I have been IN LOVE with hydrangeas since I was a little girl... but up until the last 15-ish years there were no hydrangeas anywhere that I live. It was always a case of "they're not hardy here", and even though it turns out the PeeGee is hardy here, no greenhouses would touch hydrangeas with a 10 foot pole, so to speak...
Well plant companies in the last few years have been working to breed hydrangeas that are hardy where I live --- YAY!
That said, I'll never ever get to have one of the big Mopheads. They're way too tender to have up here, so l never get to have a true blue hydrangea, or the ones like "Next Generation Pistachio" or "Next Generation Wedding Ring". As much as I love them, the Proven Winners' Cityline line or the Let's Dance series will never grace this yard, sadly. (Typed out as I stare longingly at the picture of "Rio" on the PW website)
That said, though, there are some now that are hardy here -- and I am ecstatic to be able to have them!
I started with two hydrangeas, both part of the Proven Winners line I figured I couldn't go wrong with them, since their plants have always been excellent performers for me. I bought these two at full price, because I really wanted them. First up was the original Invincibelle Spirit (it was named for Breast Cancer Survivors & Warriors, PW donates $1 from the sale of each Invincibelle to breast cancer charity), and the Little Lime, which is an easier-to-handle miniature shrub that is excellent for smaller yards, or for flowerbeds.
The first Little Lime I bought didn't make it the first year. I suspect that I overfertilized it, but the Invincibelle has just thrived. Every year it puts on an amazing show! I planted it at the edge of the yard, across from my kitchen window so that I could see it every day.
Invincibelle Spirit from Proven Winners
The original Invincibelle Spirit Hydrangea is a super-hardy larger shrub, with huge panicles filled with little itty bitty blooms. Pictures below are of the huge flowerheads, and the different shades of pink they bloom. I love this shrub -- it can be pruned back to keep it rather small, or you can let it go crazy. I've only really pruned minimally -- I prune off the previous year's flowerheads in spring; I leave them on over the winter because I like having the winter interest. I also usually take out a few branches that look winter killed (it's pretty easy to have a few branches lost this far north), and just a bit here & there to keep it in a nice shape as opposed to wild-looking.
I have my hand in the photos to give an idea of how big the blooms are.
When it comes to pruning the Invincibelle, you really can't prune them wrong. They flower on new wood, which ensures that you can't mess up & have no blooms that year. You can prune out whatever you want to or need to. I'll do another post in the future about pruning them -- probably next spring when I have a chance to prune all of them.
The only word of warning I have for these is that the flower heads get very heavy when it's raining a lot, and they tend to really droop once they're sopping wet.
I put a peony ring around the Invincibelle a few years ago, but I need a much bigger one if I am going to leave the shrub the size it is now at. We had a 2-day storm in July of 2017 that really bent a lot of the branches down, despite me going out every few hours to shake them off a bit. Overall, though, it wasn't any worse for wear after the 2 days of rain & driving winds. I'll probably prune it a little heavier in spring 2018 but that's about it.
Proven Winners has since discontinues this Invincibelle, and released a new & improved one, called, of course, Invincibelle Spirit II which sounds utterly amazing -- its blooms start out pink and mature to green. That would be interesting! It also mentions that the stems are thicker & stronger, which is a very good thing, because I do find that if there is a long rainstorm the blooms tend to sag & droop once they're saturated. I might just have to keep an eye out for that one next year.
The first Little Lime I bought didn't make it the first year. I suspect that I overfertilized it, but the Invincibelle has just thrived. Every year it puts on an amazing show! I planted it at the edge of the yard, across from my kitchen window so that I could see it every day.
Invincibelle Spirit from Proven Winners
The original Invincibelle Spirit Hydrangea is a super-hardy larger shrub, with huge panicles filled with little itty bitty blooms. Pictures below are of the huge flowerheads, and the different shades of pink they bloom. I love this shrub -- it can be pruned back to keep it rather small, or you can let it go crazy. I've only really pruned minimally -- I prune off the previous year's flowerheads in spring; I leave them on over the winter because I like having the winter interest. I also usually take out a few branches that look winter killed (it's pretty easy to have a few branches lost this far north), and just a bit here & there to keep it in a nice shape as opposed to wild-looking.
I have my hand in the photos to give an idea of how big the blooms are.
This is the whole shrub, in July 2016. I had pruned it a bit harder that year. If you prefer it
to only have enormous panicles, you can snip off all the little ones.
