A new dwarf paniculata hydrangea for the smaller garden from the ongoing expert breeding work ongoing at Plant Introductions, Inc., a partnership led by Dr. Michael Dirr (now retired from the University of Georgia). As they claim, their plants "perform as promised" - it’s not just marketing hype. They’ve bred the plants they license to growers and cull thousands of other seedlings. With that introduction here’s the scoop on Hydrangea paniculata ’Baby Lace’. Grows in full sun to partial shade to a height of 4 feet and as wide. Plant it if you plan to make a mass planting about 4 feet apart. The bloom is white, somewhat open, in mid summer. Blooms on new growth like most PeeGees so you can prune it late winter if you wish (no need to otherwise). Hardiness in zones 4 - 8. Patented, may not be propagated without license.

Hydrangea paniculata ’Bombshell’ was discovered in 2003 in a nursery in Boskoop, the Netherlands, and is being described as more compact with more prolific flowers than most. We can say yet as this our first year growing it. The height is given as 2.5 to 3 feet with a spread of 3-4 feet. We find those dimensions improbable but hope they’re accurate. If so, Bombshell would make a great addition to the small garden where most PeeGee’s would overwhelm. Zones 3 - 8. A patented plant from Ball Ornamentals.

Given lots of sun this Hydrangea paniculata will produce creamy white blooms in mid-to-late summer for you. Loosely gathered petals give this peegee a unique airy look. Height to 6 feet or better depending on your pruning and length of growing season. Easy back of the sunny border plant. Deciduous, Zones 4 - 8.

This form propagated from cuttings from the century old plant at the Arnold Arboretum will become quite large over time if allowed, say 12-15 feet tall and as wide. Hydrangea paniculata ’Praecox’ is the only paniculata that blooms on old wood, blooming some month to 6 weeks before the other cultivars. This means you should not hard prune it in late winter like the others unless you are willing to forego blooms that summer. Large leaves create a pleasing frame for compact, conical blooms . Full sun to light shade, deciduous, for zones 3 - 8.

Cowabunga, Buffalo Bob, look at the size of the bloom on that PG! H. paniculata ’Floribunda’ -- when only the biggest will do. Full sun. The bloom is white like all paniculatas although it has blue tint in this photo from the National Collection in Cumbria, England (camera out of whack). Zones 3-8.

A silly name dropped on a quite wonderful plant. The conical blooms are reminiscent of ’Tardiva’ with tiers of sterile and fertile flowers, all of which deepen to almost red so long as it is grown in lots of sun. So if you only have a sunny garden and crave any but a white hydrangea , PinkyWinky is for you. (The name was chosen by the breeder, Dr. Johan Van Huylenbroeek, for a character on a children’s television program called Teletubbies – the actual character’s name was Tinky Winky. Anyone remember the Pinky Lee Show from the 1950’s or still wear plaid? How ’bout a plaid hydrangea? Now there’s a notion.) Patented plant, license required to propagate. Height to 6 feet or more depending on your pruning. Photo courtesy of Proven Winners -- www.provenwinners.com

What a wonderful plant. Bred in Holland, Hyd. p. ’Zwijnenburg’ is a mostly sterile PeeGee bloom in the most wonderful soft, lime-green instead of white. It is very striking, and like all paniculatas, a snap to grow. Full sun to light shade (the lime color is more pronounced in partial shade) for zones 4-8, it will be between 5 & 10’ tall depending on your climate and pruning. Deciduous, of course. The photos seen under "More Information" will share just a bit of the beauty this selection. These are our photos, under real gardening conditions taken here at the nursery outside of Atlanta, un-Photoshopped.

Hydrangea paniculata ’Little Lamb’ is one of the shorter PG’s, about 6’ tall. The blooms are dense with the sterile flowers covering the fertile ones. It blooms mid-summer after "Quickfire" but before ’Chantilly Lace’. Makes a good cut flower. Zones 4 - 8.

An upright form with dense, conical, mostly sterile flowers in July - September. Excellent new introduction in this country that "supersedes ’Grandiflora’" according to the RHS trial of Hydrangea paniculata cultivars. Received their highest rating and an Award of Garden Merit (AGM). Dr. Dirr: "Spectacularly large (immense) inflorescences. . .am mightily impressed with the flower quality." Full sun to light shade for zones 3 - 8. Blooms on new growth of the season. See photo of Dirr in the PG trial fields at UGA.

This plant is variable year-to-year for us in Georgia. Some years the flowers age to a rich pink, other years they don’t. We suspect it may have to do with the heat of our late summer. Certainly the photos we’ve seen (and the one we took at Longwood Gardens) show the rich coloration. Like all hydrangea paniculata varieties, Pink Diamond likes full sun. Ultimate height depends on your pruning. Left unpruned it can reach 10 feet, but since it blooms on the new growth of the season you can hard prune it in late winter and hold it to about 5 feet. The newer ’Pinky Winky’ (trademarked) reputedly is more consistently pink in late summer. We grow it as well but have only a few years experience. Time will tell if it performs in our garden. Zones 3 - 8.

Stunning new Hydrangea paniculata that is a close duplicate of ’Limelight’ but is not under patent so can be grown by all who wish a handsome shrub for their sunny border. The RHS gave it the Award of Garden Merit in their extensive trial of some 40 or so paniculatas. Dr. Dirr in the new edition of his classic Manual of Woody Landscape Plants writes: "Beautiful full white inflorescences . . .rather strong stems hold flowers upright. . .am impressed by quality of flowers, foliage and habit." It has performed excellently in the heat of Georgia and should be a great choice for gardeners in the warmer zones. Zones 3 - 8. Height to 8 feet plus and as wide.

Late summer blooms of this PeeGee type make Hydrangea paniculata ’Tardiva’ a wonderful addition to the garden. It blooms 2-3 weeks later than most PG’s so extends the beauty of your garden often into the early fall. The bloom has an elegant mix of fertile and sterile flowers & is quite long. Can be pruned into a "tree" form if you so desire. Full sun to bright shade. Zones 4-8.