[1] Since he was the seventh of twelve children and was not the eldest son, he was not expected to inherit the family's plant nursery.
He nevertheless became interested in plants, training at Geisenheim Grape Breeding Institute and completing an apprenticeship at the Botanical Garden of Breslau.
Arends moved to the United Kingdom in 1885, where he was exposed to a relaxed garden style that differed from the German trend in putting more emphasis on perennials than on shrubs.
After a year of working in a nursery in Tottenham, Arends went to the Imperial Free City of Trieste, where he was trained by Giulio Perotti.
Phlox × arendsii originated in 1912, when Arends crossed the impressively blooming P. paniculata with the compact P. divaricata.