Hello Shannan, They say you should only fertilize in the Spring with 10-10-10. Also I have heard from many that you have to give them 3-4 years to get established atleast. I have had my two grow alot in size but only have a few blooms in a season. I am going on my 4th year and my sister has had the same problem. She is going on her 5th year with her Endless Summer, but she is bad about fertilizing hers in the Spring. I have the other reblooming series like Let's Dance and Forever and Ever and they bloomed great every year. My Endless Summers have always looked great in the foilage and stem department.I am in Northeast Ohio and I know there is another person in Ohio on Gardenweb named Ostrich that has three Endless Summers that look Great! His seem to bloom great but he is ahead of both of us. I think he is on his 6th or 7th year with them. Hopefully he will comment on your thread and let you know what he does to make them look that good!!! Hope this helps!

Hi sh oh - FWIW ... I have 2 ESs planted in '06 ... moved them several xxx until they told me themselves, they're happy in the last site, were the soil wasn't as good, tho I amended w/ good back-fill soil & a sprinkle of slow release MG that last move. I coddled them a bit in the 1st couple of years as I wanted to save their old woods. '08 was a *eureka yr!* gave them coffee drinks & 2 doses of AS ... voila! they produced mounds of *pastel mint dishes*!!!
Last year was a different story ... we had an upside-down Spring that affected quite a bit of garden divas including Clematis ... only a few blooms & all pinks of assorted sizes ... the site got too boggy Â;( ... we're hoping for a better season for all of us after such an unusual Winter.

This Winter both went w/o wind breakers, but the igloo of snow took care of them ... 80-90% of their 2"tall canes are leafing great!

Good luck ... I hope you don't have to dig them up!!! Â;)

Here is a link that might be useful: It was a very good year!

I think my Endless Summer is in its fifth year. Up till now it died to the ground in winter and produced only one or two blooms per season. This spring, for the very first time, I see leaves emerging from the stems. I'm taking this as a sign that the plant is going to come into its own this year. We shall see....

How often do you water? Some times I think poor performance is due to lack of water? My ES is huge and vigorous with many flowers. Do the leaves have a fungal disease that starts mid season? Is the top soil getting added compost every few months?

I am very careful what I feed to macrophyllia hydrangeas. I don't really want to encourage a lot of green growth (with the exception of a small ES that I just want to get big before I worry about it flowering).

They get a layer of cow manure in early spring and about 1-2 ounces of super phosphate scratched into the soil beneath them long before they awake.

That's it. If they need extra water throughout the season, they get it. But I do not feed them anything else.

If your plants are weak and fragile looking you should not let them bloom. Pinch off the buds and force the plant to put it's energy into stem growth to produce a stronger plant. When the plant shows improvement then it's time to let it bloom. If it takes a couple years of sacrificing blooms in order to nurture a plant to maturity in the end it's worth it. Cheryl

Hi Cheryl - The first 2 years of mine were sort of growing years altho they were moved a few times until finally, to most ideal sites. ESs tend to have thinner limbs compared to cousins BB & F&E ... do you think that sacrificing a year might improve cane thickness even for those new canes?

I don't usually count 1st season as I realize that those blooms are artificially boosted by growers, do those hormone boosting eventually weaken the plant for following season, do you suppose?

Hello again I will give you an update on my two and my sisters. My one is 4 years old and my other is only 2 years old. The 4 year old one is leafing pretty well with no signs of flowers yet and had very little dieback. The 2 year old one died to the ground. This was a mild winter for us and I only had two other hydrangeas die to the ground. They were my FE Together hydrangea that I planted new last year. Tonight I went over too my sisters and her endless summer is in its 5th year and is AMAZING! It is so far past mine in the leaf department and has probably around 50 buds set on it already!!! It will defentily be it's best year ever for her. I cant wait!

P.S. She also has a Light O Day and this is the first year it didn't die to the ground. She put it in her most protected spot in her yard but has never done any extra protection. Gives me good vibes on how good this year will be for all Hydrangeas!

I have one that has been a dissapointment. This will be the 4th year, so we shall see. I do have a lot more buds on old wood this year and it is much bigger. The advertising on this plant was misleading. Why wait for years to get any type of decent blooms when you can have awesome blooms on anohter type?
Last year I planted 2 lime lights and they were amazing. :)

Another Ohioan on this board! Welcome!

Shannon, how big were they when you planted them? Also, if they were tiny to start with, then maybe it is just going to take time to establish themselves? Also, it may well be establishing its roots.

I remembered that mine were very thirsty and demanding in the first 3 years or so. I had to water them day and night during the growing season to stop them from wilting. Finally, now they are strong and carefree. I don't even fertilize them and they do just great.

Good luck!

Try moving them to a different location, they might just be unhappy where they are at.