Hydrangea arborescens 'Ncha4' SWEET ANNABELLE^®

Thomas Green Ranney is an American breeder of smooth hydrangeas. His possibly biggest breakthrough happened in 2006 when he reproduced his very first pink variety that is marketed in the USA as Invincibelle^® Spirit, and Pink Annabelle^® in Europe. Only 6 years later he made an improvement of the same plant, producing larger flowers, called simply Invincibelle^® Spirit II. More importantly, along with that improvement further two varieties were born - RUBY ANNABELLE^® and SWEET ANNABELLE^®, patented as PP28270 in 2017.

SWEET ANNABELLE^® is a smooth hydrangea with clear pink flowers forming large, mop-head inflorescence, up to 20 cm across, composed mostly of sterile flowers. They come out from from late May until early July. If pruned immediately after flowering they can rebloom in late summer. Deciduous leaves are ovate, mid to dark green, changing to yellow in autumn. Another essential feature are strong stems holding well large flowers in spite of their height of almost 1.5 m. SWEET ANNABELLE^® makes compact shrubs.

Grow this hydrangea if you are in doubt whether the large-leaved macrophylla varieties with coloured flowers will survive your winter. This one will grow happily in USDA zone 3 where winter temperatures drop down to -40°C, and can be cut severely in the spring. It can be grown as a small garden specimen plant, or placed wisely among other shrubs which it will highlight with its flower colour.

It will grow in almost any soil type, moist soil that will not too heavy or shallow. Fertilizing is not necessary but the plant will be stronger in humus-rich soil. It benefits from regular hard pruning in early spring. Don't forget to water this beauty more frequently as it is dependent on regular water supply, especially if you grow it in a pot because this beauty is hardy to about -40°C (USDA zone 3) in the ground as well as in a container.

Last update 20-01-2019