Shrubs

Limelight hydrangea can make a howling addition to any garden . These beautiful shrub grow quite tall with beautiful blooms . Because they are panicles , they are also surprisingly heat and sun tolerant . In this article , horticulture expert and hydrangea enthusiast Jill Drago examines how to successfully grow Limelight hydrangeas and supply them with right care .

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Limelight hydrangea blooming in spring with white flowers

Hydrangea paniculatais a wondrous specie of hydrangea . With vast cone - form prime and a gorgeous vase shape , these shrub fit like a glove in almost any garden . Where most hydrangea specie need a fracture from the sun , Hydrangea paniculatadoes not . They boom in the sun , which make a set of gardener very happy !

‘ spotlight ’ hydrangeas are one of my favoritehydrangeas , and they are especially my favorite panicle hydrangea . I have meet them planted in so many arresting ways . It ’s really hard for me to reckon another plant life being so versatile . Whether found in a stately hedge or as an loose border to a patio , ‘ Limelight ’ hydrangea match the invoice .

If you have been on the hunting for a beautiful blooming bush that will bear both some sun and subtlety , I think the ‘ Limelight ’ might be the reply for you ! rent ’s dig in andlearn a bit more about this variety ofHydrangea paniculata .

Light green flowers, close-up photo with selective focus. Large, upright, cone-shaped panicles of small, creamy green, sterile flowers. The leaves are large, thick, dark green, oval with slightly serrated edges.

Limelight Hydrangea Overview

‘ Limelight ’ hydrangeas are an extremely democratic miscellanea ofpanicle hydrangeas . This variety of hydrangea has proved itself over and over again to be a reproducible performing artist that is just stunning .

This cultivar will reach up to 8 feet in height and width . Thishydrangea blossom with green monumental football - shape flower . As summer ignite up , the heyday will turn to white before fading to a pink red . In the fall the flush will ultimately fade to beige .

While all of this people of colour changing is going on with the flowers , the leaf will be changing colour as well . The leaves are ellipse - shaped and will spend most of the time of year in a vivacious shade of viridity . However , they will begin to turn to a deep shade of red in the declination , accenting the flowers perfectly .

Close-up of a large cone-shaped panicle against a green leafy background in a garden. The large inflorescence consists of small pale green sterile flowers.

These hydrangea are tough . They are both cold and heat liberal , continuing to bloom year after year . develop in zones 4 - 8 , and fly high in coastal communities , ‘ Limelight ’ hydrangeas are as various are they are beautiful .

If the large size of this shrub seems daunting to you , or you do n’t have the space , there is aminiature interpretation call little lime . This hydrangea only raise to 5 feet in acme and 3 pes in width . Besides the height little lime and ‘ spotlight ’ are nearly very .

Why You Should Plant This Variety

If you are considering ‘ spotlight ’ hydrangea , then you already know the benefits of uprise panicle hydrangeas . This hydrangea species know the Dominicus , whereas the eternal sleep favour fond shade .

Aside from make out the sun , they are hardy in zones 4 - 8 , which makes this works a heavy choice for a very expectant area of the United States .

Panicle hydrangeascan be cut back into a tree diagram formwhich includes ‘ Limelight ’ hydrangeas . While this is a task that takes quite a bit of time and patience , you may be able to buy a Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree mannequin of the industrial plant from your garden heart .

Close-up of a male hand holding fresh cuttings for planting, in a sunny garden. The cuttings have long stems and trimmed dark green leaves.

Propragation

Propagating ‘ Limelight ’ is a wonderful , easy way to add more hydrangea to your garden for little to no cost ! The best way to propagate is bytaking deal cuttings .

Softwood is also consider fresh wood within the current growing season . Take press cutting in May , June , or July . These thinning should be about 6 inches foresightful and should have a few sets of leave on them .

Remove a few of the bottom Set of leave , exposing growth point . Dip your cutting in ascendent endocrine powder and stick the cuttings into a sterile planting medium .

Planting seedlings in the garden. Close-up of a gardener’s hands in dark blue gloves with orange trim holding a young seedling protruding from a black plastic pot. Hydrangea seedling has bright green, oval leaves with pointed tips. There is also another young seedling in a black plastic pot on the ground.

Keep your cutting moist but not too wet . When you may gently lug on the cutting and meet underground , the roots begin to form . Transplant your cuttings as involve until you are ready to embed your new ‘ Limelights ’ in your garden .

Before planting , temper off the cuttings for about a week by keeping them outside but out of unmediated sun until the cuttings acclimate to the elements .

Planting

Once you have selected the perfect ‘ calcium light ’ hydrangea from the garden centre , it is metre to get planting ! Hopefully , you have a speckle in judgement for this new bush .

