Hydrangea arborescens Species Complex Cultivars N–Z

'Ncha1'

Mophead form; sterile flowers light pink from darker buds, staying pink longer in shade; stems rather weak and floppy. Significant as one of the first pink mophead cultivars (along with ‘Piiha-I’), now superseded by stronger coloured, stronger stemmed varieties. Frustratingly the trade designation PINK ANNABELLE seems to be used in Europe for both this and its successor ‘Ncha2’. A diploid, the first release from the NCSU breeding programme (see main text under H. arborescens); selected 2006, introduced 2011. Protected by European Plant Breeders’ Rights and US Plant Patent 20,765. (Mt. Cuba Center 2021; Dirr 2021; Google Patents 2024)

Hydrangea arborescens 'Ncha1' PINK ANNABELLE / INVINCIBELLE® SPIRIT seen at the NCSU Mountain Horticultural Crops Research Station in 2011. Image John Grimshaw.

Hydrangea arborescens 'Ncha1 PINK ANNABELLE / INVINCIBELLE® SPIRIT' late in its flowering season; the weak stems tend to flop (Darley Park, Derby, UK – 28 August 2023). Image Julian Sutton.

One of the first pink mophead cultivars of Hydrangea arborescens, 'Ncha1' PINK ANNABELLE / INVINCIBELLE® SPIRIT inherits inflorescence form from 'Annabelle' and colour from 'Wesser Falls' and 'Eco Puff Pink' (Darley Park, Derby, UK – 28 August 2023). Image Julian Sutton.

'Ncha2'

Mophead form; sterile flowers light pink (slightly darker than ‘Ncha1’) from darker buds; stems stronger than in ‘Ncha1’ but still sometimes floppy in flower. While the patent application claimed a compact plant of 80 cm height, in the Mt Cuba trial, where it was a top performer, it reached 1.8 m, or 1.2 m if cut back in spring. It was more visited by insects at Mt Cuba than any other mophead cultivar. The trade designation PINK ANNABELLE seems to be used in Europe for both this and its predecessor ‘Ncha1’. A triploid from NCSU; selected 2012. Protected by European Plant Breeders’ Rights and US Plant Patent 28,316. (Hoadley 2021; Dirr 2021; Google Patents 2024)

Hydrangea 'Ncha2' INVINCIBELLE® SPIRIT II is rather less floppy than its predecessor 'Ncha1' (Heronswood Garden, WA, United States; 13 August 2018). Image Ross Bayton.

'Ncha3'

Mophead form; sterile flowers deep red-pink, strongest in full sun, from red buds; stems stronger than in ‘Ncha1’ but still sometimes floppy in flower; compact habit, usually under 1 m height; reblooms well. A triploid from NCSU, selected 2012. In Kent, UK, Foster (2023) found this the most satisfactory pink mophead for both colour and form. Protected by European Plant Breeders’ Rights and US Plant Patent 28,317. (Mt. Cuba Center 2021; Dirr 2021; Google Patents 2024)

Richly coloured Hydrangea arborescens 'Ncha3' RUBY ANNABELLE / INVINCIBELLE® RUBY framed by its ancestor 'Annabelle' (White House Farm, Kent, UK – 12 July 2023). Image Julian Sutton.

'Ncha4'

Mophead form with large inflorescences; sterile flowers light pink, deeper pink on the sepal backs; stems strong; height 1.2 m in the Mt. Cuba trial, where it was highly rated, performing best in full sun and not cut back in spring. A triploid from NCSU, selected 2012. Protected by European Plant Breeders’ Rights and US Plant Patent 28,280. (Mt. Cuba Center 2021; Dirr 2021; Google Patents 2024)

Hydrangea arborescens 'Ncha4' (SWEET ANNABELLE / INCREDIBALL® BLUSH) is capable of producing enormous inflorescences (26 July 2019). Image Spring Meadow Nurseries.

