Vanilla Strawberry (aka "Vanille Fraise") hydrangea is a variety of panicle hydrangea, and it's a hardy, low-maintenance, sun-loving planting that can easily reach 6-7 feet in height. It also has color-changing blooms. This hydrangea flowers in summer, and at first the blooms are white and tinged with pink—hence the name "vanilla." As the summer months progress, the flowers become darker, eventually reaching the true strawberry shade for which the plant is also named.

Panicle hydrangea has a number of deliciously named varieties, and several produce strawberry pink blooms. Other popular hydrangeas that bloom white and change to pink as the flowers age are the hydrangeas Strawberry Sundae (Hydrangea paniculata ‘Rensun') and Fire Light (Hydrangea paniculata ‘Fire Light'). Strawberry Sundae is closely related to Vanilla Strawberry—both were bred by Renault—though the former only reaches heights of 4-5 feet. It flowers in summer and begins white, then gradually changes to pink and a deeper strawberry shade as the fall months near

low-maintenance

sun-loving

reach 6-7 feet in height

color-changing blooms