If not , that ’s ok ! Wander your garden in search of a infinite that gets 6 hours or more of sun per day and that also has well - draining soil . last , you will want to verify that this space has enough room for a full - adult ‘ spotlight ’ hydrangea . These hydrangea can reach out up to 6 - 8 foot in elevation and width .

Okay- now you have a slur nibble out ! If your territory is a little too sandy , or maybe not as “ well - draining ” as your ‘ public eye ’ may favour , this is the time to add compost or other organic material into the grunge . amalgamate it in well for the honest resultant .

Bush of blossoming white flowers in the garden. Beautiful branches with white flowers in summer garden

Dig your gob about two times as wide and mystifying as the root ballof the panicle hydrangea . Position the plant with its honest face forward and backfill the hole with your garden grunge . Water your hydrangearight away and continue to supervise and water on a regular basis until your shrub is set up and growing jubilantly in your garden .

How to Grow

Limelights are well - bang because of their beaut but also for their ease of care . Let ’s take a face at what you need to do to guarantee you get the most out of your hydrangeas .

Sunlight Requirements

Allpanicle hydrangeas love the Lord’s Day , and ‘ Limelight ’ is no different . These hydrangea thrive in full to fond Dominicus . This means they need around six time of day or more of Dominicus per day .

However , panicle hydrangeas are tolerant of a bit more shade , and you may get away with about4 or 5 hours of sunlight . When planted in deep shade the growth will be tall-growing and you may not see any flowers .

Water Requirements

hydrangea in general , require aboutone inch of water supply per week . This may disagree a mo if you are spring up your ‘ spotlight ’ hydrangeas in full Lord’s Day .

Pay attention to your plants . They are very good at let you bed that they are athirst . await for leave that are drooping toward the earth in the afternoon . If this is becoming a steady occurrence , you may want to bump up the watering a bit .

add mulchto your gardens is a really easy elbow room to help do your tearing . Not only does mulch help to keep weeds out of your garden , but it help your soil hold on to water in the heating of the summertime .

Large bush of hydrangea paniculata in the summer garden with water drops. The bush has tall and long stems with cone-shaped panicles, consisting of many sterile creamy white flowers. The leaves are large, dark green, ovate, with serrated edges.

Soil Requirements

‘ calcium light ’ hydrangeasgrow better in territory that is moist and well - draining . Panicle hydrangeas are even patient of of cadaver land . You are looking for filth that hold some water but does not pool and swamp the root system of your hydrangea .

Climate and Temperature

‘ Limelight ’ hydrangeasgrow best in zone 4 - 8 , making them relatively cold and heat tolerant . This is such a tough variety of hydrangea ; they resile very nicely and return each springiness no matter how insensate the winters get . These hydrangea are also liberal of salinity , making them an excellent selection for coastal region .

Fertilizer

‘ public eye ’ hydrangeasonly need spring fertilizationfor them to perform at their best . Be careful when fertilizing . Too much fertiliser can dampen the stems which can cause them to flex and droop toward the priming under the heavy system of weights of the large flowers .

If you are incertain if you call for to inseminate , a soil examination is always a dandy fashion to notice out ! you’re able to buy grease test outfit online , at garden centers , or at local colleges .

Maintenance

‘ Limelight ’ hydrangea are passably downhearted maintenance once they are established . Aside from watering and optional pruning , they should not need regular maintenance .

‘ Limelight ’ hydrangea blossom on new wood . This means that their peak bud are not formed until spring has sprung . This give you some wiggle roomwith your pruning schedule .

You may choose to prune in the tumble when all of the flower have passed , or you may crop them in the spring before any novel growth appears . reduce the still hunt to about a foot in height .

Planting a young bush in a sunny garden in the soil. Close-up of female hands holding a young bush with a root ball over a dug hole, a pile of soil and a garden shovel stuck into the soil.

you could also ignore the advice to prune your hydrangeas every year . It is not necessary . In fact , ‘ calcium light ’ hydrangea have such large flowers the older stalking provide excellent support for the new stem .

Pests

You will not have too manyissues with pestswhen growing ‘ spotlight ’ hydrangea . The most usual pestilence areaphids , beetles , and touch . now and then a deer may be go through nibbling on your plants , but that is not common .

Keeping your garden neat and clean throughout the year is a capital style toprevent bug from nesting in your industrial plant . If you discover you have aphids or wanderer mites , you may first seek to remove these insects by hand or with a strong spray from your hose . If that does n’t influence , prove using insecticidal soap .

As for the beetles , mix a bucket of H2O with some dish soapand knock the mallet into the mixture . If they are produce near a lawn that has eats issues , you will require to cover your lawn with granular grub dominance . This will serve limit the beetle population .

Close-up of a creamy white hydrangea against a blurred background of a green garden. The leaves are large, dark green, ovate, with slightly serrated edges. The flowers are small, creamy white, sterile.

