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What Is a Hydrangea Tree?
Panicle hydrangea grows naturally in a large, mounded form, but it can be trained to grow as an upright tree with a single trunk.
Of the several species of hydrangea (Hydrangea spp.), the panicle hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata) is the only species that can be pruned and trained to grow as a single-stem tree. This species is also one of the most cold-hardy of all hydrangeas; it is able to survive winters in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 3 through 8, and it or some of its cultivars may become invasive.
Panicle hydrangea is a fast-growing shrub that has a rounded shape with arching branches when not pruned. It blooms beginning in the middle of summer and into the fall, producing large, pyramid-shaped clusters of white flowers that turn dark pink as they age.
Site Preferences
Panicle hydrangea grows best in moist but well-drained, organically rich soil. It fares best in a full-sun site, but it can tolerate partial shade as long as it gets at least four hours of direct sun exposure per day.
Achievement of the Tree Form
To train a panicle hydrangea into a tree form, choose a straight, strong stem to serve as the tree's trunk, and prune away all of the other stems. Leave three or four branches at the top of the plant to form the canopy. Prune each year to remove branches from the bottom portion of the trunk and to shape the canopy as it develops. Panicle hydrangea blooms on new growth each year. So prune in fall or winter, or early enough in spring so that you do not remove the current season's flower buds.
Cultivars and Sizes
'Grandiflora,' also called Peegee hydrangea, is one of the most commonly grown panicle hydrangea cultivars. It is a large shrub that, in ideal conditions, may reach a height of as much as 25 to 30 feet, although it more often reaches about 10 to 20 feet. It typically achieves a width of 10 to 15 feet. So it needs plenty of room in the garden. The 'Grandiflora' cultivar name comes from the plant's large flower clusters, which may be as much as 18 inches long.
'Unique' and 'Tardiva' are more compact cultivars. Both of them reach a height of 6 to 10 feet with a similar spread. 'Unique' is named for its unusual rounded flower clusters, and 'Tardiva' is characterized by its bloom time, which ranges from early to late fall.
'Ilvobo' is smaller still. This dwarf cultivar reaches a height of only 2 to 3 feet and a width of 3 to 4 feet. It is also characterized by strong stems, which hold the shrub's flowers clusters more upright than those of many other varieties.
