by Leslie Cox; Sunday, September 11, 2016

Hydrangea paniculata 'Kyushu'Fall in the garden is a sad time for me. Summer is coming to an end, and I just hate that. So when a plant catches my eye at this time of year in the garden, I have to give it just due.

The spotlight this time is on Hydrangea paniculata ‘Kyushu’. It is still in bloom for pete’s sake. Non-stop since the end of June, early July.

Another stellar point…it has done really well in full sun with only moderate water.

Its first year in our garden, we made sure it had regular water in order to set good roots. Five years later, it is thriving beautifully…even with our tough drought over the last three summers….although this last summer was not quite as “tough” for prolonged high temperatures without any rain as the previous two summers. Thank goodness. It would appear we are on the swing from an extended El Nino season into a La Nina period.

Hydrangea paniculata 'Kyushu' - flower & bee

I mentioned the long bloom period, but an even better feature is the flowers keep their pristine white colour as the flowers are fading. Just hate those white flowers that turn all ugly brown at the end. Makes the plant look even sadder in the fall. (That was one big reason why we took out our Buddleja fallowiana var. alba…a tall, white-flowered butterfly bush. It looked absolutely horrible as soon as the flowers were finished.)

Another stellar feature of ‘Kyushsu’…it is pretty much fuss-free. But be forewarned, this shrub is not deer resistant. If you want to protect your hydrangea…fencing your property is best. (I have heard some gardeners swear by Bobbex™, others say it does not work. Same 50/50 response for the egg and water spray recipe.)

Hydrangea paniculata 'Kyushu' & Lunaria annua seed podsA really, REALLY nice asset to the paniculata species in the Hydrangea genus…they lend themselves well to pruning. This makes them an ideal shrub for that gap in the garden landscape, even if its limits are a little tight to accommodate the full-sized specimen.

Not very many shrub species take kindly to this kind of annual confinement pruning to tight spaces so it is nice to have the paniculate hydrangeas available.

Here are John’s tips which have been successful in maintaining our stellar ‘Kyushu’ at the edge of the bed…right at a fork in the path:

  • First, decide what form pleases you, then prune back to about three feet (1 m).
  • Do this early in spring just as the buds are beginning to break.
  • Go ahead and do a little further pruning at any time throughout the season if this shrub is over-stepping its boundaries. It will cost you a flower or two but will keep the path open.

And that is pretty much it for maintenance! Other than a drink of water once in a while, that is.

For more information about ‘Kyushu’, look under “In the Garden” on the menu bar and select “Plants We Grow” from the drop-down box. The plant species are separated alphabetically. (Or…you can click on the quick link here.)