Diseases

‘ Limelight ’ hydrangea are tough and resilient plants . There are nottoo many diseasesyou need to be disquieted about with them . Fungal diseases are the main issue with all hydrangeas , this cultivar include .

Common fungal disease you may see are botrytis blight , leaf spot , powdery mould , orroot rot . Control these diseases by keeping your garden neat and also by removing any feign leaves or stems .

discourse with fuzz fungicide is an easy and accessible way to deal your fungous disease . Be certain to espouse the applications programme charge per unit on the label .

Close-up of Limelight Hydrangea blooming inflorescence against a blurred background of a sunny blooming garden. Large, upright panicle of many small green sterile flowers.

Plant Uses

‘ glare ’ hydrangea reach from 6 - 8 foot tall and wide . The large sizing of this variety of hydrangea lend itself nicely to a privacy blind or hedgerow .

I love to see them planted in a hedging with beautiful flowering perennial in front of them for a formal looking at . They are alsobeautiful creation plantsor background plants in a recurrent garden .

If you have declamatory containers , ‘ Limelight ’ hydrangea make wonderful container plants as well ! Just do n’t bury to water them more ofttimes than the hydrangeas planted in your garden .

Close-up of gardener’s hands in green gloves pruning branches in autumn garden. The bush is large, lush, has dark green leaves, ovoid in shape. Large cone-shaped panicles have many small sterile flowers of pale green color with a slight pinkish tint. Some of the flowers have dried up and turned brownish-orange.

Frequently Asked Questions

‘ public eye ’ hydrangea need either full sun or partial shade , which means these bush need a minimum of 4 - 6 minute of Sunday per Clarence Shepard Day Jr. . This motley needs the sun to give rise a lot of flowers on top of very strong stems .

If they get less than 4 hours of sun per day you may notice that the flower are pocket-size , or there may not be any flowers at all . Another signboard that they need more sun is weak or tall-growing ontogenesis . These stanch likely will not be able-bodied to defend up the tumid bloom and will bend and bow toward the land .

I am of the belief that there is no flora that is entirely cervid resistive . However , there are some plants that deer favour over others and ‘ spotlight ’ hydrangea is not one of their favorites .

Close-up of a Cetonia Aurata beetle on beautiful white shrub blooms in a sunny garden. The beetle is large, oval in shape with a beautiful iridescent green shell. Panicles are large, consist of many small white sterile flowers.

If you have a high deer population in your area you could spray products such as liquid fencing on your plants . These types of products will deter cervid by producing a foul odor .

lamentably no . If you are looking for ablue hydrangeayou will want to see for bigleaf , or mountain hydrangeas . These species of hydrangea are tender to the pH of the soil which is what will turn the blossoms blue .

‘ glare ’ hydrangea begin the season blossom in a light refinement of green , as the summer kicks into full gear they will age to white , and finally fade to a moderately pink or red in the crepuscle . Sometimes you may see all three colour on one flush head .

A close-up of a fungus-affected plant in a garden. The leaves are dark green, heart-shaped, with slightly serrated edges, covered with pale green spots, white powdery coating and black-brown blotches.

Absolutely ! In fact , this is a peachy place to employ Little Lime hydrangea . Do n’t let the size of the ‘ Limelight ’ stop you ! Whichever hydrangea you choose to implant in a container , verify the container is about twice as spacious and deep as the rootball of the hydrangea .

Use potting soil , or a combination of potting grime and garden soil in your container . establish the same direction you would engraft any other plant in a container .

verify you keep a close eye on your potted hydrangeas . They will require more water than those that are establish in the priming .

Close-up of flowering plant in the garden. The bush is large, lush, has dark green oval-shaped leaves, narrowed at the tips. Upright, conical, terminal panicles, composed of sterile, pale green flowers.

No , it is not necessary for you to deadhead . In fact , I ca n’t opine why you would want to . These heyday proceed to get more and more beautiful as the time of year goes on . Beginning as a lime shadowiness of green , change by reversal to white , and finally fade to shades of pinkish and red these flowers are entail to be savour .

Deadheading will not advance Modern blossoms on your industrial plant . On the other paw , it will not harm your plant life either . If you are looking to lighten your horticulture load , deadheading is a task I would skip .

Limelight hydrangeas are beautiful shrubsthat are easily complimentedwith whatever sun - do it plants you wish to pair them with . Some of my darling are butterfly stroke bush , catmint , and novel guinea impatiens .

You should consider the location of your plant to serve you choose a companion plant . If they are planted in a formal hedging , box would pair nicely . However , if planted in a more capricious location perennial such as coneflowers or salvia would be lovely .

Final Thoughts

If you have not acquire ‘ Limelight ’ hydrangea in your garden , I highly recommend give it a try . They are lovely works that can add a splash of magic to your yard . The prolific number of flowers will last into the gloam , and the dried blossoms can be left on your shrub for winter sake providing twelvemonth - round beauty .