I have never posted in this forum but I have a few hydrangeas, and happen to grow both Icrediball and Invicibelle.My Incrediball was planted last spring, and I managed to get decent size plant to start. They mostly sell twigs in the nurseries around here. Nevertheless, it was nothing last year. This year it grows fast, already close to4x3. Has a lot of blooms, decent size, anf they are not flopping at all. I still think that it needs to mature a bit. But I have no regrets that I purchased it.
Invicibelle is new this spring. Right now it is flat on the ground. I think I will cage it. Flowers are smallish. Pink color on mine is close to what is on the picture. It is not loud pink, like a lot of mopheads, but soothing muted color. I like it, so a lot of you may like it too. Once again my advice is to give them around three years, and then we can call them a hype.Actually this a rule of thumb in my garden anyway. Maria

I think they are a marketing gimmick that was executed very well. It's all hype and photo manipulation. Those Invincibelle plants are so ugly. The blooms are more brown than pink to me.

I have three incredibelles...I posted on another thread that I was less that impressed with the "pink" color...they have had some more time in the garden...and the two that get almost all day sun look better than the one in just a few hours afternoon sun...the blooms are 2X as big and the color much better.....but still all three flop to the ground. So I am hoping that in time that will improve...not worth the money.....but might still be a good garden plant after a few years...

I am in zone 5.....and sad to hear that someone in zone 7 had the die over the winter.....so if they can't make it in zone 5....it all over for me..Judy

No desire to even purchase - I did not care for the color in the photos.

Planted a 2-gal Invincibelle in bloom late summer 2009 and posted pix last fall in another thread. It's in quite a bit of shade. Found the color to be pretty true to online photos--I like it...beauty in the eye of the beholder. Rabbits cut it back by at least half over the winter. The old canes are putting out blooms on new growth, and 2 new shoots from the rootstock are now several feet tall with new blooms, too. No signs of floppiness, and I don't expect any either, with the realtively small flower heads with small sepals it produces. I have a 25-yr-old smooth hydrangea cultivar that produces creamy white flower heads about the same size as those on Invincibelle, and that smooth hydrangea never flops. One thing I'm really going to like about Invincibelle is that it appears to flower well in much shadier conditions than macrophyllas and serratas do. That's a characteristic of smooth hydrangeas. I've moved bits of my old smooth hydrangea all around the yard, into sunnier conditions and into fairly heavy shade, and it will bloom in all of them. So, it will be nice to have a reliable bloomer in shade in a color other than creamy white, and in a color that I like.

Glad that I read these comments before ordering more
Incredibals right now. My Annabelles are out of this world
and I plan to order more. The Invincibelles from Wayside
died immediately and I asked them to replace them with the
Incredibals. I'm waiting to see what will happen in the
next season. The two-year Annabelles that I ordered from
Hydrangeas Plus were healthy, grows nicely, and are blooming
in their second year. I love hydrangeas!!

Invincibelle's dusty pink color is not that easy to incorporate in a shade\part-shade bed and it need to be offset by something gray or variegated as a background.
However in a considerable sun it looks (at least at the very beginning) brighter and could sustain to be viewed along, without companions. Unfortunately, this 'pink stage' don't last long in a sunnier exposure.
I let them grow this year where they are, but thinking of mixing them with Annabelles next year.

I bought both of these this year. The Invincibelle Spirit is quite ugly. The bush is very droopy and the blooms are much smaller and a diffferent color than advertised. I am not happy with it. The Incrediball is ok, but just starting to bloom so the verdict is still out.

I planted one in a customers bed year before last. Last year, I was, quite surprised to find that it had not only made it, but displayed several raspberry colored blooms. This bed has so much water that rolls thru it that the topsoil needs replenishing often. Also, it gets very little sun. I'm excited and can't wait see it this year.

Hydrangeasinohio, sometimes the nursery plants that are greenhouse grown tend to be 'leggy'. After pruning and your outdoor conditions they may improve some.

Judging by the comments, you may have made a good choice, however.

Since the time of the original post....

Verdict #1 - Invincibelle (iteration #1) and Bella Anna are both considered by plant gurus and researchers to be leggy and unsupportive of smaller blooms than Annabelles. These can become better with age, with proper siting and a little support.

Verdict #2 - Incrediball continues to be hit-or-miss for people, and is extremely picky about nutrition/sun/siting. You won't know until you try. Mine developed a disease while new last year where its leaves were gone by August and only 1/3 of the stems awoke after winter.

I will reiterate that there have been improvements since 2010. Bella Anna is no more as well as Invincibelle #1.

Also, nothing against anyone, but in replying to topics 5+ years old, you are potentially dabbling in irrelevant/resolved information.

