Invincibelle^® Ruby Smooth hydrangea Hydrangea arborescens

Purchased this 3 gallon Ruby as end of season sale. The Garden Center took amazing care of her, and for that I am thankful. She has been in the ground a month, and is doing well. The stems are not very strong, I have a tomato cage to support the heavy blooms. I have to say, I am not disappointed with her development. The dark green leaves are majestic, the bloom heads are stunning. I am hopeful if I keep the TLC up, in a few years she will stand on her own. All things considered, I am cautiously optimistic about my investment. I am appreciative I waited for the sale. If I had paid full price, I may be frustrated. NY, zone 6b.

I was very excited about a pink hydrangea which was developed from the Annabelle hydrangea. It is not comparable to the parent hydrangea in any way. It was an expensive 3gal size plant. It is a lack luster hydrangea(have had it for 3 yrs) I guess I expected too much...

We purchased 4 Invincibelle Ruby 3 gallon plants from Pike Nurseries in the Spring. We are planting zone 8a. They were planted in full morning sun. The plants bloomed quickly but appeared more mauve pink rather than the "ruby" photo online and on the tag. When the hydrangea flower buds first develop they have somewhat of the ruby look you see on the tag and the online photo but quickly develop to an overall soft mauve color. Not what we hoped for. The flowers fade to a green color and the stems can't support the weight of the blooms and are laying on the ground. Perhaps as the plant becomes more established in our garden it will be able to support the weight of the blooms. We have recently moved these plants to a less prominent area since they are not the show stopping focal point that we hoped for. We paid over $40 a plant so we are not happy with the performance this season. Perhaps they will look better as they become more established in future seasons. We plan on adding plant support grids to the plants when they die back in the winter so next season they will have a better chance of the blooms being supported and not laying on the ground. Also as the plants mature the wood should become harder and more supportive we think. As other reviewers have stated this hydrangea, and in my experience all newly planted hydrangeas will need extra watering the first year or so. Especially in the humid South.

Whoa! Only three and a half weeks after planting and the two Invicibelle Ruby we planted burst into flowers and looks very healthy! I would have settled for the nice dark green healthy foliage and did not expects it to flower so soon but wow, they look awesome!

This is an update to an earlier review - I reviewed Invincibelle Ruby Hydrangea in spring of 2016 after planting 6 of them in a relatively new garden, followed by a very hot and dry summer. I was unhappy with the performance of them even though the website said they should be planted in full sun in a zone 7b. I really coddled these plants the first year and hoped I could keep them alive. They were watered every day that summer. Last year, I continued to baby them still not sure they would survive long term. However, they survived well enough for me to buy a 7th one. Fast forward to late May 2018. They have just started blooming and they are stunning. All 7 of these beauties have settled in and are doing wonderfully. I never imagined how strong and beautiful they would be or how much I would enjoy them. As I expand the garden around the house and into the back yard, I will be adding more Invincibelle Ruby Hydrangeas. My best advice is this - plant them in the early fall and be prepared to water, water, water for the first couple of years, lots of compost, and lots of mulch while they establish. I think planting them in a southern climate in the spring is just too hard on them but the one I planted in 2017 in the fall has done exceptionally well compared to the first year of the other 6.