FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Loxley, Alabama – September 2026)
Plant Development Services Inc. is welcoming its two newest brands, Groundbreaker® Hydrangea and Living Creations® Hydrangea, to its acclaimed portfolio, bringing breakthrough growth habits and superior performance to the hydrangea category with a combined seventeen distinctive new varieties.
The Groundbreaker® collection of Hydrangea paniculata brings the abundant blooms and robust growth gardeners expect from this species in a new, naturally low-growing, groundcover form. Reaching just 1’ tall by 2’ wide, this truly unique new collection offers a versatile solution for compact gardens, borders, mass plantings and other spaces where traditional hydrangeas don’t fit, at a time when space-conscious gardening has reached historic demand.
The collection will debut with two varieties in 2027 and a third joining in 2028, each suited to full sun to partial shade in USDA Zones 5-8 and demonstrating exceptionally long bloom time and easy care. All three bloom steadily from July through September, providing months of color and requiring only one early prune to maintain their distinctive form and heavy flowering:
- Groundbreaker® Greeny™ Hydrangea is exceptionally floriferous, producing an abundance of lime green blooms that cover the plant. Liner availability in 2028.
- Groundbreaker® Blush™ Hydrangea starts with clean white blooms that color-shift to a soft ballet slipper pink in late summer. Liner availability in 2027.
- Groundbreaker® Ruby™ Hydrangea packs a punch with cream-hued blooms that mature to a rich ruby red. The variety was awarded second place for the 2026 Chelsea Flower Show Plant of the Year. Liner availability in 2027.
Bolder colors atop strong stems, one hundred days in bloom, and stellar winter resilience are among the traits that have made Living Creations® Hydrangea paniculata a multi-KVBC Award-winning success in Europe. The North American debut of the Living Creations® Hydrangea collection will launch fourteen varieties ranging from the subtly shifting hues of Living Candy Love® to the crisp apple green of Living Little Apple®, positioning the brand to set a new standard for panicle hydrangeas in the United States with blooms that hold vibrance and vitality far longer than conventional paniculata.
“After seeing the excitement and fanfare these hydrangeas have generated in Europe, we are thrilled to represent Living Creations® and Groundbreaker® Hydrangeas in the U.S. market,” said Kip McConnell, Vice President of Business Development for Plant Development Services. “These collections represent a whole new way to experience hydrangeas, and we believe that each has the potential to open up entirely new opportunities for woody shrubs in the landscape.”
Liners of Groundbreaker® and Living Creations® Hydrangeas will be available for sampling and purchase beginning in January 2027, direct through Plant Development Services and designated brokers throughout North America. The collections will expand their retail distribution in 2028.
For more information about Groundbreaker® Hydrangea, Living Creations® Hydrangea and Plant Development Services’ upcoming introductions, please visit plantdevelopment.com/introduction/new.
About Plant Development Services Inc. Plant Development Services Inc. was founded in 1996 by Greg Smith of the third-generation, family-owned Flowerwood Nursery, Inc. Plant Development Services owns and/or licenses more than 300 patented plant properties and boasts these top-ranking plant brands: Encore® Azalea, the Southern Living® Plant Collection, the Sunset® Plant Collection, Better Boxwood®, and Butterfly Candy®, as well as the new Groundbreaker® Hydrangea and Living Creations® Hydrangea. To learn more about Plant Development Services Inc., visit plantdevelopment.com.