Hydrangea heteromalla

Though it has long been grown in Finland, the Himalayan hydrangea has never been widely used. It flowers about the middle of summer, earlier than most other hydrangeas. It can best be distinguished from the Pee Gee hydrangeas (H. paniculata) by its flat white inflorescences. The large sterile outer flowers may be reddish. In full light the Himalayan hydrangea is leafy to ground level but in shadier spots it tends to grow higher. As a free-growing shrub it is rounded, to about 2-3m high.