Invincibelle® Spirit Smooth hydrangea

A pink smooth hydrangea, which is a fairly recent thing to exist. Hydrangea arborescens 'NCHA2', sold as Invincibelle Spirit II, grows 3 to 4 feet tall and wide in part shade with four to six hours of sun, mostly before midday, hardy from Zone 3 through Zone 8. It reaches full size in two or three seasons.

The flower heads open a deep, saturated pink in early summer and age to jade green over several weeks. That green phase is normal rather than a fault, and because smooth hydrangeas rebloom on new wood, cutting the spent heads brings fresh pink through the rest of the season. Bloom runs from early summer to frost.

This is the improved version of the original Invincibelle Spirit, with stronger stems, deeper color, and fuller heads. Proven Winners® donates a dollar from every plant sold to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, and the program has raised over a million dollars since 2009.

Smooth hydrangea is the group that blooms most reliably in cold gardens. The buds form in spring on the current year's growth, so a hard winter cannot take the display, and soil pH does not change the color. Cut back to about 18 inches in late winter rather than to the ground, which builds a framework sturdy enough to carry the flower heads. It wants consistent moisture, tolerates wet soil, and prefers shade from midday on in hot climates.