Hydrangea arborescens 'INCREDIBALL' 23W26 Smooth F2- (Wood, 2009) Smooth Hydrangea or wild hydrangea, Mature plant size: 4x4ft., Lime green fading white, USDA Hardiness Zone 3-9, Michigan Bloom Week ISO WW25, In Garden Bed F2 for 4.8 YEARS (Burpee). Planted in 2018.

Hydrangea arborescens 'Abetwo' was developed (pp20571, 2009) by Timothy D. Wood  from Spring Meadow Nursery of Grand Haven, Michigan. 'Abetwo' originated from an open pollination of 'Annabelle' (parent) and an unknown H. arborescens in 2002. Compared to Hydrangea 'Annabelle', it is taller, has larger flower heads, and thicker stems that do not splay when wet. The flowers start out lime green and mature to pure white. Blooms in early June for ~ two months.

Photo by F.D.Richards, SE Michigan. Link to additional photos of this plant from 2018, 19, 21, 22, 23:

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#Michigan, #49236, #usdaZone6, #Shrub, #PartShade, #FullSun, #PP20571 , #SmoothHydrangea, #Abetwo, #INCREDIBALL, #HydrangeaArborescens, #Hydrangea, #23W26

Very nice, huge blooms, Frank. I thought you already had some but if not, have you considered adding some of the cultivars that bloom shades of pink or now also green? Note: Abetwo is the varietal denomination for Incrediball so they are one and the same.

Luis, here is a list of the arborescens that I have. Several are new, planted last year, so may not have produced any flowers yet.

"Hydrangea arborescens 'Annabelle'
Hydrangea arborescens 'BAR HARBOR'
Hydrangea arborescens 'INCREDIBALL BLUSH'
Hydrangea arborescens 'INCREDIBALL'
Hydrangea arborescens 'Invincibelle Garnetta'
Hydrangea arborescens 'Invincibelle Lace'
Hydrangea arborescens 'Invincibelle MINI MAUVETTE'
Hydrangea arborescens 'Invincibelle RUBY'
Hydrangea arborescens 'Invincibelle SPIRIT II'
Hydrangea arborescens 'Invincibelle WEE WHITE'
Hydrangea arborescens 'LIME RICKY'
Hydrangea arborescens 'Pinky Pollen Ring'"

Have you compared/considered Winter Dome or Radiata with your Pinky Pollen Ring? Which of the ones that you have is least heat sensitive during the worst of your summer?

Pinky Pollen Ring is new to me, planted last fall. Tractor Supply added nursery plants to their menu last year. They had several plants on clearance late last year and I picked up this hydrangea in a 3 gallon pot for $5. Does not look like it will have any blooms this year.

Not familiar with winter dome. I have Radiata. Planted in 2020 and no blooms yet. Maybe this year. It does have nice foliage.

I am not aware of any issues with summer heat with any of my hydrangeas. I hardly ever worry about heat. Much more concerned with cold.

My Annabelle looks bad (Maybe dead) this year. If it makes it to fall I will move it.

Smooth hydrangeas have a hard time with my summers. They were not designed for daily, 100+ temps for 3 months in a row so I keep looking for new entries.

Hydrangea macrophylla 'Cherry Explosion' 23W28 BigLeaf E1- (Buechel, WI 2017) BigLeaf or French Hydrangea, Mature plant size: 3-4ft., RED, Cherry Red, USDA Hardiness Zone 5, Michigan Bloom Week ISO WW27, In Garden Bed E1 for 4.8 YEARS (Almost). Planted in 2018.

Hydrangea macrophylla Cherry Explosion™ 'McKay' (PP28757, 2017) was developed by Thomas J. Buechel (Lake Mills, WI). A lacecap with cherry red florets surrounded by smaller pink star shaped fertile flowers. Exceptionally cold hardy to zone 5 (maybe 4). Flowers on new wood thus extending its cold hardy range. Winter hardiness and resistance to powdery mildew are probably the key features of this new cultivar. A new introduction from the Conard-Pyle Company, West Grove, PA (best known for its introduction of the Knockout® rose series).

2023 note: after 5 years still only about a foot high.

