Incrediball^® Smooth Hydrangea Hydrangea arborescens

Love how light and delicate the flower balls are! The plant is hardy--I shamefully mistreated it the first 3 year by keeping it in a too-small pot. It still bloomed, but small flowers. Then planted in a mostly shady spot. I'm not sure if it gets even 4 hours of sun but this year, after two years in this spot, the flowers look just like the PW website pictures. The shrub itself is still thin so I'll move it to a sunnier spot when dormant. Overall I'm really happy with this hydrangea.

I planted my Hydrangea Incrediball in the location that gets direct sun from 7 am to 12 pm, zone 6, north east OH, following recommendations about 5+ hours of direct sun. The plant was wilting during hot summer days by 11am even though I watered it regularly and made sure the ground was wet. Last fall I moved it to the shady area that doesn't get any direct sun at all (only dappled sunlight). it's early June now, and my hydrangea Incrediball is covered with flower buds! No wilting and brown leaves. As other people mentioned, the flowers didn't stay white for long and turned into greenish color. I had to stake it because stems weren't strong enough to hold the large flowers last year. Perhaps, the plant needs to mature to have stronger stems.

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.