As spring flowering shrubs complete their blossoming cycles, I’m always eager to see hydrangeas begin forming and opening their lush and numerous flowers.  Right now, we are seeing Quickfire, Invincibelle Spirit, Annabelle and Incrediball Hydrangeas produce the first hydrangea blossoms of the season.

Quickfire Hydrangea produces an early and airy white blossom that seems to float on air, and has the delightful habit of gradually turning to a beautiful rich pink over 4 to 6 weeks.  There are lots of new heavily hyped hydrangeas on the market these days, and I would have to say that Quickfire have great standability, very early flowering, 2 color phases, and a unique blossom structure, but it also has leaves that turn to a beautiful combination of yellow, orange and red fall colors come autumn.

Invincibelle Spirit Hydrangea is the first pink Annabelle Hydrangea available on the market.  Last year we were impressed by the way the medium pink blossoms started in mid-summer and kept forming all the way to the first heavy fall frosts.  Our third year, Invincibelle Spirit Hydrangea are shaping up nicely, with fairly good standability, and we suspect that they will perform nicely in the landscape.

Consider adding hardy hydrageas to your landscape.  They have the ability to add abundant flowering to summer and fall landscapes.  My wife cuts the flower stems in the fall and uses them in dry flower arrangements all year long – an added bonus to the hydrangea shrubs.