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Hydrangea arborescens Invincibelle® Spirit PP#20,765
The Most Important Breeding Breakthrough of the Decade!
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Hydrangea arborescens Invincibelle® Spirit PP#20,765

Item # 44915
$32.95 ea
Buy 3+ at $28.95 ea
Buy 6+ at $26.95 ea
Item is sold out.

Hardy through zone 3 in the north!

A portion of every sale of this remarkable new shrub is donated to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
What Does This
Symbol Mean?
Plant Patent 20,765. CBRAF. Cultivar name: 'NCHA1.'

The most important breakthrough in Hydrangea for a decade, this pink-flowered H. arborescens cultivar blooms constantly from summer through fall, remains hardy even in the far north, and covers itself in more than 100 big blooms every season. An extraordinary improvement over older varieties of this native species, Invincibelle® Spirit lives up to its name with unstoppable bloom strength.

Six to 8 inches wide, these mophead blooms open a dark, rosy pink and slowly mature to bright pink. An arresting sight in the sunny to partly shaded garden, they are also a superb cutflower, fresh or dried. The flowers begin in midsummer in most climates, continuing vigorously through autumn and ceasing only with first frost. Invincibelle® Spirit is hardy through zone 3 in the north, an absolutely unprecedented cold-hardy cultivar!

The blooms are not the only source of color from this remarkable shrub. The large, toothed green foliage turns buttery yellow in autumn, remaining on the plant for many weeks before dropping for winter. Fall is truly the standout season for Invincibelle® Spirit, with blooms and fall foliage changes present on the shrub at the same time.

Expect Invincibelle® Spirit to reach just 3 to 4 feet high and wide, with a very dense, well-branched habit that covers itself in blooms. It fares best in soil on the acidic side, and needs protection from strong afternoon sun in the moderate and southern/southwestern portions of its hardiness range. A lovely choice for containers, it is robust and quick-growing, with all the vigor expected of a native plant.

Growing Invincibelle® Spirit is also a very visible way of supporting the search for a cure for breast cancer. For every plant sold, $1 is donated to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, in support of other invincible spirits. We are honored to offer this remarkable new cultivar to Wayside gardeners this season, and we know that it will perform brilliantly in gardens across the country. Please reserve yours early; quantities are limited. Zones 3-9.

Genus Hydrangea
Species arborescens
Variety 'NCHA1'
PPAF PP20,765, CBRAF
Bloom Season Mid Summer - Late Fall
Habit Compact
Zone 3 - 9
Plant Height 3 ft - 4 ft
Plant Width 3 ft - 4 ft
Bloom Size 6 in - 8 in
Additional Characteristics Bloom First Year, Butterfly Lovers, Easy Care Plants, Fall Color, Fast Growing, Free Bloomer, Long Bloomers
Bloom Color Light Rose, Pink
Foliage Color Medium Green, Yellow
Light Requirements Full Sun, Part Shade
Moisture Requirements Moist,  well-drained
Resistance Cold Hardy, Disease Resistant, Humidity Tolerant, Pest Resistant
Soil Tolerance Clay, Normal,  loamy
Uses Border, Containers, Cut Flowers, Fall Color, Hedge, Specimen
Restrictions CAN, HI, PR
Hydrangea Incrediball Following just a few simple growing tips for hydrangea will produce healthy plants with fluffy colorful blooms year after year.

Planting Your Hydrangea

Planting your hydrangeas in early spring or in the fall is ideal. When you are planting a hydrangea, remember that the blooms and stems must be protected from strong winds and the hot afternoon sun. Avoid planting in open areas where strong winds could break stems. Planting on the eastern side of a building ensures that, in the afternoon, when the sun is at its hottest, your plants are in the shade.
Make sure your plant has good drainage. If the soil is too wet, the roots might rot, and the plant will die. Incorporate a lot of organic matter and an all-purpose slow-release fertilizer into the soil to give your hydrangea a strong start.

General Hydrangea Care

  • If you plant them in the summer, they need a lot more water in the beginning to establish the root system.
  • Most varieties thrive in full sun to part shade, as long as they are planted in moist, rich soil.
  • Water deeply once a week, and maybe more, if the weather is particularly hot or dry.
  • Hydrangea fertilization needs vary greatly, depending on your intended bloom color. Certain elements of the fertilizer affect the soil pH, which is a major determinant of bloom color in the pink/blue hydrangea varieties.
  • Butterflies like a lot of sunlight, so locate your garden in a sunny area.

  • If you live in a windy location, plant your butterfly-attracting plants near a building, fence, or hedge to protect them.

  • Plant a variety of nectar-rich plants, as well as shrubs and evergreens for shelter.

