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Panicle hydrangea 'Pinky Winky'

Hydrangea paniculata 'DVP PINKY' (Pinky Winky) · Hydrangeaceae

Panicle hydrangea 'Pinky Winky' (Hydrangea paniculata 'DVP PINKY' (Pinky Winky)) in flower
Photo: Michele Dorsey Walfred, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

Long, pointed flower heads, held upright on red stems, that turn deep pink from the base while still opening white at the tip.

Size
7 ft tall, 6½ ft wide
Zones
3 to 8
Light
Full sun to part sun
Flowers
Mid July to early October
Pets
Toxic (mild)
Job in a bed
Anchor

A bed built around panicle hydrangea 'Pinky Winky'

The planner designed this bed around panicle hydrangea 'Pinky Winky' when this page was made: a 22 × 10 ft (6.7 × 3.0 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why panicle hydrangea 'Pinky Winky' stands where it does.

A 22 × 10 ft (6.7 × 3.0 m) bed at eye level in late August: Panicle hydrangea 'Pinky Winky', Bloody cranesbill, Winter heath, Black hollyhock, Brown-eyed Susan, Palm sedge, Columbine meadow rue, Lady's mantle, Caucasian scabious 'Fama', Creeping phlox, Sweet William, Surprise lily, Sicilian honey garlic, Crocus.
A 22 × 10 ft (6.7 × 3.0 m) English border in zone 6, full sun, seen from the path in late August.
1. Panicle hydrangea 'Pinky Winky'14. Black hollyhock44. Black hollyhock44. Black hollyhock43. Winter heath33. Winter heath33. Winter heath32. Bloody cranesbill22. Bloody cranesbill22. Bloody cranesbill210. Creeping phlox1010. Creeping phlox1010. Creeping phlox103. Winter heath33. Winter heath33. Winter heath33. Winter heath33. Winter heath310. Creeping phlox1010. Creeping phlox1010. Creeping phlox105. Brown-eyed Susan55. Brown-eyed Susan55. Brown-eyed Susan55. Brown-eyed Susan55. Brown-eyed Susan55. Brown-eyed Susan55. Brown-eyed Susan55. Brown-eyed Susan57. Columbine meadow rue77. Columbine meadow rue77. Columbine meadow rue713. Sicilian honey garlic13. Sicilian honey garlic13. Sicilian honey garlic13. Sicilian honey garlic11. Sweet William1111. Sweet William1111. Sweet William1111. Sweet William1111. Sweet William1111. Sweet William1111. Sweet William1111. Sweet William1111. Sweet William1111. Sweet William1111. Sweet William1111. Sweet William1111. Sweet William1111. Sweet William1111. Sweet William1111. Sweet William119. Caucasian scabious 'Fama'99. Caucasian scabious 'Fama'99. Caucasian scabious 'Fama'911. Sweet William1111. Sweet William1111. Sweet William1111. Sweet William1111. Sweet William1111. Sweet William1111. Sweet William1111. Sweet William113. Winter heath33. Winter heath33. Winter heath39. Caucasian scabious 'Fama'99. Caucasian scabious 'Fama'99. Caucasian scabious 'Fama'99. Caucasian scabious 'Fama'99. Caucasian scabious 'Fama'99. Caucasian scabious 'Fama'99. Caucasian scabious 'Fama'99. Caucasian scabious 'Fama'99. Caucasian scabious 'Fama'99. Caucasian scabious 'Fama'98. Lady's mantle88. Lady's mantle88. Lady's mantle86. Palm sedge66. Palm sedge66. Palm sedge613. Sicilian honey garlic13. Sicilian honey garlic12. Surprise lily12. Surprise lily12. Surprise lily12. Surprise lily12. Surprise lily12. Surprise lily12. Surprise lily14. Crocus14. Crocus14. Crocus14. Crocus14. Crocus14. Crocus14. Crocus14. Crocus14. Crocus14. Crocus
From above, to scale. Each circle is one plant, as wide as the room it needs.

The plants

  1. 1 Panicle hydrangea 'Pinky Winky' × 1, white
  2. 2 Bloody cranesbill × 3, pink
  3. 3 Winter heath × 11, purple
  4. 4 Black hollyhock × 3, purple
  5. 5 Brown-eyed Susan × 8, yellow
  6. 6 Palm sedge × 3, green leaves
  7. 7 Columbine meadow rue × 3, lavender
  8. 8 Lady's mantle × 3, green
  9. 9 Caucasian scabious 'Fama' × 13, blue
  10. 10 Creeping phlox × 6, pink
  11. 11 Sweet William × 24, pink
  12. 12 Surprise lily × 7, pink
  13. 13 Sicilian honey garlic × 6, cream
  14. 14 Crocus × 10, purple

Why this plant

  • The only white. White sits between stronger colours and calms them.
  • Part of the bed's structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down. So do winter heath and palm sedge.

Why here

  • Anchors a back corner. At 7 ft it is the tallest plant here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
  • A step in the back row. Next to brown-eyed Susan (4 ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
  • One plant, alone. A shrub is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.

