Bobo® Hydrangea Shrub

Masses of Huge White Flowers on a Pint-Sized Hydrangea

Don’t overlook the smallest kid in class because he may surprise you by outshining all his peers. The same can be said about Bobo® Hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata ‘Ilvobo’ BOBO®). Since Bobo®‘s introduction in 2010, this plant has taken the gardening world by storm. Hydrangea collectors rave about Bobo®‘s spectacular display of abundant flowers on a shrub that reaches only 2 to 3 feet tall. Add this sought-after hydrangea to your plant collection and you’ll be raving, too!

The Intrigue of Panicle Hydrangeas
Bobo® is different from the old-fashioned “mophead” hydrangeas. It’s classified as a “panicle” hydrangea, which simply means that the flowers are formed in clusters of cone-shaped panicles instead of the round flower heads that adorn other types of hydrangeas. Panicle hydrangeas are deciduous, and before Bobo®‘s leaves fall in autumn, they turn brilliant yellow!

It Outperforms Many Larger Plants
There are other types of panicle hydrangeas that grow much larger than Bobo® Hydrangea with flower clusters up to 8 inches long ‘– and they’re quite showy. But Bobo® will not be outdone by its taller panicle hydrangea relatives. Even though this dwarf shrub grows no taller than 3 feet tall, Bobo® Hydrangea’s flower panicles can reach almost 12 inches long ‘– now that’s a lot of flower power!

Blooms Even in the Heat of Summer
The dazzling pure-white flowers of Bobo® Hydrangea bloom a little earlier than most panicle hydrangeas. It’s a summer bloomer that typically starts its fabulous flower show in July (instead of August like other panicle hydrangeas). Once the flowers start opening, you’ll enjoy them for a long bloom period ‘– through September ‘– when most flowering shrubs have already finished blooming for the season. And then, when the chill of fall is in the air, watch the snow-white blossoms turn to soft shades of pink for a lovely farewell to summer!

Performs Reliably Across a Wide Hardiness Range
Panicle hydrangeas are some of the most winter-hardy of all hydrangea species, and Bobo® is unfazed by harsh winter weather. It’s a cold-hardy and heat-tolerant perennial in USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 3 through 8 that can handle temperatures of minus 30 degrees F!
Growing tip: Apply a 3- to 4-inch layer of mulch to help insulate the roots and conserve soil moisture.

It Blooms Even After a Late Spring Frost
If you’ve grown other types of hydrangeas, you may have been terribly disappointed when a late-spring frost killed their flower buds and your plants didn’t bloom that year. Because some types of hydrangeas bloom on “old wood” ‘– the growth that was produced the previous year ‘– they simply don’t have time after a late frost to put on new growth and form flower buds in the same growing season. You can always cover your shrubs to protect them from an unexpected late frost, but whoever remembers to do that? And now you have to wait an entire year to see your hydrangeas bloom, assuming that they don’t get hit by a late-spring frost the following year, too! But Bobo® Hydrangea blooms on the new stems that are produced in the current growing season. So if a late-spring frost kills its buds, your plant will quickly produce new flower buds, which ensures it will bloom that same summer. Even if your Bobo® Hydrangea dies all the way to the ground after a killing freeze, it will sprout from the base and bloom later that summer!

You’ll Want it for Your Cutting Garden
When Bobo® Hydrangea is in full bloom, it’s covered so profusely with flowers that you won’t even miss the few stems that you snip to bring indoors. You’ll absolutely love placing these flowers into a water-filled vase for your dining table centerpiece or foyer floral arrangement. The luminous white flowers will be resplendent as a contrasting accent in a dark-colored vase ‘– think cobalt blue, red, or green. For an elegant presentation, tuck Bobo® Hydrangea stems in a mixed floral arrangement with roses ‘– white roses for a monochromatic display of multicolored rose flowers for a contrasting look. And just think of the elegant white bridal bouquet you can make with Bobo® Hydrangea flowers for a summer wedding! If you’d prefer to design a dried everlasting arrangement, cut Bobo® Hydrangea flowers when they’re in full bloom and hang them upside-down in a dark, cool place. They will dry beautifully and look as if you’d just picked them!

The Perfect Fit for Small Garden Spaces
Bobo® Hydrangea is perfectly suited for smaller landscapes that often face design challenges. If you’ve ever chosen plants based on their size at a young age, you may have been dismayed when that “small” plant kept growing and growing until it outgrew its bounds. And then you were faced with struggling to dig a large plant and relocate it or keep pruning it back because it was too hard to move. Bobo® Hydrangea is a stellar example of “right plant, right place.” Because of its compact size, Bobo® is a plant-it-and-leave-it-there shrub! It grows about as wide as it is tall, and it naturally forms a balanced, mounded shape. So you’ll plant it once ?… and enjoy it for years to come!

Terrific in Containers
In recent years, container plants in the landscape have continued to increase in popularity because of their aesthetic appeal and ease of maintenance ?… and for good reasons. You don’t need a shovel; you don’t need to clear grass and weeds from a planting site; and you can place a potted plant on hardscapes, such as your patio, porch, and deck. As long as you keep your container plants watered and fertilized, that’s typically all that’s required to maintain them. The trick is choosing suitable plants for containers, and some plants just don’t perform as well as others. If you’re ready for a truly easy-care container plant, look no further ‘– Bobo® Hydrangea is a natural!
Container growing tips: To keep the soil in containers from becoming compacted, which restricts root growth, use a commercially packaged container growing mix instead of garden soil. And don’t forget to water your potted plants more often than your in-ground plants, particularly during hot summers.

Pest and Disease Resistant
Other hydrangea species are more susceptible to diseases, such as leaf spots and other fungal problems. By the time you see the symptoms of a fungal disease, spraying your plant with a fungicide typically doesn’t fix the problem because fungicides must be applied as a preventive measure before a disease takes hold. But because Bobo ® Hydrangeas are more resistant to pests and diseases, so you won’t have to spray your plant with chemicals to keep diseases at bay. Despite its small size, Bobo® is a rugged little plant!

Lots of Design Options
If you walk around your yard and garden, we’re sure that you’ll find numerous places where Bobo® Hydrangea will shine. It adds a bright-white pop of color as an accent plant in a mixed perennial border, but it’s most effective when you group multiple plants together. A row of Bobo® Hydrangea shrubs forms a captivating flowering hedge along both sides of your property. And because its root system does not become invasive, so you can confidently plant it at your home’s foundation.
Site selection tip: If you live in a cooler climate within this plant’s hardiness range, look for a full-sun location in your landscape, and if you live in a warmer growing zone, Bobo ® will grow best with a little afternoon shade.

Flower Color Isn’t Dependent on Soil pH
With some types of hydrangeas, you don’t know what color their flowers will be until they bloom in your yard. They may be one color at your local nursery or garden center, but the pH of your garden soil can transform what you thought was a pink hydrangea into a blue-flowered plant! With Bobo® Hydrangea, what you see is what you get ‘– regardless of soil pH, Bobo® steadfastly produces a blizzard of pure-white blooms year after year!

Low Maintenance
If you’d rather spend more time enjoying your yard and garden than working in it, Bobo® Hydrangea is one plant that you won’t need to fuss over. It’s adaptable to lots of different soil types, although it prospers in rich, moist, loose soil. After you’ve followed a regular watering schedule during its first year after transplanting, your Bobo® Hydrangea will be able to tolerate short periods of drought without relying on you to water it constantly. When you see new growth in spring, apply a slow-release fertilizer (ideally based on soil-test recommendations.)