Meet 2023's Hydrangea Of The Year! 🏆
Overview:
Hydrangea ‘Limelight Prime®’ has just been crowned as 2023’s Hydrangea of The Year and we couldn’t agree more! Hybridized by the noted plant man the late Pieter Zwijnenburg Jr, Limelight Prime® is a highly improved, more refined version of its parent and namesake, ‘Limelight’. A compact version of the classic, most notably, Prime® stays at the much more manageable size of 4-6 feet tall, and 4 feet wide, but that’s not all! Along with the features that made limelight a staple like zone 3 hardiness and sun/heat tolerance, Prime® includes a host of advantages to its parent like bloom time, size and color, stronger stems, improved foliage and more! Below we'll go over the reasons why Limelight Prime® is a deserved winner of the 2023 hydrangea of the year and tips on growing this award-winning hydrangea.
Bloom Time:
Limelight Prime® blooms weeks earlier than the classic Limelight providing an extended bloom period and allowing gardeners to enjoy these beautiful blooms before many other hydrangeas are in flower!
Bloom Color:
The Limelight Prime® outshines Limelight with its highly improved bloom coloration. Emerging a much more vivid lime green than its parent, these blooms also hold the lime color through the heat of the summer much better. With colder weather comes improved vivid pinks and finally true fruit punch coloration late in the season! The blooms emerge a vivid lime green and maintain that color until they transition into a bubble gum pink, and then a deep punch pink.
Bloom Size:
Noted for its denser clusters of paniculate blossoms forming huge flowerheads, Prime's® blooms are said to be slightly larger and denser than its parent.
Stems:
Improved stem strength was an achieved requirement to holds these massive and beautiful blooms proudly upright even in wind and rain!
Foliage:
With more durable and darker green foliage that stays lush even through the heat of summer Prime® will stay looking awesome all season and the lime green blooms will contrast even nicer than its parent and pop better in the landscape!
How To Grow And Care For Limelight Prime® Hydrangea:
Limelight Prime® shares the same requirements as any panicle hydrangea. Provide full to part sun and soil that drains well. More sun will result in clearer color on the aging flowers. Make sure that this shrub gets adequate water (rain plus irrigation, if needed) during its first growing season in the garden. After that, it can cope with less water, but this might effect the bloom; for the heaviest flowering, provide water through times of drought. Avoid over fertilizing as this can lead to rapid, lanky growth. If pruning is desired, do so in early spring. (Panicle hydrangeas form their flower buds on the year's new growth, so pruning at that time will not remove the buds)
Where To Buy Limelight Prime® Hydrangea:
We are glad to offer this awesome new variety for pre order from our online store. Click here to view the official product page in the online store.
Official product description: ℹ New for 2023! An improved cousin of the award winning Limelight Hydrangea, we introduce to you, Limelight Prime® Hydrangea! Blooming weeks earlier than Limelight with even brighter green blooms , Prime also holds its lime green color for much longer and the flowers are held up on much stronger non flopping stems. Not only that but all these improved features are complimented by its more compact and manageable habit suitable for smaller spaces and container growing. Huge panicle blooms start off lime green maturing to bubblegum pink and finally the color of fruit punch late in the season! These head turning blooms are held on a backdrop of dark lush green foliage. Unlike other hydrangeas Limelight Prime® thrives in heat and full sun and is extremely winter hardy. Be among the first to try this highly anticipated and exciting new improved Hydrangea!
Conclusion:
“We’re not just introducing plants because we have them, we’re really looking for strong improvements. We’re looking for hydrangeas with unique coloration schemes, for plants that that will fill gaps in the market, and that can be used in new applications. These new hydrangeas are a very strong lineup,” said Tim Wood, who is head of product development. Limelight Prime® is a follow-up to ‘Limelight’, a panicle hydrangea beloved for its green flowers. Limelight Prime® is touted as an improvement because it has a more compact habit, it begins to bloom weeks earlier, its strong stems won’t flop, and its flowers’ colors are more intense. Limelight Prime® is about two-thirds the size of 'Limelight’