Plant of the Week: Invincibelle Mini Mauvette™ hydrangea

 

Purple rocks!

For a long time, Hydrangea arborescens came in any color you wanted, as long as it was white. Northern gardeners coveted the vibrant colors of Zone 5 H. macrophylla. And then they had pink! 

But once we had achieved one color we wanted another. So we are very happy to introduce Invincibelle Mini Mauvette™, a petite selection that pushes into new color territory. Its abundant flowers are a rich mauve-purple. The purple tones are most apparent in the buds, but the flowers have a more violet hue than pink varieties like Invincibelle® Spirit II.

 

After so much cheerful pink and wholesome white, I kind of like the moody hues of this new variety. Who says the Heartland can't have a little drama? Rest assured that while Mini Mauvette may have unusual color it has the same easy growth and reliable flowers as the other Invincibelle® hydrangeas.

Invincibelle® Mini Mauvette™ hydrangea grows 2.5-3' tall and wide and is hardy to USDA Zone 3. It likes full sun, where it will have the best flowering and richest flower color. It will grow in partial shade, especially in milder locations, but we really recommend full sun for northern climates.

The pink-mauve-purple flowers age to a very attractive green and pink, too, as shown above. 

The case for purple:

You have blue, but want pink. Or have pink, and want blue. I can't help you with politics, but hydrangeas I can do. Here's a quick reminder of how to change hydrangea flower color.

But what about purple? We were all reminded of what a great color it was when the world mourned Prince several months ago. I wrote a bit about Let's Dance® Rave™ hydrangea at that time. Now I'm telling you about a more cold hardy hydrangea that is also an intriguing shade of purple or mauve.

This is a fun plant for those of us in the margins of H. macrophylla territory. H. arborescens is a tough customer that can take a lot of abuse. Even those of you in milder climates will appreciate its adaptability to full sun. Your fancy bigleaf hydrangeas won't be happy in it, but our native smooth hydrangea does great in full sun. In fact, it will often have better flower color and production in full sun.