Why now

  • In flower for 12 weeks. From mid July to early October.
  • Part of the bed's peak. With bloody cranesbill, black hollyhock, brown-eyed Susan and others in late July: 5 kinds at once. No week has more.

Planned as an English border: 18 of the 21 groups (86%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The scheme leans cool (pink, purple, lavender and blue) and uses yellow for warmth, with white, green and cream to calm things between them. Neither end outweighs the other: the visual weight is split 48 to 52, left to right.

The planner's own design check: 13 Excellent, 3 Good, 1 Satisfactory. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.

Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.

Where panicle hydrangea 'Pinky Winky' goes in a border

At 7 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is super tall (over 6½ ft).

Its job: anchor. A shrub that gives the bed permanent structure. Planted singly, as soon as the front edge is laid; everything else is arranged around it.

Two colours on every head for two months. The strong stems hold the cones up without flopping, even after rain.

  • Two-tone flowers in late summer
  • The back of a sunny border
  • Cut and dried flowers

What to plant with panicle hydrangea 'Pinky Winky'

Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:

  • Switchgrass 'Northwind': in flower together for nine weeks, from early August.
  • Garden phlox: in flower together for eight weeks, from mid July; low enough (3½ ft) to stand in front of it; happy in the same moist soil.
  • Purple coneflower: in flower together for eight weeks, from mid July; low enough (3 ft) to stand in front of it.

Questions about panicle hydrangea 'Pinky Winky'

Does panicle hydrangea 'Pinky Winky' need sun or shade?

Panicle hydrangea 'Pinky Winky' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day) and part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun).

It wants soil that stays evenly moist, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells.

What zones does panicle hydrangea 'Pinky Winky' grow in?

USDA zones 3 to 8. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °C).

Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.

Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.

When does panicle hydrangea 'Pinky Winky' flower in my zone?

In zone 5 it flowers mid July to early October. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.

Roughly when panicle hydrangea 'Pinky Winky' is in flower
Zone 3Late July to early October
Zone 4Late July to early October
Zone 5Mid July to early October
Zone 6Mid July to early October
Zone 7Mid July to early October
Zone 8Mid July to early October

Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.

How far apart should panicle hydrangea 'Pinky Winky' be planted?

6 ft (180 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 6½ ft (200 cm), so a group knits into one patch.

It grows 7 ft (220 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.

How many panicle hydrangea 'Pinky Winky' plants do I need?

Usually one. At 6 ft (180 cm) across, it is a plant you place, not one you mass. For a hedge or screen, set them 6 ft apart: two plants for a 10 ft run.

In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.

Is panicle hydrangea 'Pinky Winky' poisonous to dogs and cats?

Yes: mild toxicity to people, dogs, cats and horses. Leaves and buds can cause vomiting and diarrhoea if eaten.

Rated from NC State Extension and the ASPCA. Where references disagree, the more cautious rating is used.

Is there a pet-safe plant like panicle hydrangea 'Pinky Winky'?

These come closest to doing what panicle hydrangea 'Pinky Winky' does, and no toxicity is recorded for them:

  • Viburnum 'Summer Snowflake': the same job in a bed and the same colour; 12 in narrower, flowers mid May to early September.
  • Large fothergilla: the same job in a bed, the same size and the same colour; flowers late April to mid May.
  • Summersweet: the same job in a bed and the same colour; 24 in narrower, flowers mid July to mid August.

Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.

Do deer eat panicle hydrangea 'Pinky Winky'?

They may. NC State does not list it as resistant to deer or rabbits. Where they visit, protect it, or plant it among ones they avoid.

What flowers after panicle hydrangea 'Pinky Winky'?

Panicle hydrangea 'Pinky Winky' is over by early October. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:

What does panicle hydrangea 'Pinky Winky' look like in winter?

Panicle hydrangea 'Pinky Winky' drops its leaves and stands as bare branches. That is when to see its shape, and to prune it if it needs pruning.

Is panicle hydrangea 'Pinky Winky' good for bees and butterflies?

Panicle hydrangea 'Pinky Winky' is visited by pollinators.

More Hydrangea

In these guides

Zone guides: Zone 3 · Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8

In flower in: July · August · September · October

Every fact on record

Type
Shrub
Size
7 ft (220 cm) tall, 6½ ft (200 cm) wide
Plant
6 ft (180 cm) apart
Height class
Super tall (over 6½ ft)
Place in the bed
Back
Flowers
Mid July to early October; dense clusters; white, pink
Leaves
Medium texture, deciduous; dark green
Shape
Upright, clumping
Hardy in
USDA zones 3 to 8
Light
Full sun, part sun
Soil
Average, evenly moist
Water
Moderate
Feeding
Light, in spring
Family
Hydrangeaceae
Comes from
Eastern and southern China, Japan, Sakhalin, Kuril Island
Attracts
Pollinators
Stands up to
Salt, pollution

Checked against NC State Extension, ASPCA poison lists and VASCAN (plants of Canada). Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.