Incrediball Storm Proof™ Smooth Hydrangea (arborescens) | Proven Winners® New Variety 2026

To start, I’ve got every kind of hydrangea in my landscape except for a climbing variety (Panicle, Oakleaf, Big Leaf, and Annabelle) I’ve had these StormProof in the ground for a full year and I’ve been very pleased with how these have done. They’re in a spot that gets afternoon sun in south (southern KY/northern TN area). The first year they really seemed to be taking their time to get established. You won’t see an Insane amount of growth. Be patient. This second year I can really tell that they’ve started to take off and put on height/size. A couple suggestions I would give others for success. PRUNE AND WATER REGULARLY. Pruning these when they’re young will encourage them to rebloom and fill in more bushy rather than being super leggy. It may seem a little counterintuitive, but pruning these will actually get you more growth. The second key to success is having them on regular watering schedule— especially if they’re in a sunny location. I’ve got a sprinkler hose around mine that is connected to an automatic watering timer. I highly recommend this. The thing I’ve been most impressed with is the length of the bloom cycle on these. They started blooming in May here in southern KY and have continuously put out blooms and were mid-August now. They have a great structure and have filled in incredibly well. Bloom size as well as height/width growth isn’t the same as the standard Incrediball, but honestly in most residential landscapes that’s a pro rather than a con. The size is manageable and it doesn’t overpower everything else in a landscape bed. Find a hydrangea that doesn’t get 5-8’+, can take full sun exposure, blooms nearly all season, and that you don’t have to stress about pruning technique Again be patient with them the first year. Years 2 and onward they’ll be performers.

I’m so impressed with this Incrediball Storm Proof Proven Winners hydrangea! It arrived very well packaged and healthy. I’m in zone 9a, and it has done exceptionally well this spring. The blooms are absolutely beautiful, and the plant has been thriving. I loved it so much that I ordered two more!

Incrediball Storm Proof Panicle Hydrangea arrived in good condition. Temperatures at my home were still in the high 90s, so conditions were not good for planting. I uppotted the planted and placed it in indirect light. It is thriving. I am eager for the weather to cool down so I can plant it in the my garden.

I had been strongly considering the standard Incrediball hydrangeas that Proven Winners had offered, but had waited to pull the trigger due to their larger size being too big for the space I was looking to have them in. When Proven Winners announced a stronger stemmed, slightly more compact version of the Incrediball— I was sold.

I ordered these in the quart size. They came in and looked tiny, but don’t worry, they’ll take off the second they go into the ground. I have them spaced a touch closer than recommended due to wanting to create a formal hedge. So far they’re growing well. I’m in southern Kentucky zone (7A). They are planted in an area that gets afternoon full sun and are not wilting like my big leaf/‘macrophylla’ do (despite being planted in the shade). I was afraid these might do that as well, but they haven’t. I will say that I’ve kept them watered well and I’d imagine they would suffer without adequate watering.

The plant was healthy looking and arrived in good time.

Healthy but small for a 1 gallon pot.

Arrived with a few wilted leaves, but it immediately recovered it’s a healthy plant. New blooms are appearing!

The storm proof hydrangea’s are all doing great! I was worried about planting them in July, but all are making it!

The gallon size look great when arrived. Even in the extreme heat of July, they arrived in good condition. They already have several large flowers on each of them.

Great healthy plants that survived and thrived after replanting them.

Whether they are storm proof remains to be seen, but they are definitely not FedEx proof.

The plants arrived as expected. A few leaf tips had dried out. Plants appear healthy other than that.

I received the pkg and it was for the most part intact. 1 plant in the box had gotten loose and was a bit of a mess. However the 3 plants have been in the ground for about a month now and they all seem to be doing very well.

I ordered 8 hydrangeas. They arrived Friday. They were carefully packaged and all 8 plants looked great. We planted them Saturday morning. Saturday afternoon it rained! They look healthy and are off to a good start!

I ordered 4 of 4.5" for my front yard. They arrived within a week, healthy and 2 weeks later I noticed loots of blooms coming up. I am very happy with them. Finally my dream to have a front yard full of hydrangea will come true.

Shocked frankly, I received in good condition and then 3 days later when planted they were eaten to the ground. Wow, first time I ever heard and in this case seen hydrangeas considered a snack! 2 bought, 2 eaten, sad.

Accessibility is key to my review. Thankfully I can go directly to the source to obtain plants that my local nursery doesn't carry at this point in time. My plants can in healthy. I will say I have seen better packaging but I cant fault proven winners for how distributors handle their products.

I was excited to get my storm proof hydrangeas but when I opened the box the plants and dirt was everywhere. I had not ordered via mail before so didn’t know quite what to expect. I still planted them but there wasn’t much left after removing all the broken branches. I live proven winners and am hoping they bounce back 🙂

Regarding customer service: The response from your staff when I voiced my dissatisfaction and disappointment about the condition of the EIGHT plants in GALLON POTS-ordered was incredibly positive. I was grateful that Proven Winners tried to replace the plants with ones in better condition, however, both sets of plants arrived in the same condition: small, some broken stems, and very undersized and underdeveloped for GALLON sized plant pots. Honestly, I would not know they were hydrangeas if the tag (with a picture and instructions) was not attached. As I shared in a phone call to Proven Winners, the Proven Winners plants the same size that I have seen at local Garden Centers to me are well developed with blossoms and large leaves. I am sharing now… I’ve recently viewed Gardening Podcasters that Proven Winners partners with and the gallon sized plants that are sent to these vendors are healthy and vibrant!!! This was one of the reasons I order online from Proven Winners. By writing this I’m not seeking replacement or compensation but please understand; I think it’s false advertising when you advertise your plants for sale with pictures and no where do you explain that the plants will arrive looking the way that they do: damaged shipping boxes, small foliage, broken stems, and not looking like your online pictures; remember, I ordered plants in GALLON pots. I guess the honest comment from your associate whom I spoke with was reality (not advertised)“Well even though they arrived the way that they did; they’re pretty resilient; plant them and they should look better.” Thank you for the opportunity to give honest feedback. I am not attaching pictures because I’ve done that a few weeks ago!