Hype up your spring garden with these hydrangeas | The Compleat Home Gardener
Published 1:00 pm Wednesday, March 18, 2026
The third week of March is an excellent time to add trees and shrubs to your landscape so look for any damaged or disappointing specimens in your landscape and consider replacing them with something more interesting.
The green industry has come up with many improvements when it comes to landscape material and new varieties don’t just bloom better but may also be more drought and disease resistant. March is the month when local nurseries are well stocked with new trees and shrubs and if you don’t find your perfect plant partner you can always order it from your local nursery.
Hooray for the Best New Hydrangeas!
FlowerFull Smooth Hydrangea: more flowers, less problems
From First Editions plants, the breeders that brought the “Incrediball” hydrangea to the market comes a very hardy white hydrangea with two to three times as many blooms on each plant than ever before. This variety is called a smooth hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens) because the foliage is less serrated and the genetic material comes from the cold-hardy native hydrangeas. FlowerFull hydrangea flowers on new wood so you can cut it back hard but it will naturally grow to about 4 feet. The smooth hydrangeas can also handle full sun and this new variety has exceptional mildew and leaf spot resistance. The flowers stay white no matter how acid your soil becomes so it makes a great choice for a formal front yard trimmed with clipped boxwood or a more casual design with other white flowering plants to create moon garden. I am adding this new hydrangea to my own garden and will be counting the blooms and sharing the performance on Facebook and Instagram.
Eclipse Hydrangea: Dark leaves and Red blooms? Yes indeed!
The promises seemed too good to be true but after trialing this new hydrangea I am in love. The foliage really does stay deep burgundy, almost black in color in sun or shade and keeps the dark leaf color all spring and summer. The blooms are deep pink to deep lavender depending on the soil and growth form is compact, especially for a big leaf hydrangea. (Hydrangea macrophylla) You can harvest the striking blooms all summer and it will rebloom but don’t prune this hydrangea in the fall or you won’t be getting any summer flowers. Now that is the month of March, I did cut out the few brown or dead branches that did not survive the winter on my Eclipse hydrangea but I already see signs of new growth – deep, dark purple leaves of course. I pair this gothic-colored shrub with lime green and yellow foliage plants for contrast. Japanese Forest Grass in front and a dogwood with gold leaves in the background.
Tip: This new hydrangea sold out at local nurseries last year but any nursery that sells First Edition plants can order you the Eclipse Hydrangea. Order in the spring and you will get a call for pick up as soon as they get their supply.
Centennial Ruby Hydrangea: celebrating Monrovia Nursery’s 100th Birthday
Centennial Ruby is another new hydrangea with striking, dark, ruby-toned flowers and this award-winning plant has the advantage of super strong stems so your hydrangeas won’t be flopping to the ground after it rains. If you enjoy a dramatic finish, then you’ll love how Centennial Ruby flowers will mature to a deep dark color almost black in appearance. The growth form of Centennial Ruby is more compact than most hydrangeas and it blooms best with morning sun and afternoon shade.
Sidebar: Monrovia nursery has been selling plants for over 100 years so picking Centennial Ruby as a jewel of a bloomer for their centennial celebration is a tribute to real improvement and innovation of a plant in the garden world.
Marianne Binetti has a degree in horticulture from Washington State University and is the author of “Easy Answers for Great Gardens” and several other books. For answers to gardening questions, visit plantersplace.com and click “As The Expert”. Copyright for this column owned by Marianne Binetti. For more gardening information, she can be reached at her website, www.binettigarden.com.
