It's known as the "Annabelle on Steroids". This is one big hydrangea.
If you don't believe me when I say those blooms are huge, behold the hand-to hydrangea comparison in the photo.
My hands are not dainty or delicate yet they aren't quite hams. I like to think of them as sturdy Dutch peasant hands that slipped through the DNA from my paternal great-grandparents. They are not made for displaying jewels but for digging in the dirt. And I am more than fine with that.
Although I could have done with those slender Scots-Irish legs from my mother. Unfortunately the hands match the ankles.
The Incrediball was one of the most commented-upon shrubs of the garden tour this weekend. The general consensus was "Wow". I mentioned to most visitors that this was its first full season to bloom, as it started as a tiny trial sample from Proven Winners. It's always difficult to place these samples where they can benefit from the right conditions and spacing without leaving holes in your flower borders. I placed these in an undeveloped area and planted around them.
This area receives shade for a good part of the day and then a blast of hot southwestern sunshine. More impressive was, the not one but three gully-washers that left my regular Annabelles in a flopsy-mopsy shambles, didn't harm the Incrediballs with their extra stiff stems in the least.
What I saw as perhaps a drawback to the Incrediball; large blooms at the middle with smaller outshoots almost like an apron around the lower part of the plant seemed to charm our guests. They felt there was no need to hide its legs in that respect.
Also note in the photo that Incrediball progresses to that same shade of vintage green as the blossoms age.
For fun I planted hardy hibiscus "David Fleming" close by the Incrediball. The luscious pink blooms that usually look Amazonian matched the large scale of the hyper-hydrangea. Extra-tall fennel and Shasta Daisies with a few smaller conifers give this new garden bed a Paul Bunyan kind of vibe. More evidence I'm going Minnesotan.
PS: Butterflies love them too!
