hydrangeasnohio, I have a Snow Mountain Tree, and while it is spectacular in bloom, it has been quite a temperamental diva for me!!! In fact, this is my second one, because the first one died on me after a season and I had to return it. I have not had a paniculata that is as fussy as this one! Talk about high maintenance to get her settled... Oh well, thank goodness that she looks amazing when in bloom!!! LOL

I have not seen a Unique tree in bloom, so I cannot comment.

Now, I assume that you're in NE Ohio? Are you? If so, I got my tree from Petitti's - is that where you are getting yours from too? They are apparently having a wonderful $20 5-gallon hydrangea tree sale there! I need to get there myself too!

How about a Limelight tree? They just came out last year and I thought it would look rather splendid, in addition to the fact that it is totally carefree! I also love how Tardiva trees look too, with the dark red stems and the thick, coarse, dark green foliage that creates a nice contrast with the white blooms. Mind you, if you were looking for something more airy looking, then the Snow Mountain tree is the one for you.

Here's a photo that I took on 8/8/09:

It was in a 5 gallon pot last year when I got it. This is her second season. She is now well over 6 feet tall! What a tall girl :-)

Yea I was just there at Pettitis on Saturday and bought a 5 gallon Pinky Winky for $24!!!! It is BEAUTIFUL!!! I have a Pink Diamond Tree from Pettitis on it's a little over 7 feet tall on its third season. Both of them I think look very similiar to the Pink Diamond??? I also have two Limelights, but they are in shrub form.
This is my last spot to fill and I am almost tempted to put another Pinky Winky there. This location is a southern exposure that recieves FULL SUN from morning till almost 7pm. A limelight tree is very tempting also!!! I am very torn!!!! Do you know when the sale ends???

P.S. the Tardiva I heard is a very late bloomer, so I sort of ruled it out. Your SNOW MOUNTAIN is Awesome it looks better than my Pink Diamond. Do you hard prune in early spring???

hydrangeasnohio, after the last couple of days in the 90's, my Snow Mountain tree is looking a little tired... the leaves are turning yellow from my watering. It is simply too fussy for me! In a way I wished that I had something else there... sigh!

My Pinky Winky is just not looking that great, because it only has a few blooms after being feasted on by those deer!!! Otherwise, the foliage is very healthy and lush... LOL

My Limelight shrub is just absolutely breathtaking, even in this incredible heat! It's looking wonderful. Yes, you should get a tree form!!!

I see that the Tardivas around here seem to be blooming already, so it's not that late, I guess? I love it.

I have no idea when the sale ends at Petitti, but you know that you can get one and if you don't like it, you can always return it!!! I am such an enabler :-)

Thanks for the info ostrich. The Limelight tree is defentily winning the race! How did you load your picture on this thread? I would like to show a couple also! Any help would be greatly appreciated!

hydrangeasnohio, I upload my photos on www.photobucket.com , then it will generate a link for you to copy into the text here, and the photo will just appear in your preview and submitted message!

Hi hydrangeasnohio - Tardiva had always been passed in commerce as the tardiest diva of the Hydrangea paniculatas ... the tags even admit to it.

I have 2 in full sun (SE & NW) both planted a month apart in the Fall of '05 ... both came with blossoms/1 from a reputable nursery the other from HD ($20 diff) ... no difference now in size, floriferousness or budding time since planting!

They were the first, of my growing collection of, assorted Hs. I didn't mind that Tardiva's bloom-time was expected in late Aug/early Sept ... the surprise was, both budded in 2nd wk of Jul, since (give or take a day or 2) ... by end of Jul they were both flashing!!! I wondered for a while & I asked the experienced, in this forum ... purchased from 2 sources & nurseries - couldn't have been mislabeled ... Both looked like a T, behaved like a T, blossoms looked like T's ... must be Ts! ... I wasn't about to complain!!! LOL Today they are just a few inches of each others' size & loaded with maturing blossoms!