Same shrub, a few weeks later
When it comes to pruning the Invincibelle, you really can't prune them wrong. They flower on new wood, which ensures that you can't mess up & have no blooms that year. You can prune out whatever you want to or need to. I'll do another post in the future about pruning them -- probably next spring when I have a chance to prune all of them.
The only word of warning I have for these is that the flower heads get very heavy when it's raining a lot, and they tend to really droop once they're sopping wet.
I put a peony ring around the Invincibelle a few years ago, but I need a much bigger one if I am going to leave the shrub the size it is now at. We had a 2-day storm in July of 2017 that really bent a lot of the branches down, despite me going out every few hours to shake them off a bit. Overall, though, it wasn't any worse for wear after the 2 days of rain & driving winds. I'll probably prune it a little heavier in spring 2018 but that's about it.
Proven Winners has since discontinues this Invincibelle, and released a new & improved one, called, of course, Invincibelle Spirit II which sounds utterly amazing -- its blooms start out pink and mature to green. That would be interesting! It also mentions that the stems are thicker & stronger, which is a very good thing, because I do find that if there is a long rainstorm the blooms tend to sag & droop once they're saturated. I might just have to keep an eye out for that one next year.
I added a few more hydrangeas to my yard last year (2016), thanks to end of season clearance sales at our local big-box stores' pop-up garden centres... many more hydrangeas than I originally planned to buy! Whoops. I just couldn't leave them there.... I had visions of them getting chucked in a dumpster, or bought by someone who wouldn't give them the extra care and attention they so desperately needed & they'd die anyway.
So I bought them.
Endless Summer
So I bought them.
Endless Summer
I have always wished I could have one of those blue-in-acid-soil / pink in alkaline soil giant mophead hydrangeas, but they would never survive here... but along came Endless Summer. Touted as the hardy blue hydrangea, I was quite excited to finally have one.
The Endless Summer is a blue or pink-blooming shrub, depending on soil acidity. It blooms on both old wood & new wood, which was supposed to bypass the biggest issue in northern gardens with hydrangeas, that late frosts that kill the bloom buds on hydrangeas that bloom on old wood (those ones are like lilacs, they grow the buds the previous fall). The Endless Summer was also supposed to bloom all summer long, as it grew new branches, and which was supposed to be* hardy here.
(*notice I'm saying "supposed to" an awful lot in this section?? Yeah. That's because it's NOT hardy here).
It was quite happy when I first planted it, it grew a couple of big flowerheads, and leafed out ... well, it was happy until winter hit. It hadn't even shed its leaves, so they hung there, looking just like frozen lettuce looks.
I dug it out & took it back in summer 2017, based on the 1-year warranty that Canadian Tire offers on their shrubs. They gave me a full refund on it, which was awesome, and a very good reason to buy shrubs there!
The Endless Summer is a blue or pink-blooming shrub, depending on soil acidity. It blooms on both old wood & new wood, which was supposed to bypass the biggest issue in northern gardens with hydrangeas, that late frosts that kill the bloom buds on hydrangeas that bloom on old wood (those ones are like lilacs, they grow the buds the previous fall). The Endless Summer was also supposed to bloom all summer long, as it grew new branches, and which was supposed to be* hardy here.
(*notice I'm saying "supposed to" an awful lot in this section?? Yeah. That's because it's NOT hardy here).
It was quite happy when I first planted it, it grew a couple of big flowerheads, and leafed out ... well, it was happy until winter hit. It hadn't even shed its leaves, so they hung there, looking just like frozen lettuce looks.
I dug it out & took it back in summer 2017, based on the 1-year warranty that Canadian Tire offers on their shrubs. They gave me a full refund on it, which was awesome, and a very good reason to buy shrubs there!
Later in the summer, I was reading an old copy of a Canadian garden magazine (I collect Gardens West, wherever I see them, it's still the BEST Canadian gardening magazine that ever was) and just happened upon an article on hardy hydrangeas for the Canadian Prairies -- and they flat-out state that Endless Summer should only be treated as an annual on the prairies of Canada OR kept in a container & brought inside.
GRR.
In the time since, I posted on a local gardening group on Facebook and several others replied that theirs didn't make it through the winter either, so I don't feel as bad. Lesson learned, I guess.
