"HU" I planted 4 of "Little Spooky" earlier this summer and all of them have progressed nicely in the short time they have been in the ground. The blooms are quite large and so far whiter than I was expecting i.e. only the slightest hint of green. They're advertised as getting 2 ft by 2 ft at maturity. I doubt this but even so I imagine it will be compact.

https://conceptplants.com/varieties/hydrangea-paniculata-little-spooky-grhpls

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/6441769/little-spooky-hydrangea#29119504

O, Grief, I don't think so. You are the hydrangea expert here, Rouge, so please don't take this amiss...but that is horrible. Huge great flowers on a tiny shrub was not what I had in mind. I was hoping for a much airier sort of plant - maybe more of a lace-cap type, I dunno. I honestly have always considered hydrangeas to be an utter no-go plant for my dry soil (and, therefore, know next to nothing about them) but, you know, I have been a bit taken with some of the plants on this forum. By small, I guess I mean about 1.2metres or so.

I am taking out some of the (now horrendous) briar roses at the allotment (especially those which I planted next to paths (clearly, on one of those days when my brain temporarily fell out of my head). Also, redoing a lot - adding better timber edging and wider paths. And abandoning any more futile attempts at vegetables because my soil needs so much care and £££ after a long time without additional manure or organic fertilser. Going all out with the dry perennial gardens (adding rocks and gravel at will). However, I still have my pond area which is also due a revamp (because I am taking out a gigantic nandina and removing a large bed of suffering rudbeckia)...so a nice, pale shrubbery sounds just the ticket (hence hydrangea. I am also taking out another misplaced (and gigantic) indigofera in my home garden...and envisaging a shorter shrub to grow with the thalictrums I already have in place.

You are a bit of a "Picky Peter" HU ;)

A hydrangea that is small in stature and with small white flowers might be hard to find. But yes, if you allow for lace caps there are some all white ones. For example "Lanarth White"..very pretty flowers IMO. But its size description is larger than you had wanted.

https://www.greatplantpicks.org/plantlists/view/804

And you do mention "Runaway Bride". It does have small white flowers:

https://mrplantgeek.com/2018/06/07/plants-in-focus-hydrangea-runaway-bride/

It might be not too large for you i.e. 4 feet by 4 feet but the flowers age to a slight pink as I recall.

(At first I was thinking that "Early Evolution" (Polestar in Europe) was a good option i.e. quite small in stature and petite open flowers but they do mature to a dark, some might say "dirty pink".)

Huge great flowers on a tiny shrub was not what I had in mind.

I understand completely but I find that if one plants a "big bloomer" in and amongst other plants it looks lots better.

I had looked at early evolution, Rouge. I think I probably am a bit picky because I am only going to get one, I would hope to have made a reasonable choice. 4ft x 4ft is probably as big as I would like...but am OK with a spreader, just don't want ANYTHING which towers over my head after living in basically a plant cave of looming, thorny monsters (and my tiny home garden is going the same way). I do have an open space in the centre of the plot...but have lost all the perimeter and quite a few paths to unmannerly roses and perennials which are all taller than myself (5foot). I don't mind the fading...I just don't care for plants which start out with a murky colour. I do not love any of the pink hydrangeas and blue is never going to happen here...so white it is.

Apropos of nothing except familarity with the writing style has the author of this post recently used a couple of new names?maybe i missed an announcement? I hope Houzz hasnt been hassleing you.

I had looked at early evolution, Rouge.

Here are two of my EE as of today so you can see the pinkiness

LOL I'm assuming this is rosa as well!

Well, I am most definitely NOT the hydrangea expert, with most of mine being NOIDs gotten at swaps, but I love lace caps as well.

I was going to suggest Lanarth White too, as this is one I was looking at (so one of the few I know lol).

Maybe Wedding Gown? I don't know many white varieties as my many NOIDs are all white so I am looking for different colors. Would you consider a PALE pink?? I've been eyeing a Diadem, a small pale pink lacecap. Not sure how the mature color is as I've only seen "full bloom" photos so far. link here (since you can't see links any more lol) and here

:)

Dee

P.S. I recall a recent thread here about Haas Halo hydrangea that looked pretty nice - don't remember the size stats though....

Dee, I love "Haas Halo" but it is has the potential to get way big. (And as I recall "Wedding Gown" might be too big for HU/rosa as well).

@floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK, very nice potted hydrangea. Thanks for the picture. You have had it for 4 years...all in the same clay pot? How big is that pot?

