I'd give Annabelle a nine while Incrediball for now is Incredi-dud.

Do you grow Incrediball? Why is it a dud?

Do you grow Incrediball? Why is it a dud?

To take full advantage of Incrediball, you'll need a lot of sun and moist cool shaded soil with lots of nutrients. I just bought one this year in a 3-gallon and the blooms that formed in 6+ hours sun were 2-3" in diameter larger than those on 5 year old Annabelles. The new wood stems go from green to woody as the blooms begin to mature which reduces flop risk.

Post author: under the conditions you mentioned, stick with Annabelle.

Thanks so much Springwood for your input. I just got back from the nursery.
I hadnt seen your post and was looking at the Incrediballs. They were so picked over and didn't look as healthy as the Annabelles, so I went with the Annabelles. I was having some buyers remorse on the way home, I'm so glad you recommended the ones that I bought. I also came home with a Vanilla Strawberry and a Limelight for a sunny spot in the backyard! Can't wait to get them planted!

I bought Incrediball about four years ago and it is puny. I finally cut it to the ground this year and the one bloom that it eked out is bigger than the past 3 years so maybe there is hope for future years. Annabelle on the other hand blooms large and plentiful with some sun but will flop after a big storm.

Here is one of the Annabelle plants after a storm. This was the 3rd week in June this year.

I had my Annabelle located close to the house where the overhang protected it from getting rained on and this then reduced occurrences of the flopping problem. On the other hand, it required close monitoring of soil moisture. Incrediball, located elsewhere, produced larger blooms but while the stems where sturdier (to prevent flopping), they did not seem thaaat much sturdier to me. Maybe I expected too much.

Thanks for your input Luis and hcmcdole. I will be planting the Anabelles near the foundation of the house so hopefully the overhang will protect them somewhat from heavy rains and flopping.

Thanks for your input Luis and hcmcdole. I will be planting the Anabelles near the foundation of the house so hopefully the overhang will protect them somewhat from heavy rains and flopping.

What you bought are fine selections for zone 5. :)

I had trees with grapevines in them shading my Annabelles. Just a few weeks back I finally severed the vines and yesterday it rained heavily. Down they went. Nothing 2' of green metal fencing or a twine lasso can't help with. Peony stakes are another option. Since they bloom first, you can move them over to the Annabelles a month later.

Im new to gardening, but have a friend who is a garden nut and loves hydrangeas. When I was preparing to purchase hydrangeas for my front yard I had the same question. Obviously I asked her which she thought I should go with. She told me the Annabelles were a sure thing, almost always happy and bloom like mad. Her opinion of the incrediball was that it was a bit more picky about conditions, which would affect amount and size of bloom. Also that it was not that much sturdier. Was still likely to have the floops and when it does floop, it is not as flexible and can actually snap the stems. She has a very cool system for the floops. Its a stake system that uses heavy gauge fishing wire to form a frame. You cant see it and it holds everything in place beautifully. Ill try to grab a pic, or create a drawing to share. The other nice thing is you take it out every winter and redo it in spring.

She had 5 incrediballs on her property and about 10 annabelles. Looking at both, I was still drawn to the classic beauty of the annabelles. Very lucky you can find both where you are. It took me months to find annabelles local and they were $40 a plant for scraggly looking things. Here are mine 1 month after planting.

You will love that limelight. They have been a fav for a long time. Need a lot of water for the first year though. Another thing is, don't be surprised if your vanilla strawberry is only a vanilla for a few years.

Nice pic Bungalow, your Annabelles look very happy! The fishing wire with stakes is a good idea, I'll have to try that next year. They are so small this year that I'm hoping they don't need to be staked.

Those will be up to the windows in a couple of years. Keep old wood trimmed to 24" each spring.

They sure are much happier now. It was almost embarrasing when they first got planted. So much so, my sweet, old german lady neighbor came out to scold me for planting dying hydrangeas. Year two is when I'll probably do the stake system as well. Hope you enjoy your hydrangeas as much as I am. Would love to see some pics when you get them planted.

Springwood- Can't wait until they are up to the windows. Will do the 24". I've been torn between that or clearing to the ground each year. What made you choose prune vs clear on your annabelles? Just looked at your blog and your garden is beautiful. With the name springwood gardens I thought you might have a store, was going to browse and shop. Would love to see some 2014 pics of your garden.

I lean toward Incrediball. I have a lot of both, and in the same conditions find that Annabelle flops more. (I've tried every kind of caging imaginable.) In a lot of sun, I think there are fewer issues, but in my shade/part shade with fairly heavy soil, Annabelle gets tall and flops no matter how I prune or cage.

This is a picture of my Incrediballs on the east side of my house. The ones on the left are in more sun and you can see a slight difference in bloom. These were pruned to about 2' this spring, and are now about 5' (best guess).

