Pinky Winky® Hydrangea
Hydrangea paniculata 'DVP Pinky' (PP# 16,166)
Pinky Winky® Hydrangea
Hydrangea paniculata 'DVP Pinky' (PP# 16,166)
How are the heights measured?
All tree, and nothin' but the tree! We measure from the top of the soil to the top of the tree; the height of the container or the root system is never included in our measurements.
What is a gallon container?
Nursery containers come in a variety of different sizes, and old-school nursery slang has stuck. While the industry-standard terminology is to call the sizes "Gallon Containers", that doesn't exactly translate to the traditional liquid "gallon" size we think of. You'll find we carry young 1-gallons, up to more mature 7-gallons ranging anywhere from 6 inches to 6ft.
How does the delivery process work?
All of our orders ship via FedEx Ground! Once your order is placed online, our magic elves get right to work picking, staging, boxing and shipping your trees. Orders typically ship out within 2 business days. You will receive email notifications along the way on the progress of your order, as well as tracking information to track your plants all the way to their new home!
Why are some states excluded from shipping?
The short & sweet answer is: "United States Department of Agriculture Restrictions." Every state has their own unique USDA restrictions on which plants they allow to come into their state. While we wish we could serve everyone, it's for the safety of native species and helps prevent the spread of invasive disease & pests. We've gotta protect good ole' Mother Nature, after all.
About Me
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The Pinky Winky Hydrangea is a spectacular flowering shrub that will turn heads, and it is easy to grow almost anywhere. It grows to between 6 and 8 feet tall, and just as wide, with a powerful presence in your garden. Use it as a lawn specimen, in shrub beds, or as an informal hedge or screen. Plant it around your home – a pair on either side of the door makes a beautiful entrance. From mid-summer to late fall, this plant is in bloom. The enormous heads of blossoms are up to 12 inches long, and 7 inches wide, in fat cones made up of hundreds of white flowers. In the cooler weather of fall the lower flowers turn deep pink, while the upper ones remain white, creating a unique two-tone effect not seen in any other panicle hydrangeas.
- Enormous flower panicles turn pink and white in fall
- Large shrub to 6 or 8 feet tall
- In flower from mid-summer to late fall
- Easy to grow in sun or shade, in any soil
- Very winter hardy to minus 40 degrees
Plant the Pinky Winky Hydrangea in a sunny or partially-shade spot. Afternoon shade is useful in very hot areas. It will grow well in zone 3, and it is an ideal choice for people in those colder zones where mophead hydrangeas are hard to grow. It also grows well in all but the hottest parts of the country, so everyone can enjoy this lovely shrub. It is easy to grow, and it thrives in almost any soil, doing best in rich, moist, well-drained ones. It has no significant pests or diseases and it is very easy for anyone to grow – just plant it and away it goes. The only care needed is pruning in spring, and this too is very easy to do.
- Plant Hardiness Zones 3-8
- Mature Width 6-8
- Mature Height 6-8
- Sun Needs Full Sun, Partial Sun
Everyone loves hydrangeas – and if you live in colder zones, the Panicle Hydrangea is the top choice. In warmer areas too, if you are looking for reliable, easy-to-grow shrubs for summer and fall blooming, then look no further. Once restricted to just one choice – the PG Hydrangea, with all its faults – today there is a wide range of varieties of this sturdy plant available, and for a large, colorful shrub that will grow almost anywhere, the Pinky Winky Hydrangea can’t be beaten. Even in spring and early summer, the large, deep-green leaves make an attractive show. In fall the leaves turn yellow, before falling for the winter, but you probably won’t notice, because the flowers will catch all your attention at that time.
Growing Pinky Winky Hydrangeas
The Pinky Winky Hydrangea is a medium-sized, fast growing shrub that will soon reach 6 to 8 feet tall, and as much across. It’s a terrific way to fill a larger space in your shrub planting, in between the lower shrubs and the small trees. It makes the perfect flowering lawn specimen, and it is in bloom longer than almost any other plant – and what blooms they are. At the end of every branch is an enormous conical cluster a foot long, and 7 inches across at the base. It contains literally hundreds of densely-packed blooms, which begin in mid-summer pure white.
As the cooler weather of fall arrives, its flowers turn a rich pink, but at the end of the cone new blossoms continue to grow out, which are still white. The result is a unique and striking two-tone color scheme that last for weeks and weeks in your garden. There is more too – you can cut these blooms and hang them upside down to dry. Once dry they will last for months and months, and they are a spectacular way to fill vases in your home all winter long.
Planting Pinky Winky Hydrangea as a Hedge or Screen
Plant the Pinky Winky Hydrangea as an informal hedge or screen along your property boundary. Use it to separate one part of the garden from another. Use it singly or in groups, depending on the space you need to fill. A pair on either side of your front-door makes a beautiful entrance. If you have large pots and containers, it will thrive in them too, looking wonderful on a terrace.
Hardiness and Soil Conditions
The Pinky Winky Hydrangea is beautiful, and it is easy to grow too. It is winter-hardy down to minus 40, so it grows well even in the most northern states. It will grow in full sun or partial shade, so there will be very few places in the garden where it cannot be planted. It grows well in almost every kind of soil, from sand to clay and in both acidic and alkaline soils. Once established it will handle ordinary summer dry periods, but regular deep watering will give you the best results. It will grow best if you enrich the soil with organic material when planting, and mulch it each spring. You can also use fertilizers for flowering shrubs in the spring – slow-release types give the best results.
Caring For Your Pinky Winky Hydrangeas
The only care needed is pruning. There are three possible ways to prune Panicle Hydrangeas. You can just remove the old flower heads, back to the first pair of healthy buds, and remove any very thin and weak shoots. This will give you many blooms, but they will be smaller. The second way is to leave four pairs of buds at the base of each stem, again removing weak shoots as well. this will give you fewer blooms, but bigger ones. For the biggest blooms, but a smaller number, prune back to just two pairs of buds. Unlike the old PG Hydrangea, the Pinky Winky Hydrangea has strong, upright stems, and they will not flop under the weight of even the biggest blooms.
History and Origins of the Pinky Winky Hydrangea
The Panicle Hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata) grows naturally in the south-eastern regions of China, as well as in Japan, Korea, and eastern Russia. It has been grown in Europe and America as a garden plant for many years, and in recent years there have been a number of improvements made to it, with more color choices and stronger stems. The Pinky Winky Hydrangea is one of those improvements, and it originated in Melle, Belgium in 1999.
A breeder at the Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, names Johan Van Huylenbroeck, found it among a batch of seedlings he was growing, from seed collected from a variety called ‘Pink Diamond’. He noticed that this new plant was very superior to its parent, producing sturdier, more upright stems; more branching and so more, larger flowers, and a richer, deeper pink color in the fall. He patented it under the name ‘DVP Pinky’.
Buying Pinky Winky Hydrangeas at The Tree Center
Our plants are produced for us by licensed growers, who guaranteed this plant is true to its parent by producing it only from stem cuttings, not from seed. This is more difficult, but results in the best plants. These new varieties are very popular. Everyone is replacing their old PG Hydrangeas, and adding new forms to their gardens. So this plant will not be in stock long – order now while we can still satisfy your order.
