Fire Light® Panicle Hydrangea

Fire Light is the panicle hydrangea for a large space in full sun. This Proven Winners selection, Hydrangea paniculata 'SMHPFL', grows 6 to 8 feet tall and wide, hardy from Zone 3 through Zone 9, which is a wider range than most hydrangeas carry. Give it full sun for the sturdiest stems and the heaviest bloom. It reaches full size in three or four seasons. The panicles open creamy white in midsummer, dense and upright, then take on pink from the base upward and deepen to pomegranate red by fall. The color change runs more strongly red than most panicle hydrangeas manage, and the heads dry on the plant and hold through winter. The stems are thick enough to carry heads that size without staking, which matters on a shrub that gets this large. It cuts well fresh or dried. Panicle hydrangeas flower on new wood, so the buds form in spring on the current season's growth and a hard winter cannot take the display. That is why they bloom reliably in Zone 3 where the mopheads will not, and soil pH does not affect the color. Cut back by about a third in late winter. It wants well-drained soil and handles heat, cold, and drought better than any other hydrangea group.