  • Since many butterflies and native flowering plants have co-evolved, try to put in some that are native to your area. The Lady Bird Johnson Wildlife Center provides lists of plants native to states and regions.

  • Certain colors are particularly attracting to butterflies – red, yellow, pink, purple, or orange blooms that are clustered or flat-topped, with a short flower tubes are especially attractive to adult butterflies.

  • Avoid using pesticides, especially around nectar-producing plants.

  • Provide a shallow source of water – try a birdbath with pebbles lining the bowl.

  • Place a rock in a sunny spot for butterfly basking and resting.

  • Create a "puddling area" by digging a shallow hole filled with compost or manure where rainwater will collect and release essential salts and minerals.

  • If you want butterflies to breed in your garden, put in some caterpillar food plants, such as parsley, milkweeds, asters, thistles, violets, clover, grasses, and Queen Anne’s Lace.

  • Since butterflies need nectar throughout the entire adult phase of their lives, try to create a design that will allow for a continuous bloom – when one stops blooming, another starts.
Hydrangeas can live for many years without ever needing to be pruned, but if your shrubs grow out of bounds or lose flowering vigor, then there are some essential pruning guidelines you must follow to ensure bountiful blooms the next year!

Hydrangea macrophylla and H. quercifolia These generally bloom on old wood and require little pruning. Prune spent blooms immediately after flowering (midsummer), or remove only dead, damaged or unsightly wood.
Hydrangea Endless Summer® Hydrangea macrophylla (Bigleaf, Mophead, or Lacecap Hydrangeas)
These Hydrangeas begin blooming in early to midsummer and can continue until summer's end, so they set their bloom buds during late summer or early fall. When pruning mopheads, you have two options, and will probably end up doing a combination of both:
  1. Cut back the flowering shoots to the next bud, thus giving the branches a trim that removes the spent blooms without damaging the buds that will bloom next year. Do this right after flowering, but before midsummer.
  2. On older shrubs that have lost flowering vigor, cut up to a third of entire stems at the base in late winter to improve flowering vigor. Ideally, you should cut the oldest stems, leaving younger mature stems that are loaded with buds for next year, but sometimes you have a lopsided or crowded Hydrangea that must be pruned to maintain a pleasing shape. The main purpose of cutting off entire stems is to do away with elderly or poorly flowering parts of the shrub, thus letting in more air and light AND encouraging the growth of healthy new branches.In mild climates that may experience warm spells in winter, be careful of the urge to get out in the garden and start pruning before late winter. If you prune too early, you could encourage dormant buds to break, leaving tender growth susceptible to frost and freeze damage.
Exception: If you have a reblooming variety such as Penny Mac that flowers on new wood as well as old wood, you'll want to prune a little every year just to keep the new wood coming.
Hydrangea quercifolia 'Pee Wee' Hydrangea quercifolia (Oakleaf Hydrangea)
You can get away without pruning Oakleaf Hydrageas at all, but if you want to keep them well-shaped, cut dead stems back at the base in late winter or early spring.
Hydrangea arborescens and H. paniculata
These shrubs bloom on new wood and actually produce larger blooms if cut back to the ground in late winter.
Hydrangea arborescens (Smooth Hydrangea)
This is one of the easiest Hydrangeas to prune. Because it blooms only on new wood, you can just cut it back to the ground in late winter, before any new buds appear. If you experience some flopping of flowering branches, then leave a framework of old growth to help support the branches by only cutting stems back to 2 feet from the ground.
Hydrangea paniculata Pinky Winky™ Hydrangea paniculata (Pee Gee or Panicle Hydrangeas)
Prune this Hydrangea in late winter to keep the plants from becoming overgrown and encourage more new growth, more flower buds, and larger blooms. You can remove dead flowers, as soon as they become unattractive and clean up the overall shape of the plant.
Hydrangea petiolaris
Hydrangea petiolaris Hydrangea petiolaris (Climbing Hydrangea)
Climbing Hydrangea requires little to no pruning, but if you need to trim it to keep it in bounds, you should prune it just after flowering. Cut back last year's flower shoots to 1 to 2 inches and pruning out shoots that fail to cling or have pulled away from their support.
Remember, Hydrangeas are shade tolerant, but they do require adequate sunlight and irrigation to bloom properly. In northern climates and coastal areas, Hydrangeas will grow beautifully in full sun, but in warmer southern areas, a location in part shade where the shrub receives full to partial morning sun with protection from harsh afternoon sun is ideal. Placed in the right location, given ample moisture, and pruned using the guidelines above, your Hydrangeas will be an abundant source of gorgeous blooms long into the future.