Winter Gardening
Ideas For A Colorful Future

By David L. Hill II
Certified Professional Horticulturist
Lavalette Nursery and Garden Center

As we begin to nestle into our long winter landscaping hiatus avid gardeners always seem to be thinking to the future while performing their final fall tasks of late pruning and fresh blankets of mulch. It never fails that once in that mind set, the thought of additional landscape color is placed in the foreground.

As we find ourselves staring deeply into the gazing globes of our backyard retreats or reconfiguring where we may transplant that shrub that just doesn’t quite work where it is at, sometimes we gardeners need a new perspective in helping implement a better chromatic plan. Proven Winners has opened the figurative garden gates of our minds this year by offering a helping solution to color deprived areas in our landscapes with the introduction of the new ‘Pinky Winky’ Hydrangea (H. paniculata).

The Pinky Winky is an extremely unique hydrangea with several pleasant attributes that will certainly turn heads and invite conversation. The blooms are what set this hydrangea apart from others. The two-toned flowers emerge a snowy shade of white and slowly turn into a rich pinkish red but continuously push delicate white flowers from the tip of the panicle.

Hence, the flowers are bi-colored throughout the blooming process which will surely be an extraordinary color display for any garden. Another standout feature with the bi-colored blooms is the size. Each flower measures 12 to 16 inches in length which is longer and larger than most others in this species of hydrangea and the pH has no effect on the coloration of the blooms. When the Pinky Winky begins blooming in mid-summer, it will continue displaying its spectacular array of color until the first frost.

Another fine feature associated with this hydrangea is the unusually strong stems that support the bloom weight better than many other varieties. Therefore the plant stands upright without the general sagging that occurs when loaded with summer blooms.

The stems have a dark reddish hue that blends beautifully with its rich, dark green leaves which also bear reddish-purple stems. In autumn, the Pinky Winky changes color to a subtle green with a tinge of yellow and in some cases a deep wine color which gives the garden a last of the season burst of coloration.

Many varieties of hydrangeas should rarely be pruned for best blooming results, however the Pinky Winky can be pruned in early spring and shaped to the desired look and size with no problems. All the blooms are formed from new wood each year leaving the gardener with little fear of cutting away the potential summer flowers and diminishing the Pinky Winky’s grandeur.

Also other varieties of hydrangea, such as the macrophylla species, are heavily dependent upon summer watering to perform their best. The Pinky Winky is drought tolerant which will leave more time for admiring the garden and less time maintaining it for the desired outcome.

This hydrangea will surely make a unique specimen plant for any garden where color is needed. It thrives in partial shade and tolerates full sun, so it can be placed virtually anywhere in the landscape and is sure to bloom regardless of climate, soil and pH levels. With the exquisite beauty of the combined bi-colored, panicle flowers and the colorful stems, the Pinky Winky can add summer beauty seemingly anywhere even when cut for displays.

So as fall is coming to a close and the pruning shears start to gather dust, ponder the notion of finding a place in the landscape for this new form of hydrangea. With its many fine attributes and exclusive features, the Pinky Winky will make a welcomed addition into a new colorful landscaping plan.