This post was edited by ruth_mi on Thu, Jul 17, 14 at 10:30

Here's one in more sun.

I love your garden! How old are your incrediballs? Also do you know what the name of those hostas are? That is exactly the look I want in front. hydrangeas, hostas, and some sort of flowering annuals. Just beautiful!

Thanks! The Incrediballs in front were put in during 2010 or 2011 I think. The hostas are my favorite one - Liberty. It comes up quite yellow, which I enjoy in the spring, but not sure how you'd feel about that. Here's a spring picture.

I should also mention that Liberty is fairly early to come up in the spring, so if you have late frosts, you might need to cover it.

Your yard is just beautiful! Im just now getting into gardening and learning. Hostas are a favorite. Starting a collection of them and Liberty is on my wish list.

Mercy me! Your picture is breath taking June! I have Annabel but think I need some incrediball too. Gorgeous gardens June!!!

Ruth_mi your hostas are incredibly beautiful. Do they do well in the sun. My experience with hostas in my zone of 9 is that they need shade. I love the yellow. Also I must get some Annabelle hydrangeas, yours are so beautiful. I had one plant at a previous home and I cut it way back and in a couple of years it died. Do you know if there is any rule on how much to prune?

I meant Ruth not June. Ruth your gardens are stunning!!

Fantastic layout you have there with texture and color!

Just beautiful Ruth! I love the color combination, and your Liberty hostas are stunning as well.

Ruth, your beds/plants are gorgeous! I love that hosta- what is the pink flower in the front ?

Thanks. :-) The pink flower in front is petunia Vista Bubblegum. Those beds are on the east side of the house, and in shade part of the day. I planned to use impatiens there when I redid the landscaping. I tried them in 2012 and of course they had the dreaded downy mildew.

In 2013, I tried begonias, but they just weren't the right scale flower, plus the yellow centers gave them a more coral tone from a distance which I didn't care for with the Endless Summers.

I didn't think I'd be able to use petunias because of the part shade situation, but I'd read so many good things about Vista Bubblegum, I decided to give it a try. It's done wonderfully, even in my back yard in more shade. (Not growing as fast back there, but still decent looking.) I think it's a great annual, unless the rest of the summer proves me wrong.

Ruth, how far apart do you space your petunias? Your garden is amazing.

Last night I was listening to a garden podcast, and the speaker said that most people get into the habit of always cutting down their shrubs in the same place, year after year, which isn't good for the plant. He recommended pruning either a few inches higher or lower than the previous year.

Hi Tina. I space mine about 18" - 20" but they could be further apart if you also use Vista Bubblegum. Those things get monstrous! But since mine are front and center, I like them to fill in quickly, so that's what I use.

Thank you! I was planning to use Vista Bubble Gum and will go with 20".

Ruth, what an amazing front yard. I too have endless summer at the entrance of my home and just purchased 2 All summer beauty for the front and an Annabelle for the side of the house under my magnolia. I was looking for companion flowers but hostas will stay with the Annabelle since I get at least 6hrs of morning sun in the front. How many hrs of sun do yours get? Love the petunias and was also thinking of the little yellow daylilies if a perennial was desired.

Thanks, manur83. I'd guess my front also gets about 6 hours of morning sun. It's an eastern exposure. The Vista Bubblegum petunias do fine in that, but they seem to be more vigorous and tolerant than other petunias.

I have a new dog (a rescue) this year, so looking at those old pictures is making me laugh. He's already pulled out a Little Lime hydrangea, and I have a feeling my poor Libertys will be mangled. There's always next year!

Thanks! I too get eastern exposure so I'm feeling good about adding Hostas. I purchased two Patriot hostas that my nursery said were meant for part sun so it would be better for a sunnier location, fingers crossed. I'm a dog lover so I'm smiling about your post although I'm not sure it's appropriate;-) I had a Hreat Dane that tore my beds and lawn and cost a pretty penny to fix, but she was the cutest and got rid of bunnies. I hope your baby behaves this summer!!

@ruth_mi How many hydrangeas do you have on each side of your walkway? I absolutely love this!!

Thanks! Do you mean the Endless Summers (pink)? If so, I had four on one side and three on the other. "Had" is because I lost one in 2018 (dog's tie-out kept pulling it out), so now it's four and two. I used to cage them then pack the cages with shredded leaves but haven't done it the last two winters. The ES have survived, but won't look anything like that picture this year.

@ruth_mi beautiful! And how many incrediball hydrangeas are there?

incrediball about 10 yrs

Annabelle starting 3rd yr

Meaghan - I'm not positive since they're all grown together now, but I think I started with three. I may have added two between them at some point though.