Tardiva Hydrangea Perennial
Tardiva hydrangea is a shrub that has creamy white flowers that turn pink later in the fall. This zone 4 perennial grows up to 6 feet wide and 6 feet tall. Find out how to grow this flowering shrub.
Plant name: ‘Tardiva’ hydrangea
Botanical name: Hydrangea paniculata ‘Tardiva’
I purchased this Tardiva Hydrangea at Rockwood Gardens in Onalaska, WI recently and it could grow to be a favorite.
Lovely White Lacy Flowers On The Tardiva Hydrangea
The lovely white flowers are just lacy. I had been looking for a shrub for a long time for the South East side of the house where we had a very large maple tree cut down about 7 years ago and until now, there was no digging a hole for most anything, because of all the roots from the tree.
Prior to this, I had put many stonecrop sedums in the area, which have small roots and you can dig a hole anywhere for them. Plus they spread all over and covered up the old stump.
The spot where I put this Hydrangea I had planted a Siberian Iris about 4 years and as a small plant, I could dig a large enough hole for the iris. (By now the iris had grown to about a 2 foot square space.)
The roots of the maple have been decomposing away quite nicely as I was able to dig out the iris (not too hard either) and make the planting hole larger, and ran into roots from the tree, but they broke easily. Hurrah!
A Large Upright Shrub
The new shrub is planted now and it was already blooming when I purchased it. It says it is an upright shrub, that can get to 6 feet tall and wide or more, depending on conditions. That is perfect for the corner where I put it.
It will also grow and bloom in part shade. It has creamy white flower heads that start to bloom in July and age to a pink through August and September. Many shrubs have finished their bloom period by this time.
This like many of the older Hydrangeas are adaptable to a wide variety of conditions. Flower buds form on new wood, so pruning is best in very early spring.
Prior to the Maple tree being cut down, it was very dense shade in this area so even Hostas had a hard time growing. The very large tree took all the moisture away plus all the light needed for growing. Taking the tree out opened the area up to many possibilities. There are also many large, very old White Pine trees on that part of the lawn, giving shade part of the day.
Tardiva Hydrangea Growing Information
Late flowering (early to late autumn)
Zone 4
An upright shrub
Up to 6 feet wide and 6 feet across
creamy white flowerheads that turn pink later in the fall
will grow in part shade
