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Another hydrangea I’m losing my marbles over

March 15, 2011

You all know I have kind of a thing for Tim Wood, right? I certainly mention him enough here. Well, that’s not entirely true, even though he seems to be a very nice, intelligent and sort of funny guy. I really have a thing for his hydrangeas. (Honestly, Tim, I’m not stalking you … just your plants.)

Photobucket
Little Lime looking gorgeous.

He mentioned Hydrangea paniculata Little Lime at the Proven Winners Outdoor Living Extravaganza last year and I could tell then he was excited about it. But last year I was a bit overcome with my feelings about Incrediball. I’m now, however, anxious to get my dirt-covered hands on Little Lime.

(A quick departure here to discuss Little Lime’s name. Little Lime is the trademarked name, but the cultivar name, according to the Spring Meadows site is ‘Jane.’ So who are you Jane that you got so lucky as to have this little beauty named for you? Maybe Tim Wood will find a new hydrangea that is has all the properties of Little Lime but the flowers turn blue. The cultivar can be called ‘Erin’ but I’ll let him use a different trademarked name.)

I love Limelight. I have one growing in my garden that I have to prune pretty heavily to keep in check and it loves me for it. I see them all over the place and think they really might be the most amazing hydrangea there is (other than those tricky blue ones, that is). Remember the garden I crashed last summer that had hedges of them? I still have dreams about it.

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A Limelight hedge … love at first sight.

But Limelight is a big girl. Big-boned you might say so as to not hurt her feelings. And that means she’s great for some spots, but not so much in others. What the world needed was a Limelight Mini Me, and now Tim Wood has given us just that in Little Lime.

Briefly, Little Lime is about half the size of her big sister, just 3 to 5 feet tall vs. Limelight’s 6 to 8 (or even 10) feet. She’s equally hardy (to zone 3!) and gets the same amazing lime green flowers that turn white, then pink then almost burgundy. I leave the flowerheads on my Limelight all winter and they are beautiful against the snow (that is, earlier in the winter when I can still find the beauty in snow).

If you don’t believe me, check out this great video of Tim Wood, Limelight and Little Lime herself pitching the new girl as the next “Garden Idol.” (You may have to register to view the video but it’s worth it.)

As I design some new gardens in the back yard I know that both Limelight and hopefully Little Lime will feature prominently in them.

garden hydrangea Proven Winners
by Erin @ The Impatient Gardener 
5 Comments

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Comments

  1. threeacres says: March 15, 2011 at 6:11 pm

    Oh what a great looking plant! I'm always in the market for smaller hydrangeas. And like you last year I was on the Incrediball band wagon planting two of my own.

    Reply
  2. Erin Schanen says: March 16, 2011 at 4:28 am

    There is something about hydrangeas that makes a gardener go a little weak in the knees isn't there?

    Reply
  3. Jennifer Brown says: May 6, 2018 at 10:14 pm

    I am going crazy trying to figure out what type of hydrangea I have. Tons of small mophead lime green flowers on an almost 9 foot bush. The leaves are like the oak leaf hydrangea. Any guess?

    Reply
    • Erin @ The Impatient Gardener says: May 8, 2018 at 1:36 am

      Send me a photo if you can!

      Reply
  4. Lana says: June 24, 2020 at 9:07 pm

    Hi. I’m debating on the lime light hydrangea or the incediball for a hedge along our back fence. Which would you recommend? Are the flower heads about the same size? Thank you so much. Your garden is my dream.

    Reply

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The Impatient Gardener

Do you love gardening? Me too! I'm Erin and I garden in Southeastern Wisconsin, zone 5. The Impatient Gardener is all about real-life gardening: the good parts, the bad bits and even the funny stuff. It's part information, part inspiration and a little bit commiseration. Thanks for visiting.

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Erin Schanen 🌿 The Impatient Gardener
Get your dahlia engines running. All the dahlia th Get your dahlia engines running. All the dahlia things are happening very soon. I actually started dividing my dahlias last weekend, about two weeks earlier than I usually do because the weather kept me cooped up inside. I’m glad I did it because I had some (not unexpected) losses that I’ll have to adjust some plans for. So stay tuned: we’ll be talking lots about dahlias soon. 😀
Want to give a gift to your future self? This fall Want to give a gift to your future self? This fall plant snowdrops and winter aconites and I guarantee you that it will bring you happiness the next spring. They are tiny blooms of joy.
A favorite groundcover and a favorite reseeder. Fi A favorite groundcover and a favorite reseeder. First off, you should know that I really love groundcovers. I would rather see a plant than bark mulch any time. Ajuga is a favorite because there are several forms (my favorites are ‘Black Scallop’, shown here, and ‘Chocolate Chip’) and because they can handle most conditions from sun to shade. Popping up next to it is Talinum paniculatum ‘Limon’ (Jewels of Opar). It reseeds around the garden and I just move it around where I want the chartreuse, succulent foliage. Tiny flowers in red and pink bobble on with stems, looking a bit like peppercorns. Then they drop their seed and come back the next year.
Make this the year that you grow a plant you know Make this the year that you grow a plant you know very little about. If you love your garden that’s all that matters. BUT I promise you’ll find even more joy it it when you broaden your horizons. I feel like I’m starting to see the same plants in gardens over and over again. By all means appreciate and love those plants, but also add something you have to learn about. There is great reward in getting to know new-to-you plants. 

Here are two good candidates you might consider: Athyrium niponicum (Japanese painted fern) ‘Crested Surf’ and Persicaria (or Bistorta, thanks to the taxonomists) amplexicaulis ‘Golden Arrow’.
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