No hydrangea arborescens is perfect. But improvements are being made, both naturally (e.g. Haas' Halo) and unnaturally (Invincibelle II), etc. Also, it is still difficult to find nice looking smooth hydrangea at nurseries. Most around where I live don't carry any at all (except for some traditional Annabelle), even though they are hardier than most.

I bought an invinciibelle spirit last year at home depot I planted it in the sun. Did well last year and had quite a few blooms. This year it is amazing it must have 40 blooms on the small plant and they are all beautiful shades of bright pink. I am amazed at how prolific it is this year considering it was only planted last year and as some of my others wilt in the heat and sun this one does not. I am extremely pleased with invincibelle spirit I wish I had another one but now I am unable to find any.

They've since moved on to Invincibelle Spirit II (labeled "Two" on some tags). Alternatively, a darker Invincibelle Ruby is making its way out, as well as the pink Incrediball Blush.

I just saw Invincibelle Ruby at Home Depot. Is it really "ruby" and only grows 2-3 feet tall as advertised? Does anyone want to chime in? Does anyone have a photo for me to see? Please post if you have one.

I'm thinking of buying one to plant in front of my Little Lime for contrast.

thank you in advance!

I do not have them but I was going to point out that, because it is sooo new, there is no way to tell if it will stay at 2-3' of height. Usually those numbers are estimates anyways.

Someone posted a picture of three that looked great (white, pink, white). Wish I could remember who or what the post was all about...

Invincibelle Ruby is supposed to be reblooming without deadheading. Also, I wonder if it will be able to take full sun in my zone. Based on my experience with Incrediball, smooth hydrangeas do not rebloom and burn in full sun.

Luis, you may be right. Let's hope that someone in this forum has one and would like to share their knowledge.

According to Proven Winners, it grows 3ft to 4ft.

Ah! Thank you, hyed! ;0))

Hi starlight, all my incrediballs, Annabelles and Inv 1,2 are in are in full Sun for 8hrs...planted a new Anne this May all the leaves are brown at the tips ... just keep watering at the base till the roots gets stronger, next yr should be fine

I love the "pink" and white contrast of the smooth hydrangeas! Perhaps I can get one and plant it in between my Limelight standard and Incrediball! Thank you for sharing the photos!

I have 5 Incrediballs and they have done really well. They do flop, however, but the size of the blooms are amazing. They are HUGE! The shrubs get full sun and also get water drop off from the hanging baskets above.

I forgot to mention that I purchased an Invincibelle Ruby and the flowers are beautiful. Mine is still in a pot though, so it may change once it's planted. Are they ruby? Not really. I have a pic somewhere. If I'm able to, I will post it.

I found my pics of Invincibelle Ruby and I was wrong on the color. It is a Ruby color. As you can see in the second pic where I'm holding the container, the flowers are huge:

God, those blooms ARE big! Reminds me of cotton candy at the fair! I can easily see why hyed's shrubs flop.

I told you so! LOL. Ruby's flowers are as big as my head! LOL.

Thank you Bella for the photos! I love love the Ruby colour. The plants I see here are all in very bad shape with brown flowers so I was not sure about the actual Ruby colour. My worry now is the size...I would like it to remain 2-3 ft tall since I'm planting it in between my Limelight standard, Incrediball and Bobo. I don't want it to compete with the Incrediballs.

WOW, that's a big plant also a great price ...considering what mail order cost...Enjoy

You're welcome for the pics, Starlight. It's a beautiful hydrangea. I was shocked at the size of the blooms too. I'm hoping to plant her out over the Labor Day weekend. I also hope that she stays to 2-3 feet tall. I was wondering if there's a way that I can divide her. She would look amazing sprinkled in other places in my yard. You have to get one! :-)

I just bought my first Ruby...it is only in a 2 gal size though. Hope to see flowers soon. I also saw a Limetta with the same size as well. Does anyone have a Limetta? There are so many new hydrangeas and I have no space for another plant. :(

OK here is one of my Incrediballs ...picture taken just now... truly Incrediball at 6’x8’x8’ with over TWO hundred blooms ready to pop

This is my invincibelle ruby... I just planted it in the spring and it had no buds yet. These flowers have now faded some but it's putting out new buds.

okay I have had invincibelle spirt now for 3 years the last two years have been amazing. This year the bush is covered with blooms but instead of opening fully into a big beautiful flower most of the little petals in the would be blooms get long and spiky and then do nothing. Anyone have any ideas what is happening. We had an exceptionally late freeze and then went right into very high heat could this be the problem?

Cats, can you add a photo please, either as an edit to the post or in the follow up comments, whichever is easier.

NH Babs this is the best I can do for a photo and it kind of looks like it's in the process of blooming but this is all that it does. I hope you have an idea. Oh and there are a couple of blooms on the plant that are fine but most are like this thanks for your help I should add that I have another invincibell about 3 feet from this one and it is fine.