Strong stemmed Hydrangea arborescens 'Ncha4' (SWEET ANNABELLE / INCREDIBALL® BLUSH) was highly rated in the Mt Cuba Center trial, performing best in full sun, not cut back annually (28 June 2019). Image Mt Cuba Center.

Hydrangea arborescens 'Ncha4' (SWEET ANNABELLE / INCREDIBALL® BLUSH), an impressive pink mophead cultivar (Mt Cuba Center, Delaware – 28 June 2021). Image Mt Cuba Center.

Hydrangea arborescens 'Ncha4' (SWEET ANNABELLE / INCREDIBALL® BLUSH): the sepals are deeper pink on the reverse, apparent as the sterile flowers open (Mt Cuba Center, Delaware – 28 June 2021). Image Mt Cuba Center.

'Ncha5'

Mophead form; sterile flowers white with a faint pink flush at first, maturing ivory, ageing soft green, but sometimes burning in full sun; sturdy and compact, height about 60 cm full sun. A triploid from NCSU; selected 2012. Michael Dirr (2021) and colleagues found it a useful parent of compact, strong-stemmed seedlings when open pollinated. Protected by European Plant Breeders’ Rights and US Plant Patent 30,296. (Mt. Cuba Center 2021; Dirr 2021; Google Patents 2024)

Hydrangea arborescens 'Ncha5' (INVINCIBELLE® WEE WHITE) (28 June 2021). Image Spring Meadow Nursery.

Hydrangea arborescens 'Ncha5' (INVINCIBELLE® WEE WHITE) is a very compact cultivar, here flanked by other NCSU cultivars (8 July 2015). Image Spring Meadow Nursery.

Hydrangea arborescens 'Ncha5' (INVINCIBELLE® WEE WHITE): the flowers may burn in full sun (Mt Cuba Center, Delaware – 28 June 2021). Image Mt Cuba Center.

Hydrangea arborescens 'Ncha5' (INVINCIBELLE® WEE WHITE): a mophead with white sterile flowers, faintly blushed pink at first (Mt Cuba Center, Delaware – 14 June 2019). Image Mt Cuba Center.

'Ncha6'

Mophead form; sterile flowers deep reddish pink, flowering several weeks later than ‘Ncha3’ or ‘Ncha 7’; compact, with strong stems; not in the Mt. Cuba trial. A triploid from NCSU, selected 2012. Protected by European Plant Breeders’ Rights and US Plant Patent 33,142. (Dirr 2021; Google Patents 2024)

Hydrangea arborescens 'Ncha6' INVINCIBELLE® GARNETTA, a compact, later flowering cultivar (3 August 2020). Image Spring Meadow Nursery.

Hydrangea arborescens 'Ncha6' INVINCIBELLE® GARNETTA, a mophead with red sterile flowers (20 July 2017). Image Spring Meadow Nursery.

Hydrangea arborescens 'Ncha6' INVINCIBELLE® GARNETTA (15 July 2020). Image Spring Meadow Nursery.

'Ncha7'

Mophead form; sterile flowers deep purplish pink; strong stems claimed; not in the Mt. Cuba trial. A triploid from NCSU, selected 2012. Protected by European Plant Breeders’ Rights and US Plant Patent 30,358. (Dirr 2021; Google Patents 2024)

Hydrangea arborescens 'Ncha7' INVINCIBELLE® MINI MAUVETTE supports its flowers well (22 July 2018). Image Spring Meadow Nursery.

Hydrangea arborescens 'Ncha7' INVINCIBELLE® MINI MAUVETTE, a mophead with purplish pink sterile flowers (17 July 2015). Image Spring Meadow Nursery.

Hydrangea arborescens 'Ncha7' INVINCIBELLE® MINI MAUVETTE (8 July 2021). Image Spring Meadow Nursery.