Photo by F.D.Richards, SE Michigan. Link to additional photos of this plant from 2018, 22, 23:

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A foot after 5 years? Hmm, I suspect the old wood must be getting killed reliably or is cut too early. I used to have similar issues with a florist Big Leaf here in my zone 8 where fluctuating warm temps that suddenly crashed well below freezing would help keep it quite short too. Still have. It got a hair cut in December 22nd due to an arctic blast that dropped temps to 10F. It is now 1.5 feet but not blooming as I did not winter protect (Oops, I forgot).

For big leaf hydrangeas this is as good as it gets for me in SE Michigan. This plant has never been pruned. My macrophylla hydrangeas usually die to ground level every winter. And, these bloom on new wood macrophylla hydrangeas are not exactly reliable.

Hydrangea macrophylla 'Let's Dance Big Easy' 23W28 Bigleaf G3- (Wood, MI 2011) Bigleaf Hydrangea, Mature plant size: 4x4ft., Pink, USDA Hardiness Zone 6, Michigan Bloom Month 6-9, In Garden Bed G3 for 6.1 YEARS (Bluestone). Planted in 2017.

Developed by Timothy D. Wood, (Spring Lake, MI, US) from Spring Meadow Nursery, Grand Haven, Michigan (PP22329, 2011). The female parent is 'Bailmer' (Endless Summer®). Trade name of the cultivar is Let's Dance™ Big Easy®.  Large mop-head type dark pink-colored flowers. Flowers are larger than most other hydrangeas of this type. Also, like most recent introductions, it blooms on both old and new wood.

Photo by F.D.Richards, SE Michigan. Link to additional photos of this plant from 2017, 19, 21, 22, 23:

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Hydrangea paniculata 'Little Quick Fire' 23W28 Panicle S1- (Wood, 2014 MI) Dwarf Panicle Hydrangea, Mature plant size: 3-5ft., White flowers turn pink as summer progresses, USDA Hardiness Zone 3-8, Michigan Bloom Week ISO WW28, In Garden Bed S1 for 34 MONTHS (Lowes). Planted in 2020.

Hydrangea paniculata Little Quick Fire® 'SMHPLQF' (PP25136, 2014) was developed by Timothy D. Wood of Michigan. An open-pollination of Hydrangea paniculata 'Bulk' as the seed parent. As the name implies, it's a dwarf variety ( 3-5 feet tall). It blooms about one month before other hydrangeas. White flowers turn pink as summer progresses. Blooms on new wood. Flower color is not affected by soil pH. A Proven Winners® selection. Paniculata hydrangeas are the most cold hardy (Zone 3-8). Native to Asia. Stiff upright branches do not splay. Flowers are more cone-shaped rather than ball-shaped.

Photo by F.D.Richards, SE Michigan. Link to additional photos of this plant from 2020, 21, 22, 23:

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I'm putting Puffer Fish hydrangea on my list for next year. Has anyone seen it for sale yet? I'd rather not but it online.

Have not seen it locally in Texas.

Hydrangea paniculata 'Diamond Rouge' 23W36 Panicle R1- (Renault, Jean 2014 Gorron, FR) Compact Panicle Hydrangea, Mature plant size: 5x4ft., flowers emerge white, then pink, then raspberry red and finallywine red, USDA Hardiness Zone 3, Michigan Bloom Week ISO WW27, In Garden Bed R1 for 3.0 YEARS (Lowes,). Planted in 2020.

Rendia' is an upright, well-branched selection of panicle hydrangea that features cone-shaped inflorescences of white, sterile flowers that mature to wine red. According to the marketing tag, it starts color transformation earlier than most panicles.

2020 note: Bought from Lowes at full price of $25: 2 gal pot, First Editions. I selected a plant with a single trunk so I can train as a small tree like plant. First Editions claims it has dark orange foliage in the fall.

Photo by F.D.Richards, SE Michigan. Link to additional photos of this plant from 2020, 21, 22, 23:

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#Michigan, #49236, #usdaZone6, #PP24667 , #PanicleHydrangea, #ConeShaped, #PeeGee, #Shrub, #Rendia, #French, #Compact, #FirstEditions, #DiamondRouge, #Hydrangea, #23W36