Is there enough room for the Limelights there? They get quite massive as paniculatas go........8-10' tall and almost as wide.

The back of the bed is 10 feet wide, I planted the Hydrangeas 5 ft apart and 3.5 ft from deck.

Limelights get really big so I probably would have gone with just one. You probably can get away with the two but will likley have to hard prune.

Three and a half feet is too close to the deck unless you will be pruning your Limelight to tree form, and then it will be at the edge of fitting. There will constantly be moisture against the wood from the plant and it will look smooshed against the deck. As others have said, this is a big plant, at least 8’ in height and width (and potentially a few feet larger) and easily able to regain that size each year from even a hard pruning once mature. And the two together will likely grow to touching over time. Depending on the look you want, you may want to move the plants away from each other to keep them looking as separate plants as well as away from the deck to improve the appearance of both the plant and the deck. If you enlarge the bed a bit so plants can be moved outwards, you should have enough room. Or alternatively, plant a single Limelight where the hosta is and move both the hosta and the second Limelight to other places.

Worst case scenario you can always grill hydrangea flowers :)

Okay!!! ....I get it I’ve got choices to make. #NotHappy

Thanks Hyed, your photo and information was a big help.

Hyed, you said you had your Limelight Hydrangeas in that location for 15 years. I was wondering how many year they grew that tall?

Gary , after 5yrs I prune down to two ft by September there would be 9/10 ‘ no more pruning come Spring it the dead heads off@

My experience also was that by the time a large panicled hydrangea is 5 years old it had achieved much of the mature size.

After 5 years it will achieve most of its mature size.

I have a LA Dreamin hydrangea that I planted too close to a patio in May. It is listed to get up to 5 or 6 feet wide, but planted 2 feet away. I will transplant it in the fall, any advice? It was planted this year, and only about 3' wide, just starting to flower.

How much of a root ball do I need to dig up? When is the best time of year to do this?

I actually had 2 new limelights planted in April that were planted too close, I had them transplanted in May and they are going strong. I wasn't smart enough to move the LA Dreamin at the same time.

Fall is the perfect time for transplanting. Warm soil, plenty of sunshine and cooler temperatures provide the right conditions for a successful transplant. I would wait till approximately Sept 15, look at the 10 day forecast to see that no heat wave predicted and if not, go for it.

Yours is fairly new so transplant is not difficult.

I included a video from This Old House, you can skip to the part where he transplants a hydrangea (time 4:50). Yours should be much easier since its newer, but the general idea remains the same.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoeWfNA-7g4

Peter, because your LAD has been in the ground for just a few weeks, I would move it now if it were mine, disturbing the rootball as little as possible. Though generally I do this in fall, our spring has been cool and wet, and your plant hasn’t had time to grow roots much into new soil. Choose a late afternoon with clouds or rain in the next day forecast, water in well, mulch, and give it temporary increased shade from a lawn chair placed over it or similar for a week or two depending on how much sun it gets. Don’t let it dry out, just like any other first season plant, checking soil moisture by sinking a finger down into both the original root ball and the surrounding soil.

And unless you are close to a large body of water to mitigate temperatures, the blooms on LAD may not be reliable.

What are your thoughts on this link concerning Limelight Hydrangea placement?
https://youtu.be/Yu3Z2F1xyGc

Terrible placement . Not only ridiculously close, but will obstruct walkway too.

‘Limelight’ is a slightly more compact cultivar that typically grows to 6-8’ tall and as wide. It is noted for producing large, dense, upright, cone-shaped panicles (to 8” across) of mostly sterile flowers that change color on the shrub as they mature.

Best grown in organically rich, medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade.

No serious insect or disease problems. Some susceptibility to bud blight, bacterial wilt, leaf spot, rust and mildew. Aphids and mites are occasional visitors.

Gary... Less than 4 hours from your home there exists one of the most incredible resources for information on garden plants in the United States. It is the Missouri Botanical Garden in Saint Louis. On their website you will find "PlantFinder" - a database covering more than 3,000 ornamental plants. The info on its pages is just as applicable to your garden as it is to mine... and I live on the Southern Great Plains roughly eight hours southwest of Saint Louis.

All the info in my previous entry comes straight from their page on 'Limelight' Hydrangea.

I belong to an excellent garden forum... and love the back and forth talk between members... but don't overlook something as valuable as "PlantFinder." Type "PlantFinder" into Google and the third or so entry should be the botanical garden website.

Thanks John will do. I can’t use all the information I can get. Your input is appreciated.