PlantFiles: Panicle Hydrangea, Tree Hydrangea
Hydrangea paniculata 'Phantom'

hi
i've just come back from the chicago botanic garden (we are in middling zone 5) to see a wide array of hydrangea paniculata in their late stages of bloom
. here's my report card on what i've seen:
Limelight is an excellent bloomer with many medium-small but very full clusters. THey are now in September a very attractive white with perhaps a hint of green or brown. Absolute best choice for hydrangea paniculata. not the tallest variety.

The best white faded to pink I saw was Phantom, with huge very-weighed down very attractive very pink clusters. Medium tall.

Beyond that many had clusters not very full ranging from white (mostly) to pink or a hint of brown. Tardiva is a good example, good overall but not very full and not very pink. Tall. Other examples include Big Ben, Pink Diamond,
Pee Wee. Big Ben and Pink Diamon were very modestly pink.

Silver Dollar is very much like Limelight, but since Limelight is so much better in every respect I'd go for Limelight.

Phantom is the hydrangea of the future. It has the largest and fullest flower panacles that turn to a beautiful pink and then brown.
It is new. The Chicago Botanic Garden got its plants from Holland.
Two wholesalers are known to be carrying this plant for Spring 2008:
Mori Nursery in Ontario, Canada , as well as Klyn in
Ohio. My nursery in Illinois searched far and wide to locate me some plants.

This plant needs more coverage and more wholesalers.


jeff
chicago

From "Encyclopedia of Hydrangeas" C.J. and D.M. Van Gelderen (2004 - Timber Press). A large shrub with many long branches. The juvenile leaves are yellowish green. The panicles are large, like those of 'Grandiflora' consisting of mostly sterile florets, creamy white and turning to a good pink in early autumn.