You know, I remember thinking that too when I researched it. I also hope it stays compact and does not instead very slowly exceed its dimensions long term like sone supposedly “small” magnolias.

Picked up 4 LS today:

No sign of any flowers

Umm, they remind me of Little Limes with those green panicles that I don't like. Maybe they will be whiter when they bloom.

remind me of Little Limes with those green panicles

This kind of makes sense as one of the "parents" of "Spooky" is Limelight.

And this might seem odd @chrysalids but I dont like the green tint either BUT I have a plan for these 4 LS, part of a long border which now consists of some hostas and I think the green tinting of these hydrangea will fit in better with the green and yellow of the existing hostas....maybe less jarring than a bright white flower. We shall see.

@rouge21_gw, I think that pairing the four LS with the hostas is a good idea. I look forward to the photos.

I wont post another picture but the flowers as of today are huge and I will say very white. Time will tell how large this plant will get in the end but there is no way that it will remain within the advertised dimensions of 50cm by 50 cm.

UPDATE (August 2025):

So I planted 4 of these July 2024. As expected they survived the winter. And so this is their first full year in the garden.

They are now coming into their own i.e. almost in full bloom and so clearly they are late flowering paniculatas. I don't think I mind that they aren't in flower until mid August as I have other plants that provide colour prior to now and my Z6a (CDN) climate will allow for a good 2 months of bloom. BUT if you were in a more northern climate with a hardiness zone say of 4 this late flowering might not be the best.

(4 LS mixed in with hostas)

Have they stayed small? I purchased some plants labeled Little Spooky from an unlicensed seller, and I think they may actually be Little Limelight’s. They are at least 3 ft this spring, their third year in the ground.

Jennifer, I have had 4 LS now going into their third summer. Each winter the rabbits eat them to within about 6" of the ground and this past winter was exceptionally "bad" in this respect 😡. But all four seem to be leafing out ok but for obvious reasons they will remain quite compact 🙄.

UPDATE (August 27/2026):

I have had 4 of this particular hydrangea for now 2 full years. It is a late blooming paniculata, not coming into its own until at least mid August. Given my location (CDN zone 6a) this is just fine and in fact, kind of good as it is nice seeing beautiful fresh white flowers on a hydrangea so late. This past winter all 4 were eaten down to about 6 inches by rabbits. I know paniculatas bloom on new wood but even so it was nice to see them bounce back just fine. They are each about 2 foot tall by up to 3 foot wide (with flowers). Here is one of them today:

Two months later:

How tall is it? Is it flopping now?

No flop. Stems are strong.

@luis_pr, with flowers the largest is almost 3 feet wide and just over 2 feet tall.