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Panicle hydrangea 'Tardiva'

Hydrangea paniculata 'Tardiva' · Hydrangeaceae

Panicle hydrangea 'Tardiva' (Hydrangea paniculata 'Tardiva') in flower
Photo: Photo by David J. Stang, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Loose, lacy cones that mix small fertile flowers with showy white florets, in September, when other hydrangeas are fading.

Size
10 ft tall, 8 ft wide
Zones
3 to 8
Light
Full sun to part sun
Flowers
Mid August to mid October
Pets
Toxic (mild)
Job in a bed
Anchor

A bed built around panicle hydrangea 'Tardiva'

The planner designed this bed around panicle hydrangea 'Tardiva' 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 'Tardiva' stands where it does.

A 22 × 10 ft (6.7 × 3.0 m) bed at eye level in mid September: Panicle hydrangea 'Tardiva', Bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei', Creeping phlox 'Emerald Blue', Indian grass, Brown-eyed Susan, Gloriosa daisy, Lowbush blueberry, Purple milkweed, Blue-eyed grass, Coneflower 'Green Jewel', Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation', Daffodil 'Tete-a-Tete', Hyacinth 'Delft Blue'.
A 22 × 10 ft (6.7 × 3.0 m) English border in zone 6, full sun, seen from the path in mid September.
1. Panicle hydrangea 'Tardiva'14. Indian grass44. Indian grass44. Indian grass42. Bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei'22. Bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei'22. Bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei'22. Bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei'22. Bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei'23. Creeping phlox 'Emerald Blue'33. Creeping phlox 'Emerald Blue'33. Creeping phlox 'Emerald Blue'33. Creeping phlox 'Emerald Blue'33. Creeping phlox 'Emerald Blue'32. Bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei'22. Bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei'22. Bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei'23. Creeping phlox 'Emerald Blue'33. Creeping phlox 'Emerald Blue'33. Creeping phlox 'Emerald Blue'33. Creeping phlox 'Emerald Blue'35. Brown-eyed Susan55. Brown-eyed Susan55. Brown-eyed Susan55. Brown-eyed Susan55. Brown-eyed Susan55. Brown-eyed Susan55. Brown-eyed Susan55. Brown-eyed Susan58. Purple milkweed88. Purple milkweed88. Purple milkweed811. Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation'1111. Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation'1111. Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation'1111. Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation'119. Blue-eyed grass99. Blue-eyed grass99. Blue-eyed grass99. Blue-eyed grass99. Blue-eyed grass99. Blue-eyed grass99. Blue-eyed grass99. Blue-eyed grass99. Blue-eyed grass99. Blue-eyed grass99. Blue-eyed grass99. Blue-eyed grass99. Blue-eyed grass99. Blue-eyed grass99. Blue-eyed grass99. Blue-eyed grass99. Blue-eyed grass99. Blue-eyed grass99. Blue-eyed grass99. Blue-eyed grass99. Blue-eyed grass99. Blue-eyed grass99. Blue-eyed grass99. Blue-eyed grass910. Coneflower 'Green Jewel'1010. Coneflower 'Green Jewel'1010. Coneflower 'Green Jewel'106. Gloriosa daisy66. Gloriosa daisy66. Gloriosa daisy67. Lowbush blueberry77. Lowbush blueberry77. Lowbush blueberry77. Lowbush blueberry77. Lowbush blueberry77. Lowbush blueberry77. Lowbush blueberry77. Lowbush blueberry710. Coneflower 'Green Jewel'1010. Coneflower 'Green Jewel'1010. Coneflower 'Green Jewel'1010. Coneflower 'Green Jewel'1010. Coneflower 'Green Jewel'1011. Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation'1111. Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation'1113. Hyacinth 'Delft Blue'13. Hyacinth 'Delft Blue'13. Hyacinth 'Delft Blue'13. Hyacinth 'Delft Blue'13. Hyacinth 'Delft Blue'13. Hyacinth 'Delft Blue'13. Hyacinth 'Delft Blue'13. Hyacinth 'Delft Blue'13. Hyacinth 'Delft Blue'13. Hyacinth 'Delft Blue'13. Hyacinth 'Delft Blue'13. Hyacinth 'Delft Blue'12. Daffodil 'Tete-a-Tete'12. Daffodil 'Tete-a-Tete'12. Daffodil 'Tete-a-Tete'12. Daffodil 'Tete-a-Tete'12. Daffodil 'Tete-a-Tete'12. Daffodil 'Tete-a-Tete'12. Daffodil 'Tete-a-Tete'12. Daffodil 'Tete-a-Tete'12. Daffodil 'Tete-a-Tete'12. Daffodil 'Tete-a-Tete'12. Daffodil 'Tete-a-Tete'12. Daffodil 'Tete-a-Tete'12. Daffodil 'Tete-a-Tete'12. Daffodil 'Tete-a-Tete'12. Daffodil 'Tete-a-Tete'12. Daffodil 'Tete-a-Tete'12. Daffodil 'Tete-a-Tete'
From above, to scale. Each circle is one plant, as wide as the room it needs.

