These White Hydrangeas Are Your BEST Bet to Buy

By Jill Brooke

Experts say that this has been the best year for big fluffy exuberant hydrangeas in over 20 years.

The reasons are many. A mild winter without freezing temperatures in many zones allowed buds to survive longer and flourish.   A wet April and May. And of course, science where experienced breeders have created resilient and strong plants for a flower loving public.

So what are the absolute best hydrangeas to buy?

Here is our list and why.

1). Limelight is a surefire winner.  The trees and bushes are extraordinarily reliable and burst with many blooms shaped like footballs. There is now Little Lime which doesn’t get as unwieldy as it grows. Definitely consider buying a tree. Mine just have gotten bigger and bigger each year. “You really can’t go wrong with it,” notes Natalie Carmolli, Proven Winners spokeswoman from Spring Meadow Nursery. And she’s right. Every nursery is a fan too.

2) Proven Winners also had a hit with Annabel which delivers big fluffy flowers the size of a basketball. But when wind or rain arrived, the flowers could flop and droop.  So now the industrious company has put Incrediball is in the their mix. An improved version of the classic Annabel, it has strong sturdy stems that do not flop and stand erect and tall. Hooray. Then when they mature, the snowy white flowers fade to a lovely light green which will remain till frost. Furthermore, it’s hardy from zone 3 to 9 and prefer sun with a little shade.

3) Following the lead of Proven Winners’ Incrediball,which ushered in a market and fan base for smooth hydrangeas and robust flowering, Bailey Nurseries has introduced a real winner with the new FlowerFull Smooth Hydrangea.

Debbie Lonnee, product development manager of Bailey Nurseries, came up with the strategies for the Hydrangea arborescens breeding program. “Not only do “FlowerFull™ flowers stand upright, but there are more than double the blooms on each plant than the industry standard,” says Ryan McEnaney, Marketing & Communications Manager and brand spokesperson for First Editions® Shrubs & Trees at Bailey Nurseries.. “So, more flowers and stems that don’t droop are important improvements to make sure that home gardeners get the most out of their hydrangeas!”

Another bonus is that these white hydrangeas also dry well and are perfect for weddings and home arrangements. Their size has heft and they last a long time.

Here also is an article how to grow, prune and keep your hydrangeas.

So go out and buy some for your garden and happy you will be.

Jill Brooke is a former CNN correspondent, Post columnist and editor-in-chief of Avenue and Travel Savvy magazine. She is an author and the editorial director of FPD and a contributor to Florists Review magazine. She also won the 2023 AIFD (American Institute of Floral Designers.) Merit Award for showing how flowers impact history, news and culture