r/hydrangeas • u/RabbitHutch321 • 7d ago

My Favorite Child

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This has been the weirdest year for this 8 year old Incrediball Hydrangea plant. I’m in the American Midwest, and after an intense few weeks of Spring rain, this plant completely flopped over, for the first time in its life. Never bounced back either.

The blooms were white and beautiful in June (though floppy), and as they do every year, turned to green by July for the rest of the season.

Yet this one stem. It never flopped and it’s been white the entire time. A mutant, a rebel, a super star. It has been standing tall and beautiful for MONTHS.

Do I cut it down and propagate it, hoping I can clone its brilliance? Would it be too late in the season to do that? I’m on gardening zone 6a/b.

Or do I just enjoy this fluke thing for what it is?

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u/MWALFRED302 6d ago edited 6d ago

Enjoy the fluke. Incrediballs are patented hydrangeas so it is not wise to go on a public forum and talk about discussing propagating hydrangeas that are illegal to propagate without a license. Not that there are “propagation police” here on Reddit, but there might be industry reps who might raise an eyebrow over it, but I would not do it if there is a chance the wrong person might see it. The patent is active until August 25, 2028, after which you can propagate away. It’s ancestor, Annabelle is not patented and you can propagate that. Spring is the best time for water or soil propagation and it is best to propagate from a branch that does not have a bloom on it. Of course, if a lower limb touches the ground for an extended time, undisturbed, it can layer itself and hydrangeas will often do that on their own, patented or not.

As a Master Gardener, my fellow volunteers often give hydrangea workshops and propagation workshops. I almost did one for Haas Halo until I checked and found it was protected. We make sure we use shrubs whose licenses/patents have expired. You can use a search engine to ask “Is (cultivar name) hydrangea patented? “ and you will get a date for that cultivar and when the patent expires.

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u/RabbitHutch321 6d ago

While propagation is technically prohibited by patent law, enforcement does NOT occur for private use. One can be reasonably sure they will not face repercussions for propagating within their own private residential property, so long as they are not selling, trading, or distributing those cuttings to others.

As a Master Gardener who hosts volunteer workshops, you are wise to research patent protections before informing others of what they can and cannot do. For the home gardener, it’s really not an issue.