The plants

  1. 1 Panicle hydrangea 'Tardiva' × 1, white
  2. 2 Bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei' × 8, pink
  3. 3 Creeping phlox 'Emerald Blue' × 9, blue
  4. 4 Indian grass × 3, tan
  5. 5 Brown-eyed Susan × 8, yellow
  6. 6 Gloriosa daisy × 3, orange
  7. 7 Lowbush blueberry × 8, white
  8. 8 Purple milkweed × 3, purple
  9. 9 Blue-eyed grass × 24, blue
  10. 10 Coneflower 'Green Jewel' × 8, green
  11. 11 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 6, purple
  12. 12 Daffodil 'Tete-a-Tete' × 17, yellow
  13. 13 Hyacinth 'Delft Blue' × 12, blue

Why this plant

  • The only dense clusters. The others are open bowls, plumes, daisies and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
  • Part of the bed's structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down. So do Indian grass and lowbush blueberry.

Why here

  • Anchors a back corner. At 10 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 10 weeks. From mid August to mid October.
  • Closes the season. For its last two weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.

Planned as an English border: 17 of the 19 groups (89%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Cool colours (pink, blue and purple) with yellow and orange as the warm notes, and white, tan and green to calm things between them. The flowering is at its height from late August, with 5 kinds out together.

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 'Tardiva' goes in a border

At 10 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.

The latest panicle hydrangea, and one of the best for pollinators, because its fertile flowers are open to them. A tall, upright plant for the back.

  • The latest hydrangea to flower
  • Pollinators
  • A tall screen

What to plant with panicle hydrangea 'Tardiva'

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

  • Japanese anemone: in flower together for eight weeks, from mid August; low enough (3 ft) to stand in front of it; happy in the same moist soil.
  • New England aster: in flower together for six weeks, from early September; low enough (4 ft) to stand in front of it; happy in the same moist soil.
  • Switchgrass 'Northwind': in flower together for eight weeks, from mid August; low enough (5½ ft) to stand in front of it.

Questions about panicle hydrangea 'Tardiva'

Does panicle hydrangea 'Tardiva' need sun or shade?

Panicle hydrangea 'Tardiva' 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 'Tardiva' 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 'Tardiva' flower in my zone?

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

Roughly when panicle hydrangea 'Tardiva' is in flower
Zone 3Late August to mid October
Zone 4Late August to mid October
Zone 5Mid August to mid October
Zone 6Mid August to mid October
Zone 7Early August to mid October
Zone 8Early August to mid 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 'Tardiva' be planted?

7 ft (220 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 8 ft (250 cm), so a group knits into one patch.

It grows 10 ft (300 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.

How many panicle hydrangea 'Tardiva' plants do I need?

Usually one. At 7 ft (220 cm) across, it is a plant you place, not one you mass. For a hedge or screen, set them 7 ft apart: two plants for a 10 ft run.

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

Is panicle hydrangea 'Tardiva' 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 'Tardiva'?

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

  • Large fothergilla: the same job in a bed and the same colour; 20 in shorter, 16 in narrower.
  • Saskatoon serviceberry: the same job in a bed and the same colour; 8 in narrower, flowers late April to early May.
  • American cranberrybush: the same job in a bed and the same colour; 12 in wider, flowers late May to mid June.

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 'Tardiva'?

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 'Tardiva'?

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

What does panicle hydrangea 'Tardiva' look like in winter?

Panicle hydrangea 'Tardiva' 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 'Tardiva' good for bees and butterflies?

Panicle hydrangea 'Tardiva' 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: August · September · October

Every fact on record

Type
Shrub
Size
10 ft (300 cm) tall, 8 ft (250 cm) wide
Plant
7 ft (220 cm) apart
Height class
Super tall (over 6½ ft)
Place in the bed
Back
Flowers
Mid August to mid October; 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, 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.