Just today, while researching for this entry, I stumbled on a Southern Gardening magazine article, and in it, the Alabama gardener (known as The Grumpy Gardener) that wrote it said that many "northern" gardeners (in the USA, hence the quotes -- those folks have no idea what a true "Northern Garden" is!) were thrilled with theirs. Which is great, but they are so much further south than I am, I don't think they get quite as cold in winter as we do here!
So remember -- NO ENDLESS SUMMER in Alberta.
Probably not in Saskatchewan or Manitoba either. Unless maybe you treat it the way you'd treat a tender rose?
However, on to bigger & better things.... I'm thrilled with the other ones I got. Note that if it's underlined, it's a link to the website of whatever company grows them, so you can get all the info regarding growth habit & hardiness for your own garden.
In the time since, I posted on a local gardening group on Facebook and several others replied that theirs didn't make it through the winter either, so I don't feel as bad. Lesson learned, I guess.
Just today, while researching for this entry, I stumbled on a Southern Gardening magazine article, and in it, the Alabama gardener (known as The Grumpy Gardener) that wrote it said that many "northern" gardeners (in the USA, hence the quotes -- those folks have no idea what a true "Northern Garden" is!) were thrilled with theirs. Which is great, but they are so much further south than I am, I don't think they get quite as cold in winter as we do here!
So remember -- NO ENDLESS SUMMER in Alberta.
Probably not in Saskatchewan or Manitoba either. Unless maybe you treat it the way you'd treat a tender rose?
However, on to bigger & better things.... I'm thrilled with the other ones I got. Note that if it's underlined, it's a link to the website of whatever company grows them, so you can get all the info regarding growth habit & hardiness for your own garden.
Quick Fire
This is another true winner, put out by Proven Winners. I love this one. (Who am I kidding? I love them all!)
This one has bloom heads that only some of the flowers open wide, so it's very lacey. It starts out white, then the blooms start to turn a dusty rose pink as they mature, then a darker dusty rose pink.
This is another true winner, put out by Proven Winners. I love this one. (Who am I kidding? I love them all!)
This one has bloom heads that only some of the flowers open wide, so it's very lacey. It starts out white, then the blooms start to turn a dusty rose pink as they mature, then a darker dusty rose pink.
It's gorgeous.
It really brightens up the area I planted it -- it faces west so is in complete shade until the sun comes around from the south side of my house. I was surprised at how much lighter the whole entire bed seemed when the blooms were white!
I have not pruned this one very much yet -- just took off last year's blooms once the leaf buds started swelling. I bought it at Canadian Tire at the very start of the clearance specials -- I didn't want to risk not being able to get it for another year, so the minute the $70 shrubs went on half price, I begged a friend to take me there to buy it. I think $35 was a great deal for it.
I should also note -- the Quick Fire did better than I would have expected, considering I moved it in spring 2017 (I originally had it planted about 20 feet away from this location, but the bed looked totally lopsided). It didn't suffer at all from transplant shock, although I made sure to dig around it quite widely so as not to cut roots off, but still... not a problem for it.
I am so happy with this shrub! I put it where it is, because I wanted to kinda cover up the huge god-awful gas meter that the gas company put in a couple of years ago (and completely ruined the soil in this bed -- but that's a whole 'nother post!)
The only thing I don't love about this shrub is that it doesn't attract bees...instead, it attracts paper wasps and flies. When the blooms were white, there was always at least 2 huge black & white wasps poking around the little flowers (they weren't interested in the big lacey ones, just the tiny buds). It made it quite difficult for me to get in that area to plant anything, or dig out the day lily that was behind it, or do any weeding. It all worked out in the end, but just exercise caution if you plant this -- there will be big black & white wasps coming to visit.
It really brightens up the area I planted it -- it faces west so is in complete shade until the sun comes around from the south side of my house. I was surprised at how much lighter the whole entire bed seemed when the blooms were white!
I have not pruned this one very much yet -- just took off last year's blooms once the leaf buds started swelling. I bought it at Canadian Tire at the very start of the clearance specials -- I didn't want to risk not being able to get it for another year, so the minute the $70 shrubs went on half price, I begged a friend to take me there to buy it. I think $35 was a great deal for it.
I should also note -- the Quick Fire did better than I would have expected, considering I moved it in spring 2017 (I originally had it planted about 20 feet away from this location, but the bed looked totally lopsided). It didn't suffer at all from transplant shock, although I made sure to dig around it quite widely so as not to cut roots off, but still... not a problem for it.
