Hydrangea paniculata Baby Lace® (panicle hydrangea)
Baby Lace is a small panicle hydrangea bred to solve a big problem: that of loving the midsummer blooms of panicle hydrangeas, but not having enough garden space for a "tree-mendous" paniculata. Or simply needing/wanting a smaller version for design purposes.
Do you love how Chantilly Lace attracts pollinators with her loose cone of fertile flowers? We do too and Baby Lace has that same feature, but the diminutive size will mingle better in a perennial border or a showy container.
The flowers cover the plant in that difficult midsummer season, when other hydrangeas and many other shrubs aren't blooming for us. Baby Lace fills that flower-lonely gap and is just so cute about it.
Thank you Mike Dirr and Gardener's Confidence for breeding this "dwarfer" version of a great plant.
- this cold tolerant hydrangea is also heat tolerant
- mix of fertile and sterile flowers so attract pollinators
- for single specimen and accent use
- grouping and massing - large swaths
- blends well in flower and shrub borders
- lighter flowers that don't cause the stems to flop
- Spring: dark green
- Summer: dark green
- Fall: yellow
Baby Lace will not need pruning because it stays smaller. To avoid pruning, make sure you provide enought space to grow its potential 4' tall by 4' wide. If you need to prune, panicle hydrangea flowers on new growth, so it's fine to prune in winter before or just as new growth begins. At that time, you're not pruning off flowers.
When do I prune off flower heads?
Pune off spend flower heads once they've become tatty, in late fall or winter. See our blog posts about pruning: When to Prune Hydrangeas