Name: Hydrangea arborescens ‘Invincibelle Spirit II’
Type of Plant: A shrub for sun or part-shade that produces pink hydrangea flowers from late-June through August…and into September if deadheaded faithfully. Hardy in Zones 3-9
Why I love this: This is the second generation of the Invincibelle Spirit Hydrangea, and it is a better plant. I liked the original just fine, but this improved version has larger, and so more showy, petals. Hydrangea arborescens shrubs are native to North America and they bloom on new growth so it doesn’t matter how cold the winter was, you’ll still have flowers.
Invincibelle Spirit II is also better because when you deadhead the plant it produces new stems and more flowers!
A Word to the Wise: Be sure to plant this Hydrangea where it can grow about 5 feet tall and wide. Yes, most printed information says it will grow up to 4 feet tall and wide but given the way I’ve seen this plant develop in just two years in my garden, I’d say that it’s probably safe to assume that it will get a bit larger.
Last year I grew Invincibelle Spirit II in a container on my deck. It grew in full sun, and did just fine with regular watering. As you can see from this photo, the new flowers are bright yellow and they turn lighter pink as they age.
In the fall I moved the shrub from the container into the ground. It gets afternoon sun here for about four hours and it’s doing quite well. Everyone who toured my garden today during the Cape Cod Hydrangea festival remarked about this plant. In a year when the Hydrangea macrophylla shrubs aren’t flowering well because of the sudden cold snaps in February and April, having a shrub filled with color like this is exciting.
Invincibelle Spirit II captured the hearts of those who came to the Cape Cod Hydrangea Festival launch party at Cape Cod Beer. Thanks to a donation from Spring Meadow Nursery, we had several of these shrubs to give away at the end of the evening.
You can learn more about this Hydrangea and other ColorChoice Flowering Shrubs at the Spring Meadow Nursery or Proven Winners websites.
it’s so beautiful. Just came back from today’s open garden, it was my favorite. Appreciate you open the amazing garden.
Thanks so much! It’s always enjoyable having other people appreciate the plants as much as we do.
Beautiful! I just purchased some here in Finger Lakes, NY. However, they are green flowers right now. I am assuming they have already flowered.
Either they have already flowered or are young plants. In either case they should bloom well next year. Plant in part to full sun and enjoy!