Annabelle Hydrangea – Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’

A couple of years ago I went on an Annabelle Hydrangea kick. Drive around looking at Virginia landscape designs and you’ll see “Dave’s poofy white ball phase”. That’s ok though, because these plants rock.

Growing around 3-5 ft tall and 4-6 ft wide, Annabelle hydrangeas set big, white puffball blooms during the summer months. It’s a striking plant whether you’re looking for cut flowers or just something gorgeous to look at. Some folks don’t like that the massive blooms can make the plant a little floppy, especially when wet. If that bothers you, plant them snugly behind a row of dwarf boxwood (we like Justin Brouwer boxwood for this) and you’re good to go.

Annabelle hydrangea are listed as deer resistant, mostly because Hydrangea arborescens is a native hydrangea with a Mid-Atlantic range, but I have to be honest – it’s real hit or miss with them. We’ve had places where the deer totally ignore them, and places where the deer much the heck out of them. If you’re not sure how the deer behave around your plants, I’d maybe get one or two and see what happens (note that our warranty does NOT cover deer damage, though).

Also, we only sell these in a 3 gallon size. I’ve found that anything bigger, it gets hard to find ones that look pretty in the pot. Don’t worry, they’ll grow pretty quickly!