The pot is 15" across and 13" high. The plant is 30" high this year. I inherited the pot. It's not my choice since it narrows at the top. In my climate it can stay outside all year round.

rouge, I'm asking because I had been looking at Wedding Gown for my daughter's yard - how big DOES it get? I've seen sizes about 2-3 feet high by 3-5 feet wide. Is this accurate or does it get bigger in real life, that you know of?

Thanks!

:)

Dee

Hey Dee, I dont have any personal experience with WG. But having said that I take with a grain of salt that it could stay (under) 3 feet.

There's a groundcover hydrangea named Whipplea modesta, Modesty, that's native to the Pacific Northwest.

That's a lovely thing. But I suspect Rosa doesn't have much ground to cover. She's got pots or a small patch on the allotment.

And I'd have to wonder how easily it might be found in the UK. It is not at all common, even here in its native range.

Gardengal, I think Heronswood is having a Hydrangea festival. I didn't realize the OP was rosa.😲

I think Whipplea modesta is cool because just like Cornus canadensis it's in the Cornales.

I've been to Heronswood more times than I can count and have never seen this plant there.

I had to look up the origin of Hayes's Starburst and it was discovered by my friend Hayes Jackson in Anniston Alabama. 😲 The cultivar has blooms with mostly sterile florets. Ive seen some photos where it's blooms have a larger number of fertile florets. Besides Hygrangea arborescens, there are a few southeastern Hydrangea species that look similar to arborescens. Hydrangea radiata has leaves with silver undersides. It can reach a maximum height of 10'. There's also Hydrangea cineria, Hydrangea querciifolia, and Hydrangea deamii. The climbing Hydrangea has been moved from Deucomaria back into Hyrangea. Sometimes good things do happen. They say arborescens can reach 10', but I've never seen wild ones taller than 4'.

Hydrangea radiata

Hydrangea radiata

Hydrangea radiata

https://youtu.be/fkLjSrcXUfM?si=vP-93MTGPlLfdsuf

I lost my Hayes Starburst because it was planted in the utterly dry woods...but I have bitten the bullet and ordered another one for my garden at home...because it really did tick all my hydrangea boxes. I am redoing the allotment (having recently read 'Cultivating Chaos' by Jonas Reif) and found, to my amazement, all my recent dithering and anxieties of the last few years have been nicely validated and even allocated a nifty new title - 'Black Box Gardening'. So I am re-inventing my home garden too, by removing most of the insane mish-mash of pots and utterly inappropriate seedlings...in favour of a more restful and serene permanent planting scheme...including said hydrangea.

I'm assuming HU many numbers is Rosaprimula?

If I can ask, why the change in moniker @rosaprimula UK (Cambridge) Z8/9/HU-etc?

Thanks, rouge, for the follow-up!

:)

Dee

Starburst might be a series?

Ah,Rouge. I am trying to get into a position where Houzz allows me to post pics...but this was all complicated cos I was banned (ages ago) so have had to set up another email address and name (and also because I am a hopeless technical nitwit). I accidentally set up one account for Houzz UK...which is categorically different to here...hence the various names, accounts and general confusion (on my part). Plus, after the chromebook years, I sort of lost my tech mojo and became really, really stupefied.

Got ya 'rosa'. You dont have to answer specifically but does HU-etc have any significance?

(And please let us know what you finally choose for your hydrangea)

(@Jay 6a Chicago that "ground cover" hydrangea is tres cool.)

HU-618169007 means Houzz User 618169007.

A few years ago, Houzz started allowing people to post without picking a real user name. They were assigned the name Houzz User. Imagine a thread where multiple people had the same name, often including the OP. For once, Houzz understood the problem, and (sort of) fixed it. Instead of Houzz User, the assigned names were HU-XXXXXXX. So you could, if you wanted, distinguish between, HU-59764902 and HU-44890375.

My main foray into hydrangeas started last year. Bluestone had a bunch on sale, so I bought them. None of those have bloomed yet, so I don't know just how top heavy they are going to look.

Rosaprimula, check out H. paniculata White Diamonds if you can find it. The one I planted is likely 10 years old and has grown only very slowly. It might be 3’x3 1/2’ and was maybe half thatnsize when planted. It wouldn't take much pruning to keep it small. In my area it stays bright white from midJuly though mid-September and then gets a slight creamy or rosy tint. It turns tan with frost but not before IME. Itis an older selection from Michael Dirr, so I am not sure how available it is, but he selected it specifically because stayed white for so long.