizers that are too high in nitrogen away from the shrub, as well as protects the trunks from mower damage.
Pruning Panicle Hydrangea Trees
Panicle Hydrangeas bloom on new wood. Each year in early spring (just as you would for a shrub form branched on the ground) trim back the plants reducing the length by about 1/3 in a somewhat uniform rounded form. Remove any crossing branches or thin out thicker branches leaving the nice thinner ones in place. Most tree form plants you may want to trim so the overall size is in that 2-4 foot size depending upon the variety that you are growing.
They will then grow with increased branching and fill out fast each spring, flowering soon after in the mid-summer! The flowers start out white and as they age will add pink and red color as they age throughout the late summer and fall.
Late in the fall, the flower heads turn brown and remain on the plants if you prefer which can be quite showy all winter. Save the big prune job until late winter or early spring.
So get ready to have loads of butterflies, armloads of fluffy bouquet additions, and dried décor indoors or winter interest outdoors!
Elevate Your Landscape With Tree-Form Panicle Hydrangeas!
Big flouncy flowers on strong stems, a tree-form Hydrangea quickly becomes the pinnacle of showy landscape décor! Whether you have a yard or not, these high-end ornamentals that flower all summer through fall!
Bring in the oohs and ahhs, the butterflies, and loads of curb appeal with one or more of these fantastic specimen topiary-style Hydrangeas!
Find yours at NatureHills.com today and take your garden to the next level with Tree-Form Hydrangeas!
Happy Planting!
