I had another bare spot alongside my back porch and I wanted to plant a shrub of some kind. In the spirit of continuing my living memorial to Trixie, I dug out the spot to plant a Incrediball Blush Smooth Hydrangea.
I didn’t want a really large plant here that grew to a height that obscured my view from my porch. The Incrediball Blush Smooth Hydrangea needs full sun and at maturity should reach 4 to 5 foot tall and wide. Seemed the perfect fit for the area I was planting.
What I planted was a sorry looking Incrediball Blush Smooth Hydrangea that I ordered off Amazon. I’m counting on it looking better in the spring. Its stout stems should support the massive blooms without hanging down like the classic ‘Annabelle’ hydrangea. I’m looking forward to see how this performs next spring.
This plant loses its leaves in the winter leaving an unsightly bunch of sticks. But, that’s normal. Once it’s in full bloom it should produce massive silvery-pink blooms that rebloom through frost.
Oh, the anticipation.
By mid-May she began to really show signs of life. Leaves were forming on the new shoots. I questioned whether to prune out the old sticks but was encouraged to leave them, as they may yet sprout.
All was looking fine… until…
I can’t say for sure, but I suspect my rabbit population decided on a night out for dinner. In all fairness it could have been the nasty weather; wind or hail that damaged the plant. Nonetheless, there were no leaves left and the future of this plant in question.
