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hydrangea limelight - height

kitk35586244kitk35586244 Posts: 2
in Plants

Hello all,

Newbie to the forum and newbie to gardening.

My project this year is the front garden. I have a fence with a small narrow flower bed, I have purchased x16, 2L hydrangea limelight ( I know - I got carried away) and I plan to grow 5 in a row into the ground. No issues here.

The mistake I have made is, I have 2 long planters 270x30x30cm in front of the house windows, from the ground to the bottom of the window is 1 meter and I was hoping to plant 2 or 3 hydrangea here. The problem is, the limelight grow tall. I only need 1meter height, I now know I should have bought dwarf variety. However,  IF I put into a 10L pot and prune to the first bud every spring, could I contain them to a meter height or do I need to buy dwarf variety?

Thanks
Kit.

Posts

  • Butterfly66Butterfly66 Posts: 970
    I would have thought you could keep Hydrangea Limelight to 1m. I have one in dry shade (beside a tree) and it’s grown quite slowly so you may not need to worry about pruning for a while The mature height range is between 1.5-2.5 but regular pruning back to a framework is supposed to encourage flowering so shouldn’t be a problem if that framework is around 1m.

    If in a sunny spot they may struggle in the container so be prepared to water. Mine was originally in dry, sun and was ok but grew slowly and didn’t flower, I don’t water it at all where it is now and it flowers and grows well.
     If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”—Marcus Tullius Cicero
    East facing, top of a hill clay-loam, cultivated for centuries (7 years by me). Birmingham
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    There's a very good RHS article that should help you-

    https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/pdfs/plant-trials-and-awards/plant-bulletins/hydrangea-paniculata.pdf

    Page 4 for pruning

    I have several Vanille Fraise that I keep to a little over 1m by just pruning back to the woody framework.
    It seems the harder you prune, the more they will grow.

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • kitk35586244kitk35586244 Posts: 2
    Thanks to both! Pete.8 - the read was very informative.
    Seeing i have already bought the pkants.. I'll plant them next month and see how they grow over the next few years. I can alway replant later if i cannot keep them within the 1 meter limit but only time will tell. 
    Exciting....
  • Robert WestRobert West Posts: 241
    Mine never get to more than 1m. They're in full shade and I cut them back to about 30cm each year in early spring
  • PlantmindedPlantminded Posts: 3,580
    I prefer H. Limelight at a lower height, especially if you can develop a sturdy framework of woody stems to support the flowers. I bought a larger plant two years ago and have since reduced it to less than 1m which I prefer. It needed quite a lot of watering in the first year while it was getting established, it will tell you very quickly when it needs more!
    Wirral. Sandy, free draining soil.


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