Cityline® Paris Hydrangea

Hydrangeas are always winners, bringing flowers in summer, when the early blossoms in our gardens have become just a memory. Unfortunately, many of these bushes become large, reaching 5 feet or more in a few years, and being much too large for today’s city gardens. To fill that need we have the Cityline® Paris Hydrangea, a superb compact plant with sturdy stems that hold its full-sized flower heads up well, so we can fully enjoy the rich rose-pink to rose-red colors of this striking plant.

Although a fuss is often made of blue hydrangeas, pink is just as beautiful, and easier to enjoy in most gardens. The warm tones of pink look marvelous in every garden setting, from shrub beds to woodland gardens, or in planters and pots. The Cityline Paris Hydrangea brings that rich pink to you, on a small, tidy bush. Of course, if you have really set your heart on blue, you can just as easily grow the Cityline® Rio Hydrangea, or Cityline® Venice Hydrangea, with their rich, vibrant blue blossoms. 

Growing Cityline Paris Hydrangea Shrubs

The Cityline Paris Hydrangea grows into a compact bush, just 2 or 3 feet tall and wide, making it perfect for city gardens, or for group planting in larger ones, in the foreground of beds, or as an edging along a bed, path or driveway. For those who garden in pots and planters, this great plant allows you to grow beautiful hydrangeas in smaller spaces and enjoy the weeks and weeks of flowering beauty they bring. The leaves are large and glossy, with a thick texture, and they are about 6 inches long and 4 inches wide, with a toothed edge. Lovely as they are in leaf, the flowers are the main feature, and although the plant is small, the heads of flowers certainly are not. They are a full 5 inches across and packed with up to 50 large blossoms, each one 1½ inches across, with four petals and a tiny white center. 

The flower heads begin at the end of the shoots in early summer, and they expand steadily until they are a cluster of beautiful chartreuse-green buds several inches across. As they begin to open, they tantalizingly stay chartreuse for a while, as the pink glow suffused them from the edge inwards, until all the flowers are fully open, and radiant with a rich rose-pink to rose-red coloring, glowing across your garden. The flowers stay colorful for weeks, and even when they do eventually fade, they turn attractive green tones, so they remain decorative well into early winter. In most soils the pink color is strong and true, but in strongly acidic soils it will take on a beautiful purplish tone, creating a unique ‘vintage’ look to the blossoms, and adding something special to your garden in summer.

Plant the Cityline Paris Hydrangea in full sun in cooler zones, and in morning sun with afternoon shade in warmer areas. The shade on the north side of buildings, walls and fences is also ideal, especially if the sky is clear overhead. The dappled shade beneath trees is also suitable, and you can grow hydrangeas beneath large trees, or along paths in wooded areas, provided the shade is light. The ideal soil is moist but well-drained and enriched with organic material. Spring mulches of rich organic material are very beneficial, and watering is essential, especially when newly planted, as hydrangeas are not drought tolerant. This plant is resistant to powdery mildew, that dusty gray powder that forms on hydrangeas and other plants during hot, humid weather. So instead of looking tired and worn, this great plant looks fresh and green all summer long. Other pests and diseases are not normally a problem. Fancy pruning is not needed, just remove any dead branches, and cut back the stems to the first or second pair of fat buds in early spring, before you see new growth. That’s it – no staking or trimming needed, and this plant is very easy to care for.

To grow the Cityline Paris Hydrangea in pots and boxes, use ordinary outdoor potting soil, and feed with any fertilizer for flowering shrubs. Make sure the pot has drainage, and don’t leave it standing in a saucer of water. Water thoroughly, so that some flows from the drainage holes, as soon as the top inch of soil is dry. Water more sparingly in winter, when the plant is dormant, but resume full watering once it begins to grow again in spring. 

History and Origins of Cityline Paris Hydrangea Shrubs

The Cityline Paris Hydrangea was discovered in 1994 by Franz-Xaver and Konrad Rampp at their greenhouses, Rampp Jungpflanzen OHG, in Germany. They wanted to create compact hydrangea plants for pots, and they developed the series of great plants we know today as the Cityline® Hydrangeas. This particular plant had the rich rose-pink flowers they wanted, and it proved just as reliable outdoors as it was in pots. In 1999 they were granted a US patent for this unique plant, under the name ‘Paris Rapa’. That patent (# 10,906) has recently expired, and this plant has now been released in North America as part of Proven Winners® Cityline® series of beautiful compact hydrangeas, bringing us compact plants with full-sized flowers in the full range of hydrangea colors. These plants are perfect for city gardens, balconies and terraces, and they are justifiably popular. Our limited stock is going fast, so order now, while we can still supply the plants you need.