Phantom Panicle Hydrangea

Phantom Panicle Hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata ‘Phantom’) is a beautiful tall variety that grows massive, 15-inch flower panicles that are well supported by sturdy, strong stems. You’ll be amazed, but your gigantic flowers won't droop down to the ground.

Phantom features gigantic blooms that are wide at the base and narrow a bit as they extend upward. It only takes a few to create magnificent cut flower arrangements, so you’ll have plenty to enjoy in your garden landscape.

This is an impressive multi-stemmed, deciduous shrub with an upright form. The woody stems are strong, and the branching is uniform on this pretty shrub. With those impressive blooms held aloft, Phantom is sure to become one of your favorite flowering shrubs.

In early summer, the delicate blossoms appear with a light-green hue. The blooms slowly transition to pristine white for summertime display. They age to a lovely light-pink shade for autumn. Leave them standing for winter interest.

The huge blooms appear at regular intervals from top to bottom and side to side. You’ll love the flowering symmetry! No wonder the Royal Horticultural Society awarded Phantom their prestigious Award of Garden Merit.

You can count on the performance, even up into the near Arctic Zone 3. Phantom is the most cold-hardy of all the white Panicle Hydrangea and will easily bounce back after tough winters.

Phantom blooms year after year with little maintenance. Simply trim back about 1/3 of the overall size of the shrub each year in early spring before the plant starts to grow. You can easily maintain your plants between 5-10 feet tall in a rounded form.

Hydrangeas come in many colors and forms, but few can rival the majestic size and color of the Phantom Hydrangea. Order from us today!

How to Use Phantom Hydrangea in the Landscape

Phantom Hydrangea is a wonderful large-scale shrub that makes a fabulous backdrop and screening plant. Celebrate a special occasion by planting these wonderfully decorative shrubs. It grows large enough to make a big impact in the garden design, after all. You’ll forever remember the day you planted them.

Include at least one in your cutting garden where you will cut and use those flowers fresh or dried. Have a marriage coming up? Plant several now and harvest the blooms for fabulous Do-It-Yourself decorations.

Love the Holidays? Allow the blooms to finish drying on the shrub, then cut and spray with gold or silver spray paint to add a bright “pop” in your trimmings of Holly and other evergreens.

It makes a spectacular addition to foundation plantings as a specimen plant to anchor a corner of your home or porch. Try an informal grouping of Phantom Hydrangeas to create an impressive focal point in your yard. It’s a perfect backdrop on the north side of smaller shrubs and perennials.

Run Phantom along the length of your existing fence to easily add height and soften the look. We’ve even them staggered in a zig-zagged planting pattern on either side of a low picket fence and it looked terrific!

It is a big grower and makes an excellent addition to the sunny side of a windbreak or shelterbelt. These flowering plants adding density and lots of interest especially against taller evergreens.

Phantom makes a fantastic informal hedge. You’ll love the privacy. Space them 4-5 foot apart on center to make a solid screen. You’ll measure from the center of one to the center of the next.

Just remember that no one ever said a row has to be stick straight! Why not meander the sight line to follow the contours of your landscape? Boost the romance with curved lines that create little hidden “moments” for sweet set of cozy chairs or even a lazy hammock to while away an afternoon with a good book!

Try these gorgeous shrubs as living green walls to create a Secret Garden for yourself. Indulge your dearest garden fantasies with the ethereal blooms of the Phantom Panicle Hydrangea.

#ProPlantTips for Care

This beautiful shrub is exceptionally cold hardy and very easy to care for. While it can be grown in either sun or partial shade, please know that it will flower best in a sunny spot.

In the very coldest Zone 3 gardens, it’s a good idea to give it a protected spot from the very worst of the bitter winter winds. Try planting on the sunny side of taller evergreen trees or on the south side of your home or outbuilding.

Give it well-drained soil or improve your drainage with a technique called “mounding up.” Add additional soil to 18 - 24” and plant directly in that mound. You can also create lovely raised beds to bring visual structure to your planting designs.

Give your plants a moderate amount of water on a regular basis. This is especially important in spring. Don’t let the soil dry out during the flower development stage to encourage big, huge flower heads. Give your Hydrangea paniculata 'Phantom' a nice, thick layer of mulch over its root system to keep it nice, moist, and cool.

Prune back hard in early spring, and you’ll enjoy fresh new flowering growth later in the season. This is a simple yearly task that should be done before the plant has started to leaf out.

Don’t prune once you see new growth, or you’ll risk cutting off those breathtaking blooms for the year!

Before your shrubs start growing in early spring, trim the overall size back by about a third. Keep a rounded shape for the best results and make pruning cuts at a 45-degree angle just above a fat, swollen leaf bud. In this manner, you can easily maintain the of the overall size from 5 to 10 feet tall.

Once your Phantom is mature, conduct a regular schedule of renewal pruning cuts every few years in early spring. Remove the oldest, thickest stems all the way down to the ground. You’ll leave the younger, thinner stems and shorten them up by a third. Your shrub will love this “freshening up” and respond beautifully.

Enjoy the astounding blooms and high performance of the Phantom Panicle Hydrangea. Order from the expert growers of Nature Hills today!