Meet Annabelle

Hydrangea arborescens Annabelle is one of the most rewarding single plants in our garden.

She is easy to grow, tolerates a wide range of growing conditions and looks good for months. Even the dry flower heads look good.

The better the soil (or feed) the bigger the heads become although when they are large they can be weighed down by the rain. The stems don't get woody and the flowers grow on long stems so are good for cutting and putting in vases.

Here she is:-


In June she starts to flower with a soft green look and starts off with a flat topped effect and gradually fill out.





She remains green for quite a while.





Filling out gradually.





As she fills out the green fades to white.





Which gradually gets more intense.





This head is about 12" across.





The single plant produces many heads that come out gradually over a period of a month or so.







The last two photos were taken 10 days apart and there are many more heads just starting to come along.

Thank you, Annabelle

 

Excellent post Shiney and a wonderful plant

 

We have found that trying to propagate Annabelle by taking normal cuttings doesn't work very well but using Irishman's Cuttings never fails. :yess:

NHBS - An Irishman's Cuttings - E.Charles Nelson

 

Annabelle should do OK in your soil but the individual flower heads will not be so big. You'll just have to water her in dry weather.

We had the local gardening club round yesterday evening for their summer buffet (fortunately it stayed sunny) and everyone said they want one :D