Hydrangea paniculata "Fire Light", 3 l ruukku

• Type: panicle hydrangea, deciduous shrub
• Botanical name: Hydrangea paniculata 'Fire Light' — Fire Light® ('SMHPFL')
• Breeding: Proven Winners (Spring Meadow Nursery, USA); Hydrangea of the Year 2019
• Height and spread: 1.5–2 m / 1.5–2 m
• Flowering: June/July–September; large dense panicles, creamy white → pomegranate pink → red
• Light: sun or light shade
• Soil: fertile, moist, slightly acidic, free-draining
• Pruning: flowers on current-year shoots; prune in early spring
• Hardiness: USDA 3 (about −35 to −40 °C); no winter cover needed in Estonia
• Use: specimen, groups, hedges, foundation planting, cut and dried flowers
• Size: potted plant

Planting. Plant in spring or early autumn in sun or light shade, sheltered from strong wind. Dig a hole twice as wide as the root ball and use fertile, slightly acidic soil (pH 5–6.5); add acidic peat or conifer compost. Do not bury the root collar. Spacing: 1.2–1.5 m.

Watering and feeding. Hydrangeas love moisture: in hot weather water 1–2 times a week with 10–15 L per plant and mulch the root area with bark or pine needles. Feed with a nitrogen fertiliser in spring and a complete hydrangea fertiliser in June–July; stop nitrogen from August so the shoots can ripen.

Care. This cultivar flowers on the current year's shoots. In early spring (March–April) remove weak and crowding branches and shorten the strong shoots to 2–4 pairs of buds (by one-third to two-thirds): the harder the pruning, the larger the panicles. Dry flower heads can be left on for winter interest. Established plants overwinter in Estonia without cover; young plants only need a mulch in their first winter.

Gardener's tip. Leave the 'Fire Light' heads on in autumn – they look lovely under frost and snow in winter and can be removed at the spring pruning.