Hydrangea 'Strong Annabelle' White - Hardy plant

The hydrangea 'Strong Annabelle' thrives best in the garden. Prior to planting give the roots a good soaking - place the shrub in a bucket of luke-warm water. Prepare a wide hole and loosen the soil with a fork. Plant the hydrangea at the correct depth – the top of the root ball should be just slightly below ground level. Refill the hole with soil, press firmly down and water immediately after planting. Hydrangea arborescens 'Strong Annabelle' thrives in a not too dry humus rich soil. Improve your garden soil with a mix of well rotted compost. Plant in a sunny spot, partial shade or shaded spot. This hydrangea also does well in a large pot on your patio or decking.

Hydrangea 'Strong Annabelle' in the garden

The striking Hydrangea arborescens 'Strong Annabelle' is an eye-catcher in every garden. The huge white flowers look fantastic in groups or in borders. You could fill a flower bed bordered with ‘Box’ with these amazing hydrangeas. They will even look at home grouped in the shrubbery. For a stunning effect, try combining Hydrangea arborescens 'Strong Annabelle' with the rambling rose 'Elfe'. Also a great partnership is with the pink Hydrangea arborescens ‘Invincibelle’.

This shrub really hates dry soil, so give your hydrangea 'Strong Annabelle' extra water during dry periods to prevent the roots from drying out. Apply a mulch of compost and garden fertiliser every year in early spring. Hydrangea arborescens 'Strong Annabelle' flowers on last year's sturdy stems. The whole shrub can be cut back to 40 cm above the ground every spring. Cutting back in March makes your hydrangea a more compact and bushier shrub. After flowering, cut the stems back to a strong pair of buds and this will encourage new flowers within 6 weeks! The hydrangea 'Strong Annabelle' is very hardy!

The dark green leaves are very pretty in the spring. The mophead flowers start off green and eventually turn to a pure white, fading back to green at the end of the summer! Still looks lovely in the winter, especially when covered with a layer of snow. The mops can reach a diameter of 30 cm! Hydrangea arborescens is also called the American Hydrangea. The colour of the flowers is not influenced by the pH levels as in other hydrangeas like the Macrophylla. This plant is a direct descendant of the lovely white Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’ and is therefore also called Hydrangea arborescens ‘Strong Annabelle’. The hydrangea only has small flowerets and the colour we see is actually the bracts of these flowerets forming one large bloom.