PEARLS
FOR YOUR GARDEN
Hydrangea
arborescens 'Annabelle' is a sophisticated lady in
the garden. Her background is a
bit wild, but that was in her younger days when she hung out in the woods of
North America.
Her mostly sterile florets
form a half-rounded flowerhead up to 12 inches
across. These flower gems start
pale green then turn white, then back to green and finally soft beige in the
fall. No matter how much you
adjust the pH, the flowers stay white.
There's no blue for acid soil and pink for alkaline.
She's
a very refined lady with dark green foliage. She's a little stout with a rounded figure, short, as
hydrangeas grow, seldom reaching more than four feet. She doesn't flinch from cold or heat. Her hardiness extends from USDA Zones 3-9.
She
loves the shade in the South and morning sun in her colder range. Like all hydrangeas, she does like a
good, satisfying drink now and then.
She's
deciduous and disappears in the winter.
The popular big leaf Hydrangeas (Hydrangea
macrophylla) lose their flowers if cut late. 'Annabelle' is the opposite. She needs to be cut back almost to the
ground in late winter in order for her huge flowers to set properly.
Her
flowers dry beautifully. If you
like the tan, you can just let them dry on the bush and harvest late in the
season. If you want to keep them
light, cut them when they reach their full white color and dry upside down out
of the sunlight.
Some
of the older pinks and blues can be a bit frowsy in their exuberance. Annabelle is a refined and understated
lady. She's the string of pearls
for your garden.