'Ncha8'

Mophead form; sterile flowers opening lime green, maturing slightly greenish white, ageing green, with smaller sepals than most, giving a delicate appearance; strong stems to about 90 cm; in the Mt Cuba trial it performed best in some shade, the flowers burning easily in full sun. A triploid from NCSU, selected 2012. Protected by European Plant Breeders’ Rights and US Plant Patent 30,431. (Dirr 2021; Google Patents 2024)

Hydrangea arborescens 'Ncha8' (INVINCIBELLE® LIMETTA): flowers open through green shades to white, before ageing green again (6 July 2017). Image Spring Meadow Nursery.

Hydrangea arborescens 'Ncha8' (INVINCIBELLE® LIMETTA) has strong stems, reaching about 90 cm tall (6 July 2017). Image Spring Meadow Nursery.

Hydrangea arborescens 'Ncha8' (INVINCIBELLE® LIMETTA) flowers at their whitest (9 July 2020). Image Spring Meadow Nursery.

Hydrangea arborescens 'Ncha8' (INVINCIBELLE® LIMETTA), a mophead form with smaller sterile flowers than most (Mt Cuba Center, Delaware – 21 June 2019). Image Mt Cuba Center.

In the Mt Cuba Center trial Hydrangea arborescens 'Ncha8' (INVINCIBELLE® LIMETTA) performed best in shade, the flowers burning easily in bright sun (5 July 2019). Image Mt Cuba Center.

'Piccadilly'

Slightly domed white inflorescence with very few or no sterile flowers; dark green leaves. Originated before 1990 at Piccadilly Farm Nursery, Georgia, USA; often mis-spelled with one ‘c’ in Europe. (Dirr 2004; Future Gardens 2024; Association Shamrock 2022)

Hydrangea arborescens 'Piccadilly' making a rather unsatisfactory floppy clump at Darley Park, Derby, UK (28 August 2023). Image Julian Sutton.

Hydrangea arborescens 'Piccadilly' lacks sterile flowers (Darley Park, Derby, UK – 28 August 2023). Image Julian Sutton.

'Piiha-I'

Mophead form; sterile flowers deep pink, comparable in intensity with ‘Ncha3’; stems weak and floppy. Significant as one of the first pink mophead cultivars (along with ‘Ncha1’), still sometimes available commercially on both sides of the Atlantic. Selected about 2006 by Plant Introductions International, Georgia, USA, gene(s) for pink flowers coming from ‘Wesser Falls’. Protected by European Plant Breeders’ Rights and US Plant Patent 21,227. (Mt. Cuba Center 2021; Dirr 2021; Google Patents 2024)

Hydrangea 'Piiha-I' (ENDLESS SUMMER® BELLA ANNA), proves floppier than some of its successors (Mt Cuba Center, Delaware – 27 June 2018). Image Mt Cuba Center.

Hydrangea 'Piiha-I' (ENDLESS SUMMER® BELLA ANNA) (Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, USA; 15 July 2017). Image Michael Dirr.

Hydrangea 'Piiha-I' (ENDLESS SUMMER® BELLA ANNA), one of the first pink mophead cultivars in the H. arborescens complex (Athens, Georgia, USA; May 2018). Image Michael Dirr.

Hydrangea 'Piiha-I' (ENDLESS SUMMER® BELLA ANNA): an expanse of nursery stock at Bailey Nurseries, Minnesota, USA (August 2012). Image Michael Dirr.

'Pink Pincushion'

Fertile flowers light pink, sterile flowers small and few. Apart from presence of sterile flowers, much like ‘Eco Pink Puff’ but with a more open, airy habit and attracting more insects in the Mt Cuba trial. Sometimes listed under H. cinerea – further observation required; it has had at least some use in breeding. Selected before 1990 by Elizabeth Dean and Gene Griffith, Wilkerson Mill Gardens, USA. (Mt. Cuba Center 2021; Dirr 2004; Association Shamrock 2022)

Hydrangea 'Pink Pincushion', one of the original pink flowered wild finds in the H. arborescens complex from which newer pink cultivars have been bred (Morton Arboretum, Illinois; 5 July 2017). Image Deborah J.G. Brown, Courtesy of The Morton Arboretum.

