Limelight Panicle Hydrangea

Well known as a garden rock star, the Limelight Hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata 'Limelight' PP12,874) has been a total game-changer since it came on the scene. People across the country just can't get enough of the enormous, football-shaped flowers.

The biggest reason is the flower color. Starting in mid-summer, flowers first develop showing off a truly unique celadon green, which slowly changes to bright white. As the long-lasting flowers start to age in fall, they'll turn a pleasing pink, deepen further into mauve and burgundy and finish a beautiful buff. Leave them on the shrub for winter interest!

At each stage throughout the bloom time, the color remains sophisticated. No wonder florists love to use the pretty blooms in weddings and other arrangements.

The blooms are exquisite as a cut flower that can be dried very successfully. Create spectacular cut flower arrangements for yourself at any point of color change.

Mix the colors together or select a single shade for a monochromatic modern look. Those first green and white blooms look so fresh, clean and romantic and look gorgeous in bouquets.

You'll definitely appreciate how evenly distributed the blooms are throughout the whole shrub. It's a wonderfully uniform and tidy look, especially with their nice green leaves as a neutral backdrop. There will be plenty of cone-shaped hardy Hydrangea blooms to enjoy all season, and through the winter months, too.

You might think it would be hard to grow something that looks so elegant. Nope!

Limelight Hydrangea has been field-tested for years until it was named a Proven Winner® plant. It's proven itself to be a hardy, super reliable performer year after year. And honestly, it's just a snap to grow.

Very few shrubs display pale-green flowers, which are real garden standouts. Limelight Hydrangea is a vigorous, dependable shrub and a prolific bloomer that you can count on year after year.

The mid and late-summer blooms look lovely in floral arrangements, while the dried autumn blooms are winter décor or dried floral arrangement additions! Order this popular plant today. Don't miss out - many other people are shopping for it, too.

How to Use Limelight Hydrangea in the Landscape

This amazing shrub is showy for months, and it's versatile, too. It can be grown in containers or used for specimen plants, hedges, borders, and privacy areas.

Limelight's large size and robust flower display make the perfect informal hedge that only needs trimming once a year. In no time, you'll enjoy a uniform, dense hedge that is loaded with flowers every year.

What could be better to screen out an ugly view? Poof! Your eyesore can disappear and in its place? A magnificent flowering shrub appears. You magician, you!

Even in the winter months, the large dried flowers can remain on this deciduous shrub. Of course, the woody branches will still offer screening.

For a classic Limelight hedge, space plants as close as 4 - 5 feet on center. You'll measure from the center of one to the center of the next. This gives you a dense hedge that looks great on two sides as people walk past either side of it.

Or, if you want a less formal hedge, loosen up the spacing. Plant 5 - 6 feet apart for a chic, pretty look.

If you want to have an even cadence of individual plants, you plant them 7 - 8 feet apart. This spacing will require patience, but it will be well worth the wait for the gracious, natural look it bestows on your landscape.

You can also use Limelight as a large backdrop to a mixed border or perennial garden. Play their magnificent color change against other cool-toned plants. Try Walker's Low Catmint Russian Sage, Elegans Hosta, Blue Rug Juniper, dramatic Nosferatu Daylily, or iced lavender Arctic Blue™ Rose.

Or, warm them up with bright yellows of Goldfinger Potentilla and Blondy® or Moonshadow Euonymus. It will take just about any combination and improve on it. Start your own Panicle Hydrangea collection with other lovelies like the Annabelle Hydrangeas or Vanilla Strawberry Hydrangea trees.

Use them as a screening hedge all around your patio. Get out and enjoy a glass of wine in the evening. Your early green Limelight Hydrangea flower color will gently reflect the moonlight in a fabulous Moon Garden. You surely deserve it!

They can be used in containers on the patio or flanking your front door. They'll act as a "Thriller" in the container. Have fun plugging in new fillers and spillers each year. Mix it up, the Limelight makes everything around it look good.

Try a single plant as a specimen near the patio or front door. Because of its larger size, it can also easily anchor a corner of a house or building.

#ProPlantTips for Care

When you think of Hydrangea, many think of shade, but Limelight needs plenty of sunlight to grow. Actually, with more sun, more flowers will be produced. Give this panicle Hydrangea full sun, especially morning sun.

Adaptable to just about any soil type, as long as it drains well. If you have ground that stays soggy after a rain, you may have poorly drained soils. In that case, just make a raised mound of soil 24" above your native soil. It will really improve your drainage. You'll plant directly into that mound. Mulch the surface well for insulation and moisture retention.

Limelight Hydrangea bushes don't care about their soil pH and are substantially more drought-tolerant than other Hydrangeas. They are super hardy and can be grown over a huge area of growing zones. No pH changing, no fussy requirements. Once established, they are very drought tolerant.

It is important to prune Limelight in late winter or early spring before new growth begins. Being a robust grower, they should be pruned back each year by about 1/3 of the overall size. You can change the shape of the plant at that time.

Hardy in USDA hardiness zones 3-9, these tolerate incredibly cold climates and summer heat. Some people may like to remove the flower heads in the late fall if wanted, but most like to enjoy them all winter long. It is best not to prune them after the new growth has started to expand.

When pruning Limelight as a hedge, remember that the bottom of the plant should be the widest. Keep the tops of the plants narrower in width than the bottom. This will ensure that sunlight will reach the lower limbs.

These extraordinary Hydrangea bushes have clean, bright, lime-green large flowers that look so cool and inviting in the heat of summer. This plant is a definite garden highlight.

Many gardeners love the Limelight Panicle Hydrangea, and you will too. Order yours from us today!

Frequently Asked Questions

How to Prune a Limelight Hydrangea? What happens if you don't prune Limelight Hydrangeas?

Prune your Limelight Panicle Hydrangea in the late winter and early spring before you see new growth. Because they only bloom on new wood so pruning too late will result in no flowers at all.

Do Limelight Hydrangeas need full sun?

The Hydrangea Limelight does great in full sun, especially in the cooler growing zones of 3 through 9. However, it does appreciate partial shade and afternoon shade in hotter climates.

How tall does Limelight Hydrangea get?

When left unpruned, the Limelight can reach 6-8 feet in mature height and width, in optimal growing conditions.

Where should I plant my Limelight Hydrangea?

Plant in very well-drained soil that’s moderately, yet consistently moist soil. If you suspect poor drainage, try mounding up the soil and planting into that mound. Location in a full sun to partial shade location.

What Shipping Options Do You Offer?

NatureHills.com works closely with our growers and nursery professionals to ensure we ship when it is most appropriate for your area. Our goal is to deliver the hardiest plants by avoiding extreme high and low temperatures. Check out our shipping schedule for more information and to learn our wills and won’ts when it comes to shipping plants. Find your Limelight Hydrangea for sale here at NatureHills.com!