Panicle hydrangea 'Magical Moonlight'

Hydrangea paniculata Magical Moonlight

One of the most powerful and spectacular panicle hydrangea varieties, whose name translates as 'magical moonlight'. The variety has won worldwide popularity thanks to its gigantic, uniquely densely-packed inflorescences and its noble lemon-cream colouring that seems to glow in partial shade.

• Bush size: Vigorous, powerful, upright. The height of a mature plant reaches 1.5-1.8 m (sometimes up to 2 m), with a diameter of about 1.2-1.5 m. The shoots are thick, very rigid and vertical, easily able to hold the weight of the huge flowering caps without any additional tying.
• Inflorescences: Gigantic, dense, broadly-pyramidal in shape with a rounded top. With correct pruning the panicle can reach 35-40 cm in length.
• Flowering and colour change: Long and abundant, from July through September/October. As the flowers open they have a pronounced greenish-lemon (pistachio) tint. At the height of summer they turn a dazzling cream-white with a soft moonlit sheen, and closer to autumn they hardly turn pink at all (unlike most hydrangeas), instead taking on a noble greenish-cream or buff colour.
• Foliage: Large, elongated-ovate, rough, of a rich dark green colour that emphasises the mass and brightness of the inflorescences.
• Light requirements: Thrives both in full sun and in partial shade. In light partial shade the lemon tint holds much longer.
• Soil: Requires fertile, moist, well-drained soils with an acidic or slightly acidic reaction. Does not tolerate waterlogging.
• Frost resistance: High (zone 4, down to -30°C). Mature plants need no winter cover and overwinter perfectly throughout Ukraine.