Hydrangea arborescens ’Bounty’ offers a variation on the theme of ’Annabelle’. Again the white flowers are mostly sterile & showy but the sepals comprising the mophead are smaller than those of ’Annabelle’. The flower heads display on stout stems and are less likely to flop or sprawl after rain, which we need. Tough & reliable bloomer on the new growth of the season. Shared with us by Keith Howe, Country Gardens, Fall City, WA. Zones 4 - 8. Height to 3 feet or so.

The silverback hydrangea occurs most frequently at the southern end of the Blue Ridge Mountains above 2,800 feet, notably in western North Carolina. Given the sloping nature of its natural habitat, it succeeds best as a garden variety in sharply drained soil that is amply watered. The truth is we can’t grow this plant in the garden here (1,000 feet, outside Atlanta) & wonder why we offer it. We are asking for trouble. Yet, it is so lovely. The flower is white & mostly fertile with just an occasional showy sepal supported by the glorious silver underside. 3+ feet tall. Zones 5-7(a).

Our introduction of a native species found on the nursery near the gristmill beneath the towering white oak. The flowers are pink in bud, opening to a fertile white tuft, surrounded by occasional white sepals. Excellent addition to your woodland path or informal border. Hydrangea arborescens subsp. discolor ’Pink Pincushion’ will mature at 4 feet tall by 5 feet wide. Zones 4-8.

Hydrangea arborescens ’Grandiflora’ is a native hydrangea similar to ’Annabelle’ with a lumpily rounded white bloom that is not so uniform as ’Annabelle.’ It is our opinion that it also has stouter stems & is not as likely to sprawl under the weight of its flowers. In all other respects it is similar: blooms on new wood, very cold hardy, a favorite of deer. Grow in partial shade in the south, more sun up north. Height to 4 feet. Zones 4-8.

Dick Bir, retired horticulturist in North Carolina, shared this form of the native smooth hydrangea that was found in upstate South Carolina by Clarence Towe. Hydrangea arborescens subsp. radiata ’Terry Greer’ is a mostly sterile double-flowered form of the silverback subspecies. The bloom is white akin to the mophead form of the widely known ’Annabelle’ with silvery undersides of the leaves as an added attraction. Like all the selections of the subspecies radiata it is unhappy in the hotter day & night temperatures of the warmer zones and requires sharp drainage to be happy. Lovely plant but picky. Height to 4 feet. Zones 5-6(7). We’re marginally zone 8 now and have a hard time keeping it happy.

We introduced to market this sterile form of Hydrangea arborescens ssp. radiata ’Samantha’ more than a decade ago thanks to the vision of Ernest Koone at Lazy K Nursery in Pine Mountain, GA who had it propagated from a plant shared with him by plantsman Clarence Towe who found it in a garden in upstate (mountainous) SC. Ernest had hoped to bring it to gardeners but in his location, the heat during the summer was too much for this selection. He gave the remains of his crop to us. We have also had trouble with ’Samantha’ in our heat during the summer. So with that history and gardening caution, give it a try in your garden. It has the silverback (underside of leaf) of this native species with a nearly sterile bloom, like Annabelle (Could we say "Annabellesque?") Height to 3+ feet and as wide. Zones 4-6 and excellent drainage.

The hottest hydrangea on the market! A stunning and colorful take on an unbeaten classic; this new release from Proven Winners is the first commercially available pink ’Annabelle’ Hydrangea. For the first time, gardeners who have relied on the toughness and beauty of ’Annabelle’ can have a mophead with color. Perfect choice for gardens in colder climates - where other mopheads fail, this hydrangea is invincible. In partnership with Proven Winners, a dollar from every plant sold is donated to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Proven Winners rates zones 3-9a.