It looks like the leaves on that stem are also in tough shape, curled and malformed like the florets. Is that true of all the stems with flowers? Or all of the flowering stems that also have weird flowers? How do the leaves on the stems with normal flowers look? Can you see any damage to the lower stem or any evidence of insects such as holes in the stem or tiny insects on the leaves?

Cats the curl leaves is Leaftier Moth you have peel open the pod and squish the mothhttp://www.heidihorticulture.com/2012/06/annabelle-hydrangea-leaftier-moth.html

Thanks for the help I am going to investigate this problem tomorrow and I will probably have to prune the plant to get rid of the bug and then get some pest control for it

It doesn’t entirely look like my leaftier damage which in my garden always weaves together a bunch of leaves and fastens them together with webbing. Perhaps it’s just the photo, but these just look somewhat curled.

”get some kind of pest control for it”

If it is leaftier moth, trimming off problem leaves and dropping into a bucket of soapy water or hand squishing are the only reasonable options that work at this point. Sprays can’t get into the sealed leaf homes that the caterpillars make, and a systemic will kill the pollinators that come to the plant for the rest of the growing season, so not sensible choice when simply clipping off damaged leaves will take care of the caterpillars.

NHBabs I checked it this morning and it is not like the leaftier moth and you are right they are just slightly curled and I examined the leaves and there is no worm, caterpillar or anything on them no spots no pests of any kind that I can see I am stymied. Thank you for your help any other ideas will be appreciated. Also the other leaves are fine and not all the blooms have the curly leaves. The leaves are nice dark green even the curled one and new leaves are coming all the time so the plant seems otherwise very healthy. Weird right. If you would like to email me direct just add @aol.com

hyed, how old is your Incrediball? Also, how much sun does it get?

thaks for all the comments the situation has been resolved. Apparently it was a weather issue. We had a late frost and then immediately went into extreme heat. I cut off all the blooms and all the affected leaves. It took about 6 weeks for it all to come back with new leaves and blooms and not it's doing fine. That's all I did no pest control or fertilizer just a good trim. Attached is the picture of how it looks now although the picture is quite faded.

I have an Incrediball. Planted new this year in the spring. It looked awesome and had MASSIVE blooms....... Then in the beginning of July we had our first summer downpour and ever since then the blooms and stems are completely flopped over...

Photo of my incrediball at it's peak before the first major rainstorm came through and permanently flopped the stems over for the remainder of the summer.

How frustrating, is it not? And we are not talking about Annabelle. When they introduced Incrediball, the ads mentioned stronger stems and bigger blooms so I wondered if the bigger blooms would overpower the stronger stems such that it still flopped... Sigh... One of these days, they are going to start selling outdoor umbrellas just for Annabelles/Incrediballs/etc! Ha! ;o)

Oh I forgot to mention that some of the stems snapped due to the weight of the blooms during the downpours. I ended up cutting the damaged stems just below the break and it started new shoots which is cool.

Spring 2019 I'm going to prune it just below where the stems bend. Hopefully next season it will have a more sturdy structure to grow off of.

Another option would be to encircle the plant stems with a short green wire fence early enough that the leaves haven’t yet unfolded. Alternatively, put the fencing horizontally and fastened to legs of rebar or stakes. The fence gets covered by the leaves, becoming largely invisible, and provides some extra support to the stems.

IME, pruning can help the lower stems be stiffer, but then you have the floppy new growth above the pruned stems, so I prefer to not do much pruning on cultivars of arborescens. Not everyone else has had the same experience.

Can anyone help advise me on what's going on with my incrediball plant? There are 3 perfectly healthy stems and then 2 that are obviously not doing well. This was just planted this past May and seemed to be growing well. Should I just cut those stems or leave them be? Thanks!!

Uneven watering can cause this problem. Aim towards keeping the soil as evenly moist as you can, not soggy nor wet nor . When a finger inserted to a depth of 4" early in the morning feels dry or almost dry then you can water. Each watering should get the soil moist down to 8" . When you water, start on the base/crown and water outwards, in all directions. Water only the soil early in the mornings (6-8am)... There is no need to water leaves or blooms.

Actually Incrediball is basically Annabelle. According to some articles I read, Annabelle produces huge flowers but their stems don't grow strong enough to hold the weight of the flowers so they end up flopping dragging on the ground. To solve that problem, scientist took Annabelle into a lab, worked their magic into creating stronger stems that can withstand the weight of the enormous strong flowers. So Incrediball is an improved Annabelle.

There is an improvement. The flower are sometimes bigger and the stems flop less. But just take those commercial claims with a little bit of salt. Incrediball is not immune to flopping so, if you get a strong storm, Incrediball could flop just like Annabelle. :o(