Funny that my Angel's Blush & Pink Diamond (in f/s as well) budded & flashed, a few days later than Ts ... could be our zone, intensity of our sun, our soil, ... who knows! I'm planning on pruning hard in Spring as they are now giants at 9'x9' in their 5th season!!! Â;)

FWIW ... Enjoy which ever you choose ... I vote for Limelight as a real beauty ... Quick Fire as an early pleaser!!!

Ditas, we need some photos of your Tardivas, PLEASE!!!!!

I have always loved the dark green leaves and the dark red stems of this beauty..... if my Snow Mountain duchess/diva continues to behave with such a temperamental attitude, I might just replace her with a Tar-diva!!! LOL

Oh Ostrich - don't! She's a beauty & will fill out in another year, to please!!! LOL

I did another networking-web procedure, ala spider, on T2 as the heavy blossoms, are pulling his arms down! I ended up using 4 prs of nylon hose, to accomplish the feat ... (twines were scratching his limbs)!!!

Will try to oblige w/ pics ... soon I hope!

Dita's how close do you think the Tardivas flowers resemble the Pink Diamond? Also do you think it will take my southern hot exposure taking account my zone. This bed I have no Hydrangeas in because of the heat, but I have built up the nerve to try. Thanks for all your help.

Hi h...n...o - We in IA are known to have very scorching sun ... I fondly call 'sol invictus' ... unforgiving in the summer!!! All these few years, all my 7 H paniculatas don't seem to flinch ... I added Unique & Limelight this Spring!

T & PD are very similar (very little diff if any) PD seems to just be more upright, as a bush, however PD is 2 yrs younger the inflorescences could be a pinch smaller yet, DK if that makes a diff.

My AB(Angel's Blush) is in a So exposure & backed by basement, cement wall that radiates heat ... has not complained either.

My Unique is new this year & I'm loving her already, for a slightly wider, petaled florets, than any of my other H paniculatas ... too early to judge, uprightness as a tree, if that is what you were considering, in your ?? in this thread.

QF has now proven to me, as a more upright habit of growth ... I've not seen a tree form yet ... would be wonderful to have an early bloomer & early pink show to boot!!! Â;) 'Wonder if anyone has a photo to share?

Good luck on your choice ... Oh & BTW I saw all the pics you posted ... great show!!! Â;)

Hi Ostrich - I didn't care for the photos taken in full sun & waited for dusk ... intermittent storms made it difficult ... then spent hours networking nylons to pull arching branches on T2 (panicles getting quite heavy w/ maturity!).

Guess what - Ts are starting their 'pinking' stage!!! Â;) Will wait for dusk again to take photos.

If you are thinking of a tree form ... perhaps another, with a more upright habit, might be better - L'light or QF comes to mind but you already have them.

However, T1 developed a very upright/thick, center cane w/ several top blooms ... quite tempting for an experiment ... unfortunately T1 is 20' behind Princess Kyu!!! Â:( I still think, I'd wait to see your Duchess SM, show off her elegance!!! Â;)

Ditas, guess what? We just had a huge thunder/rain storm this afternoon. It was crazy! Anyway, I came home and I saw the Duchess still standing tall and proud, as if nothing had happened at all! On the other hand, even my dear Limelight is now down because of the heaviness of the wet blooms!!! Ouch! Quick Fire is doing OK too. I guess all these paniculata beauties with lacy blooms are less likely to flop after a big rainstorm then!!! Oh well, I suppose I will keep my Duchess, after all... :-)

Hey Ostrich - What's the matter with this season ... everything went upside down!!! Sorry about our fav L'light!!! Â:( You should see Li'l L with all these storms ... no amount of stakes/nylons/twines worked- must really prune in Spring!!!

I know this is the wrong thread for this, but as promised I got some, not so good pics, of 2 Ts just for you. I'll take them out after a few, OK?

You will perhaps notice they are arching from wgt. of maturing panicles ... 'pinking' has started as well. Note T1 has a tall center cane I mentioned in the other thread ... tempting to convert to tree ... if only ...

Here is a link that might be useful: 2 Tardivas today

Oooooooooh, Ditas, I really think that you have great potential with T1! That strong, erect center cane is quite something!!! Yes, will you please convert that to tree form?

