This upright, coarse shrub has arching branches; without pruning, it can look unkempt. Four-petaled flowers are borne on pyramidal panicles 6 inches to 8 inches long from mid July onward. They change from white to purplish-pink and finally turn to brown as the growing season progresses, persisting into fall. The triangular flower heads on the panicle hydrangea provide an interesting addition to the shrub border; it supplies a large splash of white in late summer.