Hydrangea paniculata Shikoku Flash

Somewhat unusually, perhaps, Hydrangea paniculata Shikoku Flash is a marvellous and very different variety of paniculate hydrangea that is more noticeable for the beauty of its foliage than for its flowering! With its lovely leaves generously splashed and sprayed with cream turning to grey-white, it catches the eye from April and puts on its show until autumn, particularly in semi-shaded areas of the garden. Its light summer flowering, in the form of small white panicles, highlights the delicacy of this remarkable plant. Choose its location carefully, in filtered light, and provide deep and fresh soil at its base without too much limestone.

Hydrangea paniculata, belonging to the Hydrangeaceae family and originating from deciduous forests in its natural habitat, is native to Korea, southeast China, Japan and Russia (Sakhalin and Kuril Islands). This Shikoku Flash variety brings a breath of fresh air to this genus which has been available in many cultivars since the introduction of this species in the West. With quite rapid growth, albeit a little slower than the type species, this Hydrangea forms a beautiful bush with brown stems, measuring about 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in) in all directions. Its habit is bushy, upright and ample, and its deciduous, dense foliage appears late in the spring, around April. It is composed of ovate and pointed leaves, measuring 7 to 15 cm (2.8 to 5.9 in) long. Green when budding, they are quickly invaded by splashes and a dusting of white, shifting from cream-white to very light grey. They take on beautiful golden-yellow colours in autumn, if the cold does not set in too quickly. Around July-August appear some small, somewhat loose conical panicles, composed of larger sterile flowers and downy fertile ones, first greenish-white, then cream-white, gradually turning to old pink at the end of the season. The flowers persist on the shrub all winter, pleasantly decorating the garden in the dormant season, especially when they are adorned with frost.

This paniculate hydrangea is intended for gardens rather than pot cultivation, and preferably away from the burning sun of the afternoon which could damage its very beautiful foliage. Very accommodating, easy to live with and boasting excellent hardiness, it will flourish in ordinary but deep soil, and even poor or stony soil that is well drained but not too dry. It can be included in a free hedge, integrated into a bed of trees and shrubs adorned with perennial plants, but it is on its own that it will display all its splendour. The choices are varied, and it will blend perfectly with dark evergreen shrubs, shrubs with coloured stems like those of certain dogwoods, or shrubs with summer or late flowering. This bushy hydrangea animates the garden from spring until late in the season! It is not necessary to cut off the faded flowers, as they remain decorative for a long time in winter and protect the stems in case of severe frost.