Pink Diamond Hydrangea
Hydrangea paniculata 'Pink Diamond'

Even the least of the green thumbs who dabble in gardening learn very quickly that trees and shrubs contribute their flowering performances in spring and early summer, and that very few of them provide showy flowers from mid-summer through to fall, leaving the flowering performances up to the annuals and perennials. One spectacular exception to that rule is a wonderful group of shrubs from Japan, the hydrangeas, who start their flowering in early summer, with some varieties blooming until frost.

Pink Diamond hydrangea is a relatively new selection of the species Hydrangea paniculata, a plant whose popular progeny the Pee Gee hydrangea is probably more familiar to most gardeners. Pee Gee has showy flowers, no doubt, but it has many faults as well, and Pink Diamond is a dramatic improvement to say the least.

This exciting variety features large, bold flowers that start blooming in mid summer and last through to the first snowfall. They emerge a subtle chartreuse, turning pure snowy white over the hottest days of summer, then fading to pink and finally turning a deep, rich pink as autumn approaches, much richer than Pee Gee. The flowers are a mix of sterile and fertile florets, so that unlike Pee Gee, these look more dainty and refined, and won’t flop over under their own weight.

Pink Diamond hydrangea will flower well in light shade, and will even perform impressively on the north side of a house. Like most varieties of this species, it is a relatively coarse plant. It will grow quite large and bushy, but its growth habit is more symmetrical than Pee Gee, and the leaves are a cleaner green.

Hydrangeas like rich, organic soil that is constantly moist without being in standing water. To deliver this, mix them a special bed of soil, slightly raised above grade and amended with lots of peat moss and compost. Water frequently for best results, especially during dry spells. Use Pink Diamond to bring scale and impact to a large shrub border, in massings or as a solitary in shadier parts of the yard that need late summer pizzazz and color.

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