- Buy Invincibelle hydrangea and save lives
October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and like many other people, my life has been affected by breast cancer. About a year ago, in the space of only a few months, my mother-in-law died from breast cancer and my sister and sister-in-law were both diagnosed with it. I am happy to report that both my sister and sister-in-law are survivors.
While breast cancer affects so many people, so do an array of other life-threatening diseases. I have a primary non-profit where most of my direct monetary donations go and while I would love to be able to support many other research efforts, I simply cannot with a direct contribution. But I am always pleased to have the opportunity to buy an item I might normally purchase knowing that a portion of the proceeds will benefit research for a worthy cause.
That’s one of the reasons I am pleased to see that Proven Winners has partnered with the Breast Cancer Research Foundation to help support breast cancer research. (BCRF is dedicated to preventing breast cancer and finding a cure for breast cancer in our lifetime by funding clinical and translational research worldwide.) Proven Winners has recently introduced a new pink-flowered hydrangea called Invincibelle and $1.00 from each plant sold will be donated to the BCRF. Proven Winners is hoping to donate $1,000,000 to the Foundation.
In case you haven’t heard about it yet, Invincibelle is a pink-flowered sawtooth, or smooth, hydrangea. The most popular smooth hydrangea is probably Annabelle (Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’). That’s the hydrangea with the big, round white flowers, regardless of soil pH, that blooms earlier than most other hydrangeas. It is tolerant of quite a bit of shade and it makes a pleasing addition to a woodland garden, a place many other hydrangeas just don’t seem to blend in.
Like other smooth hydrangeas, Invincibelle is hardy in zones 3 -9 and blooms on new wood. So you don’t have to worry that untimely pruning or a late frost will mean you don’t have summer flowers on your shrub. Invincibelle can be cut back hard in the early spring to maintain its shape and size without sacrificing flowers. Invincibelle blooms all summer long.
While I don’t have Invincibelle growing in my garden yet, expect to see plants widely available in 2010, I am hoping it will be deer-resistant just like Annabelle is. I have Annabelle planted near a variegated mophead hydrangea and the deer eat the mophead but leave Annabelle alone.
So if you’re in the market for a long-blooming shrub with beautiful pink flowers, check out Invincibelle. Not only will it be a beautiful addition to your garden for years to come, you’ll be helping save lives.
Note: Photo courtesy of provenwinners.com.