I am so happy with this shrub! I put it where it is, because I wanted to kinda cover up the huge god-awful gas meter that the gas company put in a couple of years ago (and completely ruined the soil in this bed -- but that's a whole 'nother post!)
The only thing I don't love about this shrub is that it doesn't attract bees...instead, it attracts paper wasps and flies. When the blooms were white, there was always at least 2 huge black & white wasps poking around the little flowers (they weren't interested in the big lacey ones, just the tiny buds). It made it quite difficult for me to get in that area to plant anything, or dig out the day lily that was behind it, or do any weeding. It all worked out in the end, but just exercise caution if you plant this -- there will be big black & white wasps coming to visit.
It's kind-of like light is shining out of every single bloom.
It has really brightened this area of my yard!
So, you can see how small it started out, and this area is in shade until at least 3 or 4pm daily.
I have since removed the day lily from behind it, and the Heucheras (aka "Coral Bells", but unless they have coral flowers, I call them Heuchera) have gotten bigger, as have the dwarf irises around it. I added in a ton of tulips & daffodils this fall, I can't wait for them to start popping up!
The blooms are such a bright white that the camera kind-of had a hard time focusing on them,
because they were so bright. I really didn't expect that having white flowers in here
would brighten it up so much . I really like the effect.
because they were so bright. I really didn't expect that having white flowers in here
would brighten it up so much . I really like the effect.
Quick Fire in mid-summer, once it started turning pink
This is what the blooms look like closer up once they've really changed colour.
This is about as dark as it got. Just gorgeous!
This is about as dark as it got. Just gorgeous!
As I'm snooping around the Proven Winners website, I noticed that they now have a miniature version of the Quick Fire as well -- aptly named "Little Quick Fire". It would be perfect for the small yards in newer housing developments!
Little Lime
This one replaces the one I killed off years ago. I am pretty sure I killed it with kindness, so the saying goes -- I had read somewhere that hydrangeas are extremely heavy feeders, but it turns out, they don't actually need a ton of fertilizer to grow those blooms. Which is a good thing, but you need to know that before you plant one.
I bought this one on a whim -- extreme clearance sale. It was really broken and in desperate need of some water, but for $8 from $40 I just HAD TO. I gave it a good haircut, dribbled water in/on the broken parts then used velcro plant tape to reattach them (basically DIY grafted them back together), splinted a couple of them, and made slings to ensure they stayed at the right angles to stitch back together ...
It worked! It's a beautiful little shrub this year. I was just thrilled to see how many blooms it grew, because really, it shouldn't have healed that well, that fast (and bear in mind it healed up over a very harsh winter -- winter 2016 was NOT a fun winter for us here, it was super-cold, and we had a lot of snow!)
The Little Lime is so beautiful that I really want to get the full-sized version, called Limelight
I can just imagine it being 5 feet tall and loaded up with those green blooms! Just gorgeous. I have to admit I wasn't too sure about having a shrub with green blooms, but they are just breathtakingly beautiful.
Up Next ... My Mystery Hydrangea -- possibly Fire & Ice
This one replaces the one I killed off years ago. I am pretty sure I killed it with kindness, so the saying goes -- I had read somewhere that hydrangeas are extremely heavy feeders, but it turns out, they don't actually need a ton of fertilizer to grow those blooms. Which is a good thing, but you need to know that before you plant one.
I bought this one on a whim -- extreme clearance sale. It was really broken and in desperate need of some water, but for $8 from $40 I just HAD TO. I gave it a good haircut, dribbled water in/on the broken parts then used velcro plant tape to reattach them (basically DIY grafted them back together), splinted a couple of them, and made slings to ensure they stayed at the right angles to stitch back together ...
It worked! It's a beautiful little shrub this year. I was just thrilled to see how many blooms it grew, because really, it shouldn't have healed that well, that fast (and bear in mind it healed up over a very harsh winter -- winter 2016 was NOT a fun winter for us here, it was super-cold, and we had a lot of snow!)
You can see it stating to turn pink.
There are some newer, smaller blooms in the centre of the top, and to
the bottom left side of the photo, those blooms are still straight green. All the bloom heads
start out that shade of green, then get the pink tinge as they mature.
I LOVE this little shrub! I love the way it looks like each little bloom has
a tiny pearl bead in the centre.
