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| For those of you who have grown paniculata hydrangeas (Limelight, Quick Fire, Pinky Winky etc.), how big do they get in zone 3/Calgary? Do they really get to be 6-8 ft tall as they do in warmer zones? Or are they much more compact in our climate please? |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| Good question. I've seen some very mature arborescens (Annabelle) that don't get very tall at all (3 feet, tops), but they get very wide (6 feet). On the other hand when I go to Kelowna they're just a little bit taller so I guess that's their normal range unless they're in places like Vancouver. I think the paniculatas are too new here to make a judgement on. Mine are now three full seasons in and the Quickfires are quite small, but the White Diamond I have... Hmm, I think it could get fairly tall. It's definitely much more vigorous than the Quickfire. Just plant and see what happens :) |
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| Thanks, Shazam! I have been planting away most of the day today! I probably bought too many paniculatas.... LOL.... so I need to make sure that I am not crowding them too much! LOL! Shazam, when you said that your QF's are "quite small", roughly how tall and wide are they please? Do you put them in full sun or partial sun location? Thanks! |
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| I have two Quick Fires planted at the exact same time, one in sunny and the other in partly sunny. The partly sunny one is bigger - it's around 2x2. The sunny one is about 1 foot high and 2 feet wide. I'm sure they'll get bigger, but to tell you the truth I love how slowly they grow since it keeps them contained. They bloom just fine anyhow too, which is great to see in a plant that small. And correction, I have a Pink Diamond, not a White. Pink Diamond apparently can get up to 30 feet high in warm places. I don't think it's going to reach that here. |
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| Thanks, Shazam.... wow, that is SMALL! In my previous zone 5 garden, the 3 year old Pinky Winky and Quick Fire were about 4 feet tall. The Limelight was a giant and it was like 6-7 feet tall! It was really too big. So I am wondering how big these were when you bought them? Were they in 2 or 5 gallon pots? And did you notice dieback to the ground over winter? Thanks again! |
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| Hardly any dieback at all. They're extremely hardy. Maybe they just need more time to establish here. They were in 5 gallon pots. The biggest problem with Calgary is our lack of Heat Unit Accumulation. Due to our high altitude, our air cannot hold as much heat. This means cold nights and cold mornings that take a while to heat up. Oh and snow in May. That's a problem too :) |
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| I planted this Limelight in 2009 - it's in a partly shady site (gets a few hours of direct morning to mid-day sun).
And here it is today in almos full flower. It's about 3' tall and wider than tall at about 4' or so.
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| Thanks, pudge! You have a lovely Limelight there! It's very full, lush and healthy. I love the how limey the blooms are, since they are in the partial shade location! (the more sunlight they get the whiter the blooms get) It's interesting that when I was in zone 5, my Limelight became this GIANT within a few years - about twice as big as yours! However, I really prefer the more compact size that you have. Now, I have bought a Little Lime, which is supposed to be a little brother of Limelight - I wonder how SMALL it would get in our climate now!? LOL Thanks again for the great photos! Shazam, thanks for the info.... I hope you didn't get slammed by the hailstorm on Sunday night! |
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| It was sorta bad. Got loonie sized hail, but it was sporadic. I was at the grocery store though and my car got dented all over. Phoned the insurance company right away, as I was due to go on vacation the next day. Luckily no damage to the house as far as I could tell. But now I'm in Victoria where the trees grow 50 feet high in 10 years. |
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| Shazam, I am so very sorry about the hail damage! It is very lucky though that there was no damage to your house. I am just so sick of all these hailstorms!!! Yes, coastal BC is beautiful.... I can only dream.... enjoy your vacation! |
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| Stopped by in Kelowna, went to Elysium Gardens (well worth going to), and they have signs of when some of the feature trees were planted. Bloody hell they get over 50 feet tall after only 10 years of growth. |
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- Posted by seriousgeorge 3 (My Page) on Fri, Aug 17, 12 at 18:21
| I have seen both paniculata and arborescens reach sizes of about 5-6' tall and wide in Red Deer, AB. Without exception, these large plants have had nice, protected spots up against a house. I have a fairly large Quickfire myself; I bought it in a #10 pot about 4 years ago so it was already a decent size to begin with. It didn't do much the last few years as it worked to get established, but it's growing very vigorously this year. It's very close in dimensions to the Limelight that pudge posted. I kind of hope it grows a little bigger because it's a gorgeous plant and I don't mind showing it off. |
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| Hi seriousgeorge, Wow! I think that the 5-6' height must be the exception, not the norm around here!!! :-) I was a bit ambitious and bought myself a Quick Fire, Pinky Winky, Strawberry Vanilla and a Little Lime this year. Now if they get THAT big, I think that I will not have the space in my yard! We shall see.... Thanks again! |
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- Posted by seriousgeorge 3a (My Page) on Mon, Aug 20, 12 at 14:28
| Yeah, I delivered pizza for a couple years and as such I have seen very nearly every garden curiosity there is to see in Red Deer, or at least the ones in people's front yards. I've seen crimson norway maples growing as huge shrubs, 6' tall weigela, boxwoods, yews, smokebush and many more exceptional and interesting plants. It always gives me great joy to see a plant doing well where it's otherwise expected not to do well. |
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