The Dawes Arboretum

Common name: Meehan panicle hydrangea

Family: Hydrangeaceae (hydrangea family)

Distribution: Species native to e. Asia

Hardiness: USDA Zone 4

Life form: Deciduous shrub/Subshrub

Comments: This is a compact form of the late panicle hydrangea reaching only 5' tall by 5' wide rarely seen outside of botanical gardens and arboreta. A dense, twiggy shrub with stems and leaves decidedly finer textured than is typical of the species. Leaves are about a third to half the size of the species, 1½-3" long, opposite, simple and medium green in summer changing to yellow in autumn. Flowers are hemispherical in shape and composed largely of sterile, outer florets with only a small percentage of fertile, inner florets, 4-6" wide. Use as an accent plant or in the shrub border.