Stunning planting of hydrangea

(Zone 4b)

On our town's main street I snapped a picture of this planting outside of a business.

(Is it "Strawberry Vanilla"?)

Thumbnail by rouge21
Powder Springs, GA(Zone 7b)

Sure looks like VS (Vanilla Strawberry). Very nice.

Here are some nice Hydrangeas at Rock City last month (I think they may be Limelight).

Thumbnail by hcmcdole Thumbnail by hcmcdole
Hurst, TX(Zone 7b)

Sure looks like it. Quite large so it must be a specimen 3-5 years old.

What Rock City are you referring to? The one in TN?

Powder Springs, GA(Zone 7b)

Yes, the one on Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, TN. Very foggy that day but will be visiting again tomorrow - hopefully it will be a lot clearer.

Thumbnail by hcmcdole Thumbnail by hcmcdole
(Zone 4b)

This showcase group of hydrangeas can be found at the entrance to one of our local independent grocery stores!

As of today:

Thumbnail by rouge21
Hurst, TX(Zone 7b)

Awesome, looks like Limelight. My Little Lime blooms looks like that but maybe a tad greener.

Powder Springs, GA(Zone 7b)

Gorgeous. It seems to be gaining a lot of popularity and would love to see a lot more stands of it along the highways and interstates alongside crepe myrtles.

The hedge in front of Rock City has started to fade when we there on Saturday.

Here is a big old PG (guessing) on the way to the top of Lookout Mountain Saturday (drive by shot out the car).

Thumbnail by hcmcdole Thumbnail by hcmcdole
(Zone 4b)

And here is another planting of "Limelight" at a local nursery. (The tallest appeared to be 6 to 7 feet in height).

Thumbnail by rouge21
Stroudsburg, PA(Zone 6a)

All I gotta say is "wow!" I want one. Strawberry Vanilla,huh?

Hurst, TX(Zone 7b)

rouge21, how is the VS looking like two months after the original picture? If it is not too much to ask, can you post a new one to compare?

Natick, MA

So many lovely hydrangeas, but that Strawberry Vanilla is really special!!

(Zone 4b)

Here it is 'luis' two months later:

This message was edited Oct 18, 2014 12:51 PM

This message was edited Oct 18, 2014 6:29 PM

Thumbnail by rouge21 Thumbnail by rouge21
Powder Springs, GA(Zone 7b)

nice

Hurst, TX(Zone 7b)

Yes, VERY nice. Thank you, rouge21!

Grand Rapids, MI(Zone 5a)

Rouge21 great pictures of limelight. Have a q. but guess I will start another string.

(Zone 4b)

I showed this picture to a gardening friend and she wonders how we can tell the difference between "Vanilla Strawberry" and say "Pinky Winky" ie could the above be a stand of PW?

(Btw, I walked by the planting today. It consists of 3 individual hydrangeas).

Powder Springs, GA(Zone 7b)

Pinky Winky has looser florets (much like lace caps) compared to Vanilla Strawberry which is more like a mop head (tighter florets). Maybe the coloring looks similar but the flower heads are different.

(Zone 4b)

UPDATE:

I drove by this same business and was surprised to notice few blooms from the street when all had looked good a week or so ago :(.

On closer inspection it was clear that someone has pruned the shrubs to level it up with the porch railing and so removing most of the developing flowers!!

I asked inside and the receptionist said that the landscaping crew had been by earlier in the week.

What idiots...a shame.

This message was edited Jul 30, 2015 5:36 AM

Thumbnail by rouge21
Hurst, TX(Zone 7b)

The building owners now need to put a sign indicating that "our" hydrangea (hee hee hee!) was incorrectly pruned by landscaping company ABCDEF (or whatever). In a frequented and obvious place, for all to see. Bet the landscapers will notice and never do this again.

;o)

Williamstown, NJ(Zone 6b)

I have both kinds. Strawberry vanilla and Lime light. I prune them back each year, but I must be doing something wrong.
Each new year the stems seem weak and the blooms droop down. Of course the Strawberry Van, this year the blooms were huge and heavy.
How do I prune to get a nice bush with strong stems?

Hurst, TX(Zone 7b)

I have always understood that pruning produces more branches and also smaller blooms than if you had not pruned. Unfortunately, it also creates new growth (stems) that cannot hold the large VS blooms on "year 1" so, I would not prune the stems/branches again and see if the blooms stay pointing upwards more as the stems harden and get stronger in 2-3 growing seasons. The bad news is I have seen quite a few pictures of VS and its blooms are so large that some flopping is always visible on the pictures, especially on the newer stems on the sides.

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