Panicle hydrangea 'Magical Moonlight'

Panicle hydrangea 'Magical Moonlight' (Hydrangea paniculata 'Magical Moonlight') is moonlight brought down into the garden. The huge, densely packed cones open lime-green, then fill with creamy white above the dark green foliage.

The panicles reach 30 cm, and stiff upright shoots carry them without staking, so the shrub still looks good after rain. This is a cultivar for space: 1.5-2.5 m tall and 1-1.5 m wide, a specimen on a lawn or an accent in a mixed border. It flowers from July to September and shrugs off -40 °C.

Key characteristics:

• What makes it special: The name Magical Moonlight fits: the creamy white heads glow in half-shade, and they open lime-green before they get there.
• Dimensions: By 10 years 1.5-2.5 m tall and 1-1.5 m across.
• Hardiness: Hardy to -40 °C (USDA zone 3).
• Flowering: From July to September it opens generous panicles: lime-green buds gradually turn creamy white.
• Light: Equally happy in full sun or partial shade; in sun keep the soil steadily moist.
• Soil: It loves fertile, moist but well-drained loam or clay, and takes acid, neutral or alkaline soil alike.
• Watering: Moderate, even watering: never let it dry out, and the one thing it dislikes is standing water at the roots.
• Care: It flowers on the current year's shoots, so it responds happily to pruning in late winter or early spring.
• Landscape use: A specimen and accent, lovely in a loose group in a mixed border or a flowering hedge.
• Origin: A Dutch selection made in 2001 at the Kolster nursery in Boskoop; the registered cultivar name is 'Kolmagimo'.