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Hydrangea arborescens 'NCHA7' BELLA RAGAZZA® MAUVETTE sevenbark, smooth hydrangea
Hydrangea
Smooth hydrangea, also called sevenbark, is a very hardy plant native to the eastern United States, and its breeding has been pursued by Thomas Ranney from North Carolina State University since 2006. It all started in the Blue Ridge Mountains, where Thomas’s student and doctoral candidate Rich Olsen discovered a rare Hydrangea arborescens with pink flowers, named it Wesser Falls, and brought it to his teacher to show. Together, they crossed it with the common Annabelle, and after about five years, many attempts, and more than 1,500 tested plants, in 2006 they managed to select a colour-stable and attractive plant, which was named Invincibelle Spirit in the USA and Pink Annabelle in Europe. It was introduced to the market in 2010 and became not only a gardening hit but also a symbol of hope, as one dollar from each plant sold was donated to breast cancer research. By 2015, when they introduced the improved Invincibelle Spirit II, over a million dollars had been raised.
Several other varieties followed, but Ranney wasn’t satisfied, because although the flowers were beautifully coloured, the thinner stems couldn’t support them after rain. He kept breeding and found inspiration in the success of another breeder, Timothy D. Wood, who in 2009 introduced the Strong Annabelle variety — white with very sturdy stems. Eventually Ranney achieved the same, and even with more colours. The first success was Limetta, which in 2018 won the KVBC gold medal at the Plantarium trade fair. He created a new series for them called BellaRagazza® and as of today (2025), it also includes the white-flowering Blanchetta and the deep pink Mauvette.
The Mauvette hydrangea was introduced shortly after Limetta’s success in 2018 as another member of the BellaRagazza® series of strong and vividly colored smooth hydrangeas. Its name is inspired by the rich pinkish-purple shade of the flowers, which varies depending on light and blooming stage. The inflorescences are semi-spherical (almost mop-head) and strikingly large, typically measuring 14–16 cm in diameter. This variety stands out not only aesthetically but also technically: it has very sturdy stems, 70-90 cm tall, which hold the flowers even after heavy rain and additionally blooms for a long time, from early summer through autumn. If pruned hard immediately after flowering, it will flower again in late summer. The deciduous leaves are ovate, medium to dark green (depending on soil quality), rather matte. Smooth hydrangea is a fast grower.
Thanks to its beauty as well as its low maintenance and versatile use, it quickly wins the hearts of growers and gardeners worldwide. You can plant it almost anywhere except for deep shade. It will look great as a small specimen shrub or nicely incorporated among taller shrubs or conifers, enriching them with flower colour and long blooming time. It also looks great in perennial beds with taller species such as blue or white delphinium, yellow ligularia, warmly coloured helenium, purple joe-pye weed, or swamp hibiscus. As it prefers moist conditions, you can plant smaller to medium-tall perennials with similar needs in the foreground, such as lobelia, bellflowers (campanula), daisies (leucanthemum), and definitely variously colored daylilies (hemerocallis), which offer a relaxed structure thanks to their arching foliage.
You can grow it in almost any well-drained and moist soil, preferably fertile, although fertilizing is not necessary. In hot months and dry soil, it will appreciate extra watering. It tolerates any cardinal direction and soil pH. Annual spring pruning — about two-thirds the length of last season’s branches — ensures compact, strong plants with large flowers for the upcoming season. It is fully hardy to at least -40 °C (USDA zone 3) and also grows well in containers, where regular watering is required.
Last update 24-07-2025
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- STANDARD QUALITY - Plants of this group are 1st class quality with number of branches and overall density adequate to their size and age, considering they were container grown.
- DE LUXE QUALITY - This label guarantees a luxurious quality of manually selected plants that, compared to their height and age, are exceptionally dense and beautiful.
- EXTRA - These plants are usually mature and bigger specimens with exceptional overall appearance.
- STANDARD (as described in the plant form) means a tree with a trunk of 190-210 cm and a crown at the top, unless specified differently. The commercial size for trees is their girth measured in the height of 1m from ground.
- HOBBY - These plants are of the same quality as our standard-quality plants but younger and therefore cheaper.
- SHRUB - a woody plant with branches growing bushy from the ground level.
- HALF-STANDARD or MINI-STANDARD - a small tree with shorter trunk, its size is usually specified.
- FEATHERED - These are trees with branches growing already from the base of the trunk and up along the stem.
- GRASSES and PERENNIALS - Sizes given usually read the diameter of the pot or the clump, as specified.
