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New Hydrangeas For 2021

5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago

Compared to other years, the list of “really” new introductions is small (or I missed some notifications) so please post below if you know of others. Note that these are really new introductions. Some retail nurseries label some hydrangeas “new” when they are new to their business so, if they have not sold Nikko Blue before, they would call it “new for 2021” too. The 2021 list, so far, consists of 4 paniculatas from Proven Winners and one mophead from Monrovia.

Quick Fire Fab – this is a Quick Fire whose petals look different; they are shaped to form a “X”. About 8’ high by 6’ wide. Early flowering. Advertising does not say if the new form flowers weight more but it does say that the plants have strong, sturdy stems (we will see).

Limelight Prime – At first, this sounds like a replacement for Little Lime but, I still see LL in the website and its bloom color description is not Limelight-like. The advertising has some many differences between regular Limelight and Limelight Prime that I wonder if they should have not called it something else altogether (but today, adding words like Limelight or Vanilla Strawberry probably helps increase sales). For example: Limelight Prime “blooms earlier” than Limelight; has a “richer palette of colors (pinks, mauves, etc)”; the stems are “stronger supporting the blooms upright”; has different dimensions: 4-6’ tall and 4-5’ wide. The blooms' picture colors are magenta-like, similar to other VS pictures. Just a little.

Fire Light Tidbit – This one may be the smallest paniculata yet, 2-3’ high and wide. White blooms that turn pink and-or darker pinks. It is supposed to have “colorful autumn foliage, an unusual trait in paniculatas” and "thick, sturdy stems that help to create a neat, mounded form”. A mid-season bloomer.

Sample picture from PW's website: https://www.provenwinners.com/plants/hydrangea/fire-light-tidbit-panicle-hydrangea-hydrangea-paniculata

Seaside Serenade Newport – has “stronger stems (tetraploid); a shorter distance between the leaf nodes, keeping the plant compact. The stems, leaves, and flowers are also thicker and waxier"; reblooms; 4’ high by 4’ wide.

Little Lime Punch - Similar to Little Lime but, as new blooms age and-or emerge, you get a combination of multiple shades of pink (darker, lighter, etc), green, white on the same plant. May be introduced late in 2021 or it may be delayed until 2022.

Does anyone have others to add to this list?

Comments (5)

  • 5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    Funny 'luis' that you mention "Tidbit" as I sourced it just today for this coming season from a nursery that I frequent. (Although as I recall there were some in the group that did plant it last season...maybe Fall?).

    I like the idea of more compact hydrangeas but I I worry that some are getting too small and so might look a bit 'scrawny' especially if it doesn't turn out to be a reliable bloom machine. I have found this the case for our (potted) Lava Lamp "Flare". (And maybe another example.... does anyone have specimens of vigorous, floriferous "Tiny Tuff Stuff"?)

    luis_pr thanked rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
  • 5 years ago

    And 'luis' what about Hydrangea macrophylla "Wee Bit Giddy" and "Wee Bit Grumpy"? Aren't they new for 2021?

  • 5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    Yes, they are. Available starting in Spring 2021. My search did not list them. Sorry, The info on them follows below. Thanks.

    Wee Bit Giddy - A rebloomer version of Cityline Paris. From Proven Winners: "Wee Bit Giddy hydrangea will put a smile on your face - not just because it's absolutely beautiful (though it is!), but because this durable, handsome plant was developed specifically for improved performance in your garden. You might think of it as an improved version of our best-selling Cityline Paris hydrangea, as it shares its same intense red flower color and neat, dwarf habit; however, it adds in the robust durability of Let's Dance Rave hydrangea, which imbues it with outstanding performance in the landscape, even in USDA zones 5 and 6.

    Available in better garden centers in spring 2021.

    Top reasons to grow Wee Bit Giddy hydrangea:

    - All the color of Cityline Paris with the landscape performance of Let's Dance Rave

    - Big, colorful flowers

    - Dark green glossy foliage

    Continuous Bloom or Rebloomer

    Salt Tolerant"

    Wee Bit Grumpy - An intense blue/purple rebloomer version of Cityline Paris for acidic soils. From Proven Winners: "Don't be fooled by its curmudgeonly name: Wee Bit Grumpy hydrangea will put a smile on your face! Like its sister plant, Wee Bit Giddy hydrangea, it was selected for its combination of pure, intense, saturated flower color and outstanding landscape performance. And its color is really something you must see to believe: in acidic soils, its big, full blooms take on a moody, dramatic deep purple-blue. They appear amid a neat, tidy mound of compact foliage that resists disease and stands up better to cold weather than conventional hydrangeas.

    Oh - and about that name! We know you're wondering: "Grumpy" was the working name that the breeder had sent the plant to us with. During its evaluation period, every time we noticed its glorious blooms and asked, "What is that?!", we'd look at the label and see "Grumpy." It made us laugh, and we thought you'd get a kick out of it, too.

    Available in better garden centers in spring 2021.

    Top reasons to grow Wee Bit Grumpy hydrangea:

    - Big, full blooms display a deep, moody color

    - Excellent performance in the landscape

    - Dark green glossy foliage

    Continuous Bloom or Rebloomer

    Salt Tolerant"


    Others I now ran into from PN (not PW):


    Magical Crimson - a supposedly redder, rebloomer mophead from Plants Nouveau. Previously called the Everlasting Series, they are now called the Magical Series. "Crimson is the reddest of reds on the market to date. It begins apple green with hints of deep red, opens to a full-on explosion of cherry red, and then ages to a lovely antique combination of deep burgundy and apple green." Note that hydrangeas do not have red pigments so take references to "red" with a grain of salt.

    Magical Starfield - from Van Belle Nursery in Europe; rebloomer mophead with double flowers whose blooms turn lighter pinks as the bloom ages (I would like to see pics of that!).

    Elizabeth Ashley from PN (but not called "Magical" ???): "a Revolution Hydrangea on steroids, with a slightly larger habit, and larger, deeper pink flowers".

  • 5 years ago

    Some more to investigate.


    Hydrangea arb Invincibelle Lace

    Hydrangea serr Let's Dance Can Do

    Hydrangea pan Little Hottie

    Hydrangea pan Little Lime Punch



  • 5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    Thanks Pennlake!

    Invincibelle Lace - this one looks like another PW smooth hydrangea (48-60" high and 48-60" wide) whose claim to fame is the stem color (dark/wine red) that goes well along with the center of its lacecap flowers.

    Let's Dance Can Do - a PW rebloomer mountain hydrangea that can develop the flower buds further down their ruby stems than usual. The benefit of that is that lower located buds -if there are any partial "old wood" stems still green- may still survive and bloom. Has pink blooms that resist turning blue so you may get some purple-ish colors in acidic soil.

    Little Hottie - a compact paniculata from First Editions, about 3-5' high and 3-5' wide. Starts green, turns creamy white and in the Fall, turns "antique shades of white and pink". Has "sturdy" stems".

    Little Lime Punch - Another PW Little Lime-like compact paniculata whose flowers "start lime green and change progressively from the bottom up in a gorgeous array of white, light pink, and rich Hawaiian Punch red". So basically, you can get a mix of lime green, whites and pink colors as the individual blooms open at more separate times from each other.