Hydrangea paniculata ‘Kyushu’ (Panicled hydrangea)

Panicled hydrangea is native to Japan and China. It is not found in the wild in North America. They are “panicled” because their flower clusters are more cone-shaped (like panicles) vs. the ball-shaped flowerheads of other hydrangeas. Flower color in some hydrangeas is influenced by soil pH, but this is not true for this one. Hydrangea paniculata ‘Kyushu’ is a cultivated variety which grows into a small tree rather than a shrub. The branches are somewhat fountain-like, gracefully curved. ‘Kyushu’ isn’t really a cultivated variety. According to the story, it was found by Captain Collingwood Ingram on a volcanic slope in Kyushu, Japan and given to the Kalmthout Arboretum in Belgium, which distributed it as a cultivar. So it sounds to me like it is a natural subspecies.

Plants: These small trees reach heights of 10–30′ (3–9.1 m), and somewhat less in diameter.

Leaves: Opposite, roughly oval shaped, with serrated edges, 2–5″ (5–12 cm) long.

Flowers: Blooms are white or pinkish to purplish with age, cone-shaped, in clusters up to 10″ (25 cm) long and 8″ (20 cm) around. They bloom from July to September.

9/7/2010 · New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill, Boylston, Massachusetts · ≈ 12 × 8″ (31 × 20 cm)

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin)
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Rosidae	Roses, legumes, proteas, dogwoods, hydrangeas, mistletoes, euphorbias, grapes, many more
Order	Rosales	Rose family and eight others
Family	Hydrangeaceae	Hydrangea family
Genus	Hydrangea	From Greek hydro, “water,” and angeion, “vessel”
Species	paniculata	With the flowers in panicles

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Range: Zones 3-8:

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