Panicle hydrangea 'Quick Fire'
Hydrangea paniculata 'Quick Fire' · Hydrangeaceae Popular
The earliest panicle hydrangea, a month ahead of the others. The lacy white flowers turn pink and then deep rosy red, and stay for the rest of the season.
- Size
- 7 ft tall, 6½ ft wide
- Zones
- 3 to 8
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Late June to mid September
- Pets
- Toxic (mild)
- Job in a bed
- Anchor
A bed built around panicle hydrangea 'Quick Fire'
The planner designed this bed around panicle hydrangea 'Quick Fire' 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 'Quick Fire' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Panicle hydrangea 'Quick Fire' × 1, white
- 2 Creeping phlox 'Candy Stripe' × 11, pink
- 3 Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana' × 47, yellow
- 4 Indian grass 'Sioux Blue' × 3, tan
- 5 White mugwort × 4, cream
- 6 Sneezeweed × 3, orange
- 7 Palm sedge × 5, green leaves
- 8 Spike speedwell × 8, blue
- 9 Gloriosa daisy × 5, red
- 10 Coneflower 'Green Jewel' × 8, green
- 11 Grape hyacinth × 7, blue
Why this plant
- The only dense clusters. The others are open bowls, daisies, plumes and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- 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 Indian grass 'Sioux Blue' 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 sneezeweed (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 13 weeks. From late June to mid September.
- Part of the bed's peak. With white mugwort, sneezeweed, spike speedwell and others in early August: 6 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as an English border: 19 of the 20 groups (95%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Hot and cool in equal measure: yellow, orange and red against pink and blue, with white, tan, cream and green to calm things between them. Neither end outweighs the other: the visual weight is split 50 to 50, left to right.
The planner's own design check: 14 Excellent, 2 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 'Quick Fire' 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.
Its open, lacy flower heads are visited by pollinators, unlike the dense mopheads. The flowers are red by late summer, and the leaves turn gold and burgundy.
- The longest season of any hydrangea
- Autumn colour in flower and leaf
- Bees
What to plant with panicle hydrangea 'Quick Fire'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Purple coneflower: in flower together for 11 weeks, from late June; low enough (3 ft) to stand in front of it.
- Switchgrass 'Shenandoah': its green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; low enough (4 ft) to stand in front of it.
- New England aster: in flower together for three weeks, from early September; low enough (4 ft) to stand in front of it; happy in the same moist soil.
Questions about panicle hydrangea 'Quick Fire'
Does panicle hydrangea 'Quick Fire' need sun or shade?
Panicle hydrangea 'Quick Fire' 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 'Quick Fire' 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 'Quick Fire' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late June to mid September. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 3 | Early July to mid September |
|---|---|
| Zone 4 | Early July to mid September |
| Zone 5 | Late June to mid September |
| Zone 6 | Late June to mid September |
| Zone 7 | Late June to mid September |
| Zone 8 | Late June to mid September |
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 'Quick Fire' 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 'Quick Fire' 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 'Quick Fire' 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. Where references disagree, the more cautious rating is used.
Is there a pet-safe plant like panicle hydrangea 'Quick Fire'?
These come closest to doing what panicle hydrangea 'Quick Fire' 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.
- Summersweet: the same job in a bed and the same colour; 24 in narrower, flowers mid July to mid August.
- Large fothergilla: the same job in a bed, the same size and the same colour; flowers late April to mid May.
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 'Quick Fire'?
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 'Quick Fire'?
Panicle hydrangea 'Quick Fire' is over by mid September. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Garden chrysanthemum: from mid September to late October, 24 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Swamp sunflower: from late September to late October, 6½ ft tall.
- Blue wood aster: from mid September to mid October, 3 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does panicle hydrangea 'Quick Fire' look like in winter?
Panicle hydrangea 'Quick Fire' 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 'Quick Fire' good for bees and butterflies?
Panicle hydrangea 'Quick Fire' is visited by pollinators.
More Hydrangea
- Bigleaf hydrangea Hydrangea macrophylla
- Bigleaf hydrangea 'Endless Summer' Hydrangea macrophylla 'Bailmer' (Endless Summer)
- Bigleaf hydrangea 'Nikko Blue' Hydrangea macrophylla 'Nikko Blue'
- Lacecap hydrangea 'Twist-n-Shout' Hydrangea macrophylla 'PIIHM-I' (Twist-n-Shout)
- Mountain hydrangea Hydrangea serrata
- Mountain hydrangea 'Bluebird' Hydrangea serrata 'Bluebird'
- Mountain hydrangea 'Tuff Stuff' Hydrangea serrata 'MAK20' (Tuff Stuff)
- Oakleaf hydrangea Hydrangea quercifolia
- Oakleaf hydrangea 'Alice' Hydrangea quercifolia 'Alice'
- Oakleaf hydrangea 'Munchkin' Hydrangea quercifolia 'Munchkin'
- Oakleaf hydrangea 'Pee Wee' Hydrangea quercifolia 'Pee Wee'
- Oakleaf hydrangea 'Ruby Slippers' Hydrangea quercifolia 'Ruby Slippers'
- Oakleaf hydrangea 'Snow Queen' Hydrangea quercifolia 'Snow Queen'
- Panicle hydrangea 'Bobo' Hydrangea paniculata 'Bobo'
- Panicle hydrangea 'Fire Light' Hydrangea paniculata 'SMHPFL' (Fire Light)
- Panicle hydrangea 'Limelight' Hydrangea paniculata 'Limelight'
- Panicle hydrangea 'Little Lime' Hydrangea paniculata 'Jane' (Little Lime)
- Panicle hydrangea 'Pinky Winky' Hydrangea paniculata 'DVP PINKY' (Pinky Winky)
- Panicle hydrangea 'Tardiva' Hydrangea paniculata 'Tardiva'
- Panicle hydrangea 'Vanilla Strawberry' Hydrangea paniculata 'Vanilla Strawberry'
- PeeGee hydrangea Hydrangea paniculata 'Grandiflora'
- Smooth hydrangea 'Annabelle' Hydrangea arborescens 'Annabelle'
- Smooth hydrangea 'Incrediball' Hydrangea arborescens 'Incrediball'
- Smooth hydrangea 'Invincibelle Spirit II' Hydrangea arborescens 'NCHA2' (Invincibelle Spirit II)
In these guides
- Salt-tolerant plants for roadsides and coasts
- Garden plants toxic to cats
- Garden plants toxic to dogs
- Long-flowering plants: 12 weeks or more
Zone guides: Zone 3 · Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8
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
- Late June to mid September; dense clusters; white, pink
- Leaves
- Medium texture, deciduous; 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. 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.