BTW, I am amazed that your Russian Sage is not that droopy after the storm! My Little Spires are just all over the place after the torrential rain this afternoon.... ouch!

Nooooo Ostrich - T1 is 20' directly behind Princess Kyu ... can't allow competition ... remember the 'runway of ladies in white' T1 is at the end of the line ... so, I can't!

That R Sage was my 'Little Spire'-turned too tall ... he is protected by T2 the reason he is still up ... I hate the thought that he, may have to be moved next season, if not this fall (simply love him there) ... DK yet, what to replace ... I have a mat of Periwinkle in that bed ... perennial aficionados hate them ... I seem to be able to keep mine in check ... will wander if I let!!! LOL

BTW watch your L'l Spire's tiny blossoms ... you'll be pulling baby Spires sneaking about!!! LOL Seriously!

LOL Ditas, your T1 and T2 talk makes me wonder if we were talking about MRI images... LOL!!!

Anyway, Baby Spires!? LOL! I never knew that Little Spires was that naughty!!! LOL! I'd better watch out for those little babies coming up all over the place!!!!!!

Now, you are preferentially treating your Princess Kyu over the other 'drangeas, aren't you? No fair! LOLOL

Certainly, Ostrich ... I am!!! She is my grand-dau's Princess (Kiyomi - the most beautiful lady Bambi in all of Japan ... Serendipity bk character - in case you're curious, who!) Kyu ... b'sides I pd a fortune & cash- carried her otherwise my 5y/o grand would have stayed at the nursery w/her arms around the pot!!! LOL

Yeap - no damages on T1 & T2 but Princess lost, part of her head!!! (storm did it!) ... this is lab talk indeed!!! .. better quit before we get booted off. This is a serious H thread ...

Honestly, do watch those baby Spires! I didn't think, he would grow so tall ... wonder if I should prune, halfway into growth? 'Love those willowy, lavender plumes & spicy scent + looks great w/ T2!

Hey guys, I finally decided on a Limelight tree and my store was sold out.

Ostrich how tall do you prune your paniculatas/Limelight?

They had a 3 gallong Starlight that I could not pass up. I am not sure if I will get around to putting anything this year or not. They had a ton of trees that I looked exactly the same. But all had differnt names and I mean exactly- Unique, Pink Diamond, Tardiva, Snow Mountain. I am almost leaning towards another Quick fire. Have either of you ever heard of a Phantom? If labeled right looks alot like a Limelight.

hydrangeasnohio, I pruned my Limelight shrub down to about 2-3 feet tall early this spring, and now it's over 6 feet tall... LOL!

BTW, folks, I saw a Quick Fire tree at Gale's today - OMG, that thing was surprisingly UGLY! The blooms were all going through that uber-ugly pantyhose color... and imagine a tree with lots of those things!!! Ewwwww.... I guess it worked OK for a shrub, but not for a tree! LOL

hydrangeasnohio, which Petitti did you go to? Have you tried that one in Avon Lake? it's HUGE! I have been so busy that I have yet made it to a Petitti to check out those hydrangea trees yet... sigh...

BTW, Gale's had a Limelight tree for $85.... too much for me really. The Quick Fire tree was on sale for $65. I can see why it was much less expensive than the Limelight tree... LOL

Re: Phantom.
I have to see a Phantom-tree yet, but I like shrub-form very much and looking to buy one if will be able to find true to the name one.
For some reason this cultivar had never been mass produced untill recently and thus is less known for the general public.
Phantom is reputedly one of the largest paniculatas by overall size as well as by the size of panicles and individual flowers/florets.
Main ID characteristic: most of individual flowers have a 4 X-large petals separated by a visible spaces between them vs. overlaping petals like PG/Limelight etc., have.
Despite having a larger panicles, shrub in general has an upright appearance, similar to Tardiva, vs. arching look of PG. Explanation to this could be found in a closer examination of the individual panicles. They consists from a hefty portion of a lighter weight fertile florets being completely hided by a smaller number of X-large sterile florets. This combination makes individual panicle to look as full as PG's, but to weight less and not to bend stem too much, only the tip of it.
Not sure if it's a nature of this particular cultivar or just coincidence, but all 5-6 Phantoms I had a chance to see in a close proximity had a somewhat bare legs in a lower 3', eventhough they were relatively young (6-8 y.o.) to have this symptom of aging. In my eye this feature, if this is in fact a feature, is a very helpfull attribute since you could plant spring bloomers (irises, peonies, etc) within 2-3' radius from the center and do not waste other RE on a short-blooming perennials.

