Panicle Hydrangea 'Limelight' (Hydrangea paniculata 'Limelight') on the Bleecker Street side of Coles Sports Center, 181 Mercer Street
NYU Garden Shop Plant of the Week
By Head Gardener, George Reis
Tuesday July 26, 2011
Panicle Hydrangea 'Limelight' (Hydrangea paniculata 'Limelight') on the Bleecker Street side of Coles Sports Center, 181 Mercer Street.
The huge flowers of Hydrangea 'Limelight' are in bloom right now alongside Coles Sports Center, underneath the cherry trees. Michael Dirr, the pre-eminent authority on woody plants, says Panicle Hydrangeas are "as easy to culture as crabgrass" due to their adaptability to a wide range of soil conditions--wet or dry, acid or alkaline. These Hydrangeas (but not all Hydrangeas) bloom on new growth, so you can cut them back in late winter without losing the following season's flowers. Dirr recommends pruning for structure instead of cutting back to stubs as this will be the best way to encourage an attractive form. While these Hydrangeas are marketed as producing bright green flowers, it's more accurate to say the flowers are predominantly white with a faint tinge of green. Not a problem for me, as they are very reliable, pest-free summer/late summer bloomers requiring very little care. This is the most drought tolerant of the landscape Hydrangeas species, and it flowers pretty well in shade. There's a huge number of cultivars of Panicle Hydrangeas differing in bloom time, flower color, and size, so it can be fun to start a collection. For an easy to grow flowering shrub, appropriate for a large variety of conditions, it's hard to beat Panicle Hydrangea.
Previous Plants of the Week:
Cutleaf Coneflower
July 19, 2011
Cutleaf Coneflower (Rudbeckia lacinata) north of the entrance to the Coles Sports Center, 181 Mercer Street.
Rose Mallow
July 12, 2011
Rose Mallow (Hibiscus moscheutos) on the Bleecker Street side of Coles Sports Center, 181 Mercer Street.
Dense Blazing Star
July 5, 2011
Dense Blazing Star (Liatris spicata) in Mercer Plaza, 251 Mercer Street.
Wild Bergamot
June 28, 2011
Wild Bergamot (Monarda spp.) on the west side of Coles Sports Center, 181 Mercer Street.
Hearts of Gold Redbud
June 21, 2011
Hearts of Gold Redbud (Cercis canadensis 'Hearts of Gold') in the west section of the Bleecker Street sidewalk at #3 Washington Square Village.
Russian Sage
June 15, 2011
Russian Sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia) in the middle section of the Bleecker Street sidewalk between #3 and #4 Washington Square Village.
Oakleaf Hydrangea
June 8, 2011
Oakleaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) in the lobby garden at #3 Washington Square Village.
Wild Indigo
May 31, 2011
Wild Indigo (Baptisia Australis) in Mercer Plaza, 251 Mercer Street.
Arkansas Blue Star
May 24, 2011
Arkansas Blue Star (Amsonia hubrichtii) on the west side of Coles Sports Center, 181 Mercer St.
Sunny Knock Out Rose
May 17, 2011
Sunny Knock Out Rose (Rosa 'Radsunny') at 251 Mercer St.
Red Ruby Swiss Chard
May 10, 2011
Red Ruby Swiss Chard (Beta vulgaris 'Ruby Chard') sidewalk planters on Greene Street between W 4th Street and Washington Place.
Wild Columbine
May 3, 2011
Wild Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) at Founders Hall, 120 East 12th St.
Japanese Flowering Cherry
April 25, 2011
Japanese Flowering Cherry (Prunus serrulata), or 'Kwanzan,' on the Bleecker Street side of Cole Sports Center, 181 Mercer Street.
Saucer Magnolia
April 19, 2011
Saucer Magnolia (Magnolia x soulangiana)
Daffodil
April 12, 2011
Daffodil (Narcissus spp.) in the sidewalk median at 100 Bleecker Street.
Lenten Rose
April 5, 2011
Lenten Rose (Helleborus x hybridus) in the sidewalk median at 100 Bleecker Street.
Camellia
March 29, 2011
Camellia 'April Remembered' (Camellia japonica 'April Remembered') at Coles Sports Center, 181 Mercer Street.
Japanese Maple
Mar 22, 2011
Coral Bark Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum 'Sango Kaku') at Glucksman Ireland House
Hamamelis
Mar 18, 2011
NYU Garden Shop Plant of the Week---Witch-hazel (Hamamelis x intermedia) at #2 Washington Square Village Lobby Garden. (interior of Washington Square Village, W 3rd Street just west of Mercer)
Crocus Species
Mar 8, 2011
Crocus species mix on Bleecker Street side of NYU Coles Sports Center