I'm considering getting a full-size Limelight for my side yard.
Or maybe a Pinky Winky?
Proven Winners has certainly lived up to their name!
Now, bear in mind that most of those branches were put back together and held
in place with velcro tape! The smaller branches are the only ones that weren't put back together.
I'm beyond amazed that they took to begin with let alone bloomed!
It's only a foot tall for the most part -- the part at the upper right corner is about 2 feet tall.
Another shot of one of the bloom heads. One of these days I'll have to send
in place with velcro tape! The smaller branches are the only ones that weren't put back together.
I'm beyond amazed that they took to begin with let alone bloomed!
It's only a foot tall for the most part -- the part at the upper right corner is about 2 feet tall.
these pictures to Proven Winners. It's just gorgeous!
The Little Lime is so beautiful that I really want to get the full-sized version, called Limelight
I can just imagine it being 5 feet tall and loaded up with those green blooms! Just gorgeous. I have to admit I wasn't too sure about having a shrub with green blooms, but they are just breathtakingly beautiful.
This one didn't have any tags, so it was a total mystery. All I knew is that it was in a Bloomin' Easy brand pot, that it was a hydrangea of some sort (because it had a dead branch with a brown/dead & dry bloom), and that it was on clearance for $10 from $60.
Again, I just had to. You have to, when something so great is on such rock-bottom pricing.
Okay, I have to. Y'all can pay full price if you want to, but I would rather not. And I have a thing about rescuing half-dead plants.
When it started growing this last spring, the new wood was bright but deep red. I emailed Bloomin' Easy to see if they could tell me what it was ... they think it's one called Fire & Ice. They said that they have discontinued many of the varieties that they didn't create genetically, so they could focus on creating their own varieties only.
I found other websites that do sell it, though, such as Monrovia.
Looking at all these websites showing pictures of this one, I'm not entirely convinced it is a Fire & Ice -- it definitely did NOT turn red in fall. Hrmm.... I don't know. All I do know is that I love hydrangeas. They just didn't exist up here until the last 10 or 15 years; now every garden centre has all the hardy ones (and several that are not hardy, which always bugs me that they do that -- another blog post though!)
The blooms are conical, and have opened white & are turning green (or maybe it's green & turning white?) ... either way it's gorgeous!Later in the summer they started to turn pink, too!
Whatever it is, it's pretty! I'm also amazed this one bloomed -- I truly thought they would need a few years to get back to full health before having the strength to bloom. You can see the colour of the blooms as they start at the bottom of this panicle & at the top it's starting to turn pink.
The entire shrub. I'm going to have to move the poor thing, it's tucked a bit too close in
this corner, but I wasn't expecting it to grow huge. Whoops. I will have to find a better
home for it, or maybe just scoot it over a foot or so.
this corner, but I wasn't expecting it to grow huge. Whoops. I will have to find a better
home for it, or maybe just scoot it over a foot or so.
One odd thing about this one, is that most of the flowers look like a regular hydrangea with
conical or balloon-shaped panicles... but tucked into the middle were a couple of little
flower heads that want to be Quick Fires.
It's so weird, because I didn't do any grafting back on with this one, nor did I need to with
the Quick Fire, so I couldn't have accidentally gotten some branches mixed up.
I only trimmed the dead parts off. Weird. Beautiful, but weird.
conical or balloon-shaped panicles... but tucked into the middle were a couple of little
flower heads that want to be Quick Fires.
It's so weird, because I didn't do any grafting back on with this one, nor did I need to with
the Quick Fire, so I couldn't have accidentally gotten some branches mixed up.
I only trimmed the dead parts off. Weird. Beautiful, but weird.
See what I mean? Completely different flower habit. If it means anything, the branches that flowered weird were the ones that were the bright red wood.
Well, that's it for my hydrangeas ... so far, muahahahaha... do you have hydrangeas? What area are you in & what types do you have? I'd love to hear other people's experiences with these amazing shrubs!
Are you confused about hydrangeas? Proven Winners has a page full of info on their website, called "Hydrangeas Demystified" -- please go check it -- and the rest of their fabulous website-- out!
**NOTE: Proven Winners is NOT a sponsor of my blog. I get nothing from them for talking about their shrubs, and I have paid for each & every one of my shrubs from them. I'm just sharing my experience with their products, and my opinions about them, which, so far, have all been good!