Hi Ostrich - I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder ... I'm getting old, ugly as well & luv this old pink colour!!! LOL

Yest'day, early AM, collected blossoms to observe & compare from 5 diff H paniculatas & from the eyes of (forever) newbie ... will post thoughts ... have to run to 1st day of nursery-sch for a grand!!!

Toodles & great AM

Here is a link that might be useful: Me thinks worthy of tree form

As promised: FROM A NEWBIEÂS EYE:

With all the recent craze for H trees & several ???  whether to get this or that in tree form, I decided to take a good look at my 9 H paniculatas  I'm excluding Unique & Limeligh  just acquired this Spring, too early to judge their true personalities & Little Lamb, for obvious reasons.

As earlier mentioned, I harvested each, a med. sized (avg.) blossom from 2Tardivas  (planted-FallÂ05), Kyu (SummerÂ06), Quick Fire (SpringÂ07), Pink Diamond (Fall Â07) & AngelÂs Blush (SpringÂ08).

As a (forever) newbie  my vote:

#1  QF  for being the earliest bird ... first to break dormancy, lush out, form cluster buds, flash & change color!!! Uprightness in my piece of soil, is the best  due in part to beautifully formed  more ovalisque & looser panicles w/ possibly, lesser fertile florets (seeds at maturity) that weigh down the canes  at this stage of pink, the tips of fertile/seed-like clusters, have a tint of rosy-pink as well! Really pretty, to me!!!

#2 Â Toss up between: Pink Diamond & AngelÂs Blush (PDÂs baby) Â PD has daintier panicles than ABÂs, however PD is arching a bit more than AB.
Even with 12" panicles on center, taller canes, AB seems able to carry her blossoms more upright! PD has, more uniformly sized, panicles at 7". Also noted that ABÂs leaf formation is all in 3s (ternate, according to bk) PD is usually opposites w/ a few in 3s closer to bases of blossom cluster. AB's sepals, a hint larger than PD's

#3 Tardiva & Kyushu both canes arch  weighed down by blossoms as they mature  fertile florets mature to seed-like clusters. KyuÂs infertile florets are petite compared to TÂs avg. sized.

My tree is Kyushu  absolutely love her, with all her arching branches & more petite florets!!!

FWIW!!!

Ditas,

I actually love the pink that you showed in those photos! However, I was really talking about a dirty, yucky, tannish pink that I have with some of my QF blooms right now... if it's pink like the photos that you have, I would not mind it a single bit!

I saw a Phantom bush in my local nursery today. The blooms were quite stunning! Very large and lovely. They only had one there... and it was not a tree either.

The reason I included the end-Jul photo was because, tho not all, some turned so quickly into the brighter orangey-pink color (note diff of pink shades frames 1&2 vs #4)
Then came the unseasonably cooler days w/ over-nite temps in the lower 50s. The gradual changing of color seemed to have halted a bit & held frozen into that stage. The mo of Aug proceeded cooler w/ more rainy days ... I feel that all the plants are getting confused ... can't figure if it's Spring or Fall & lost Summer! QF's orangey-pink colors, started changing to more mauve-pink ... so curious!!!

To answer your ?? on QF as red at maturity? The closest mine came, was shown in the 4th frame in the pics I posted, above. The ugly orangey-beige, yuck, color happens for mine, late in the Fall ... close to dormancy time!

Remember the discussion we had about factors, controlling the changes of color in H blooms ... 'almighty sun', summer temps' etc etc in diff parts of the country? ... I guess, whatever Ma Nature pleases huh? Let's just enjoy ... whatever ... she'll prove us wrong each time, anyway!!!

G'nite Ostrich!!! Â;)

.y snow mountain hydrangea is amazing!