Hydrangea 'Pink Pincushion', here with no sterile flowers visible (Morton Arboretum, Illinois; 5 July 2017). Image Deborah J.G. Brown, Courtesy of The Morton Arboretum.

Hydrangea 'Pink Pincushion' showing its best side at the Morton Arboretum, Illinois (5 July 2017). Image Deborah J.G. Brown, Courtesy of The Morton Arboretum.

Hydrangea 'Pink Pincushion' too early in its flowering season for the light pink colour to show, but with small, sparse sterile flowers visible (Darley Park, Derby, UK – 28 August 2023). Image Julian Sutton.

'Ryan Gainey'

Mophead form, sterile flowers creamy white; inflorescences smaller than in ‘Annabelle’ and others. Marketed as compact, but in the Mt Cuba trial it reached 1.8 m. Selected before 1990, named for the celebrated Georgia garden designer. (Mt. Cuba Center 2021; Dirr 2021; Association Shamrock 2022)

Although sometimes claimed as compact, Hydrangea arborescens 'Ryan Gainey' reached 1.8 m tall in the Mt Cuba Center trial (14 June 2019). Image Mt Cuba Center.

Hydrangea arborescens 'Ryan Gainey' in a shady site (Mt Cuba Center, Delaware – 21 June 2019). Image Mt Cuba Center.

Hydrangea arborescens 'Ryan Gainey' has small, creamy white mophead inflorescences (Mt Cuba Center, Delaware – 5 June 2019). Image Mt Cuba Center.

'Samantha'

Mophead form attributed to H. radiata; sterile flowers large, opening green, becoming white, and burning easily in hot sun. Discovered before 2000 in South Carolina by Ms Terry Greer, and initially distributed by Rhododendron specialist Clarence Towe. Commercially available on both sides of the Atlantic. (Mt. Cuba Center 2021; Dirr 2004; Alexander 2000). ‘Terry Greer’ (below) is a different plant.

Hydrangea radiata 'Samantha' at the Morton Arboretum, IL, United States. Image John Hagstrom, Courtesy of The Morton Arboretum.

The silvery leaf undersurface reveals 'Samantha' to be a cultivar of Hydrangea radiata. Image Maurice Foster.

The same inflorescences of Hydrangea radiata 'Samantha' a few weeks later (Yorkshire Arboretum, UK, 1 August 2024). This plant suffered very badly from slug damage in 2024. Image John Grimshaw.

Expanding inflorescences of Hydrangea radiata 'Samantha' (Yorkshire Arboretum, UK, early July 2024). Image John Grimshaw.

'Sheep Cloud'

A white mophead sometimes sold in Europe; stems proved weak in the Derby, UK, collection. Origin uncertain, by 2007. (Future Gardens 2023; Hydrangea Derby 2023; Association Shamrock 2022)

'Smhamwm'

Mophead form with hemispherical inflorescences; sterile flowers white. Compact habit and strong stems claimed; too new to have been in the Mt Cuba trial. A seedling with ‘Pink Pincushion’ as the pollen parent, selected 2010 from the Spring Meadow Nursery breeding programme, introduced rather later by Monrovia in the Seaside Serenade® Series alongside Section Macrophyllae cultivars. Protected by US Plant Patent 28,729. (Dirr 2021; Google Patents 2024)

'Smnhalr'

Mophead form, inflorescences flatter than in many; sterile flowers lime green maturing white with pink fertile flowers becoming visible between them, ageing green. Very vigorous; a top performer in the Mt Cuba trial, where it was one of the largest plants, approaching 1.8 m height and 2.4 m wide. An interspecific hybrid, H. radiata × H. arborescens ‘Pink Pincushion’, selected 2011 at Spring Meadow Nursery, Michigan. Protected by US Plant Patent 28,858. (Hoadley 2021; Dirr 2021; Google Patents 2024)

Hydrangea 'Smnhalr' Lime Rickey in full flower (Yorkshire Arboretum, UK, 1 August 2024). Image John Grimshaw.

