A Hardy Hydrangea That Bounces Back

By Phran Novelli

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Our native Hydrangeas arborescens – also called 'smooth hydrangea' – have been blooming spectacularly well this year.

These are not those bright pink or blue hydrangeas, although some of the new cultivars are pinkish, these native Hydrangea arborescens are plants with white flowerheads and they bloom beautifully no matter how harsh winter was, which is a big relief!

The only downside to some of the current cultivars like the popular 'Annabelle', the giant-flowered 'Incrediball' and the mauvey pink 'Invincibelle Spirit' is that when it rains, they tend to flop – spectacularly! They splat, out from the center, into a plopped pile of posies.

It used to irritate me, and then I realized, once the sun comes out, they pull themselves together and rise back into a shrubby round shape. (You can see the difference in the photos here – to the left, after it rains, they're quite floppy, but on the right, in the sunshine, they look just fine.)

So plant more of our native Hydrangea arborescens and don't worry when they droop in a downpour, they'll soon pick themselves up again.