Name:  Hydrangea paniculata ‘Dvppinky’ aka Pinky Winky Hydrangea

Type of Plant:  This is a very hardy shrub that flowers in mid-to-late summer and into fall. The large flowers are cone-shaped, a bit lacy and totally upright. A trouble free shrub that’s hardy in Zones 3-8.

Why I love This:  Pinky Winky not only has flowers that are upright, but they turn pink from the bottom up. So for part of the flowering period the blooms are pink on the widest end, with white tips. I also like the fact that the branches are upright, making this a narrower shrub than many paniculata varieties. This is a wonderful plant for a mixed shrub border, privacy screen or the back of a flower garden.

A Word to the Wise:  Don’t plant this in a place where you want a shrub to stay small. Yes, it flowers on new growth so you can prune it heavily in the spring if you need to. But it’s crazy to fight a plant’s genetics, and Pinky Winky’s genes are telling it to be 6 to 8 feet tall. Frankly, I suspect that it could grow a great deal larger and would ultimately grow wider as well.

This photo shows how nicely Pinky Winky works with a tall perennial. Here it’s slightly in front of Helianthus ‘Lemon Queen.’ Pinkly Winky also looks great with one of the purple-leaved Physocarpus, such as Centerglow or Summer Wine.