How much space do you have in your bed? What's the sun exposure, and what direction does the bed face?

Home Depot here (Michigan) has Incrediballs, which are like an improved Annabelle.

Thanks for the question - sorry to not include that important info! It's a north facing exposure but protected by the house on the south and the woods that start a few feet from the bed to the north. Little direct sun - maybe a couple of morning hours in the summer but relatively bright. The bed is about seven feet deep and I think the space I have for them is maybe twelve feet wide - maybe a bit more. Thanks again!!

Annabelles are considered generic. If you can find one anywhere, it would likely be locally or regionally grown and in a plain black pot. A standard #3 would run the typical $25, normally.

However, it's kind of sad nowadays how "name brand" plants overrun big box stores, etc.

I have noticed the same too so I figure their thinkinf goes like this....

Prices for "generics" are lower so profits for them will be lower. So, the big box stores add a lot patented shrubs with higher prices to produce higher profits. And either they sell no "generics" or very few.

Hee hee hee! Oh well. Sad if that turns out to be true.

A local nursery is your best bet-failing that the Big Boxes may have Incrediball

Home Depots here have Annabelle and Incrediball as do some other places locally. I'd personally pay the few extra $ for an Incrediball, especially since you're planting in a fair amount of shade, where Annabelle can get taller and more floppy than when she's planted in a sunnier location.

I have both, and have replaced many of my Annabelles with Incrediballs.

It sounds like quite a bit of shade for a paniculata (like Little Lime), and if you go with a macrophylla, you'll need to protect it in winter if you want to ensure bloom. So I agree that Annabelle, or Incrediball, would be a lot more reliable.

Interesting, as of last weekend, my HDs do not have Annabelle or their cousins. But I have seen them in local/small nurseries. Maye the shipment is still on its way.

Landscape contractors have wholesale sources of plants, much more varied than retail outlets. Make friends of a local contractor and see if he will be willing to order what you want. Offer to pay retail, in advance. Al

I was in Lowe's this a.m. and they had Annabelle. Luis_pr, maybe the big boxes here carry more arborescens because hardiness is a bigger issue.

That would be correct. 99% of big box generics around here consist of Nikko, David Ramsey, Penny Mac, Grayswood and Preziosa. Then 1% everything else.... Arborescens of any kind are really scarce, which makes no sense in my zone...