Expanding inflorescence of Hydrangea 'Smnhalr' Lime Rickey (Yorkshire Arboretum, UK, early July 2024). Image John Grimshaw.

Hydrangea 'Smnhalr' Lime Rickey with pink fertile flowers visible between the greenish sterile flowers (Yorkshire Arboretum, UK, 1 August 2023). Image John Grimshaw.

'Smnhrll'

Lacecap form; fertile flowers pink, sterile flowers with white sepals; stems red. Usually attributed to H. radiata, but the leaf undersides are claimed only as grey-green; further investigation needed. Selected 2016 by Spring Meadow Nursery, MI, USA; protected by US Plant Patent 33,290. (Google Patents 2024; Proven Winners 2024; Dirr 2021)

'Sterilis'

Mophead form of H. cinerea, with ball-shaped inflorescences smaller, more rounded and more symmetrical than those of H. arborescens ‘Grandiflora’, although often considered less effective in the garden than that well known plant (Foster 2023; Haworth-Booth 1984). Long cultivated, it was described first as H. cinerea f. sterilis Rehder from a plant acquired by the Arnold Arboretum from Indiana nurseryman E.Y. Teas, ultimate origin unknown (Rehder 1908).

'Terry Greer'

Mophead form attributed to H. radiata, with almost no fertile flowers; sterile flowers double, white. ‘The overall floral display has been said to resemble large cauliflowers’ (Broken Arrow Nursery 2024): some might consider this an exaggeration in terms of size. Found 1990 or before, reportedly in South Carolina by Terry Greer, and distributed in North America by Clarence Towe. (Mt. Cuba Center 2021; Dirr 2004; Broken Arrow Nursery 2024; Association Shamrock 2022)

Hydrangea 'Terry Greer' in the Mt Cuba Center trial (28 June 2019). Image Mt Cuba Center.

Hydrangea 'Terry Greer', a mopheaded H. radiata with almost no sterile flowers (Mt Cuba Center, Delaware – 27 June 2018). Image Mt Cuba Center.

The inflorescence of Hydrangea 'Terry Greer' (Mt Cuba Center, Delaware – 29 June 2021). Image Mt Cuba Center.

'Total Eclipse'

Lacecap form, flowers white. Very like unselected H. arborescens in the Mt Cuba trial, differing only in a marginally smaller habit, earlier flowering time, and less deadwood after five years. Selected before 2010 at Natural Landscapes Nursery, Pennsylvania for ‘full, tight habit and ability to stand as a screen and hold its dried flowerheads unscathed through the winter’ (Natural Landscapes Nursery 2024). (Hoadley 2021; Dirr 2021)

Hydrangea arborescens 'Total Eclipse' (centre left) proved much like unselected H. arborescens in the Mt Cuba Center trial: outstanding 'Haas' Halo' to the right provides a good comparison (21 June 2019). Image Mt Cuba Center.

Hydrangea arborescens 'Total Eclipse' (Mt Cuba Center, Delaware – 28 June 2019). Image Mt Cuba Center.

Hydrangea arborescens 'Total Eclipse' has wild-type inflorescences (Mt Cuba Center, Delaware – 28 June 2019). Image Mt Cuba Center.

'Wesser Falls'

Lacecap form; sterile flowers few, pinkish, fertile flowers almost white from pink buds. A wild find before 1990 in the Blue Ridge Mountains by Richard Olsen. Occasionally available commercially, but an important progenitor of the pink mophead cultivars. (Dirr 2004; Wood 2010; Association Shamrock 2022)