Incrediball^® Smooth Hydrangea Hydrangea arborescens

One of my favorite hydrangeas, and I'm a hydrangea girl. I planted a couple to fill in some bare spots, and these have turned into some of my favorite plants. Like others have said, the blooms do fade from white to chartreuse, but I personally love the green color they fade to. Plus, the green "incrediballs" last for such a long time! I'm planning to buy at least three more to plant along side my roses.

I wish I could show a picture! Do you see that picture above of the hedge of incrediball hydrangeas? Did you think "that must be only in the best case scenario"? Because it's not! They will look like that, if you give them three years. I planted three of these in my front yard, in front of my porch. This location is not easy- it's full sun (every part of my yard is full sun, to be fair. Some just more full sun than others), little protection, etc. Now, I'm in zone 6, PA. Our summers can get warm (96 f) but we get decent rain. And for the first year, these burned and needed a lot of supplemental water. The second year they did a lot better despite the constant heat, but the branches bowed under medium sized flower heads. This third year? They exploded! Huge, beautiful flowers on sturdy stems at least 5 feet tall. I cut them back hard in the beginning of spring this year and yet they grew this tall and wide? Wow! I haven't needed to supplement water, either. Their large size help better shade the ground from the harsh summer sun (though they are mulched). Of all the plants in my front yard, these are the ones (besides tulips) that make people slow down and stare. They really are glamorous and command admiration. I'd do a huge hedge of these if I had the space. They bloom on new wood, so if they get winter killed to the ground or sat on (ahem, my dog), or you prune hard they will still bloom without a care in the world.

We love these hydrangeas! We started with six at the edge of the front porch two summers ago. The two gallon plants were gorgeous the first year and already had huge blooms. The second summer we added eleven more from quart size pots. The quart size plants struggled a bit their first summer but have come back thriving in the their second summer. Two summers in, the quart pots look like they will fill in well and grow to 3-4 ft this year bearing multiple blooms. The plants from the two gallon pots (on their third summer) are magnificent. I pruned them back hard on fresh growth (not wood) in the early spring and they are now full, giant beasts at 4-5 ft tall. If they follow their bloom pattern from last summer, they will be utterly covered in blooms as big as my head. We had white to green blooms last summer that stayed gorgeous through September and added lovely winter interest when left on the stem. I adore these hydrangeas. Cars stop in front of the house to admire the show and ask us about them. I can’t imagine using other cultivars.

I planted these in July 2016, zone 5b. They are on the north side of my home and thus do not get as much sun as I think they want. Despite that, they have grown quite large, about 5 ft tall and have bloomed well, large and prolific blooms. My dissatisfaction is with the color. I chose these because I wanted white hydrangeas. While they do bloom white, I think the blooms are white for about 2 weeks, maybe 3 before aging to a lime green and then they stay green for a long time. Is this caused by not getting enough sun or is this just how the plant performs? I can tell mine are stretching toward the sun and they do lean forward and droop with the weight of the blooms. I have followed PW's recommendation to prune down about 1/3 of the plant in the early spring. I am wondering if I prune harder if this will help size control and perhaps help with stronger stems. I"m also wondering if I were to move them to a sunnier location if they would stay white longer. PW - what hydrangeas have white blooms the longest? What hydrangeas tolerate the most shade? Thanks!

I planted 3 of these plants 6+ years ago. All grew notably each year and hit full size in about 3 years. The ones in full sun are very sensitive to water but doing better if you add a lot of mulch. None have ever bloomed anywhere close to the size advertised. Maybe 3-4”, relatively flat, not like a ball or giant like shown. Not the impressive look I hoped, especially for the price.