Limelight Hydrangea

Limelight Hydrangeas are considered very hardy and very versatile, able to fit into landscape designs in a multitude of ways from growzones 3a to 9a. They grow 6 to 8 feet tall and wide at maturity, so you need to plant for their full size when planning your garden. They work well as a thriller, or a solitary plant meant to be showy and pull focus. You can plant them at least 6 feet away from other hydrangeas of a similar size, or at least 3 to 4 feet away from houses, fences, or other trees. 

You can plant them along a fenceline or privacy screen to add layers between the treeline and flower beds. You can plant them near your home to soften the corners visually. You can plant them in a long line creating a flowering hedge bursting with pale green. You can plant them in front of your air conditioning unit to hide it. 

It is common to plant other perennials and smaller shrubs in the shade that these big Panicle Hydrangeas provide - we simply recommend that you do not plant anything inside of their drip line so they don't compete for resources.

What your pair with your Limelight Hydrangea depends on the look you are going for. You can mix and match them with shrubs with a different color foliage, such as Ninebark Coppertina. You can plant them with hydrangeas that are very similar but a different height, such as the Little Lime Hydrangea. You can create harmonious visual contrast by planting them near hydrangeas with different colored flowers and different shaped flowers, such as Wee Bit Giddy Hydrangeas or Let's Dance Starlight Hydrangea. You can layer them below evergreen trees such as an Emerald Green Arborvitae, which has a contrasting shape but complimentary color. Or add an Arctic Sun Dogwood Shrubs to have both color contrast and texture every winter.

The possibilities are endless! We recommend that whatever you plant near your Limelight Hydrangeas, that they share similar hydration needs, soil makeup needs, and climate needs. Keep sunlight needs in mind as well, whether it is taller trees that are blocking your hydrangea from afternoon sun, or smallerplants that are enjoying the shade created. If you want to use plants that need the same amount of sun as your Limelights, then space them further apart.

Deadheading can encourage more repeat blooming throughout a shrubs bloom season. This is the case for Limelight Hydrangeas - you can make space and encourage new flowers throughout the summer by cutting off spent clusters. Limelight Hydrangeas make great additions to a cut flower garden, since the flowers are lovely additions to indoor bouquets.

We love our Limelight Hydrangeas, and so do our nibbling critter neighbors. Any tactics you have at keep deer at bay, such as marigolds, a spray or fencing, would be a good idea to use around your hydrangea garden.

Nursery pot sizes are called gallon sizes. You’ll see one-gallon, two-gallon, etc. This can be misleading to gardeners as a one-gallon pot would lead you to believe that the pot would hold one gallon of milk. This is not the case. Gallon is just a term of reference leftover from the days of nurseries growing plants in metal containers.

• 1-gallon (#1) pot for example, can hold 3 quarts of soil yet they are still considered a 1-gallon pot.
• 2-gallon (#2) pot holds about 1.5 gallons of soil
• 3-gallon (#3) pot holds about 2.9 gallons of soil
• 5-gallon (#5) pot holds about 4.6 gallons of soil

What you actually should be concerned with is the dimensions of the pot rather than capacity because let’s face it the size of the hole you dig is dependent on the dimensions, not the capacity.

These are approximate measurements and dimensions vary from manufacturer to manufacturer but all dimensions fall in the following specifications.

• 1 Gallon Pot - 6.5 to 7.5 inches wide by 7 to 8 inches deep
• 2 Gallon Pot - 8.5 to 9.5 inches wide by 8 to 9 inches deep
• 3 Gallon Pot - 10.5 to 11.5 inches wide by 9.5 to 10.5 inches deep
• 5 Gallon Pot - 12 to 13 inches wide by 11 to 12.5 inches deep

These are approximate measurements and they do vary from supplier to supplier.