Also,
I'm considering switching out 2 of my 5 for Blushing Brides. I'm hoping by playing with the ph of the soil I can make BB blush blue rather than pink. I wonder though, will it be an uneven hedge? Blushing bride is listed in Brighter Blooms website as being larger than Endless Summer. Any thoughts?

Wow--Beautiful! How old are they? What would you estimate the dimensions there? (Height and width)

My patio bed has a depth of about 4 ft. Is it feasible to think I can put endless summers and blushing brides there and keep them in check by pruning? To get 5 in there I would have to space them 3 ft. apart on centers. For 4 it would be a 4 ft. spacing. I'd like to go with 5 because if I alternate colors (ES, BB, ES, BB, ES) odd would look better.

Your thoughts? Thanks so much for your help!

I have to say, I learn so much more on this forum than I ever could by asking questions at my local nurseries. I get so much conflicting information. Yesterday at Petitis someone assured me that Blushing Bride would only blush pink---not blue (even if the ph of the soil was changed.) I discounted the plant altogether because of that, and after reading past posts here on the forum I know (from your experience) that that is not the case!

We have a 12x12 gazebo, which has 8 sides each 4 feet wide and rail height is 5 feet. I planted 8 ES this year hoping to get so it looks like one continuous bush around the gazebo in a couple of years. I was told they get to be 4 ft wide x 5 feet high approx.

I am hoping to get what ostrich has, how beautiful is that!!! My colors are more a purple color right now. I read somewhere that adding cow manure to the soil will help them turn more blue. It is also a good fertilzer and cheap too.

Hi All, Another thing to consider is the amount of sun they will receive, I've seen hedges of ES planted right out in the open with full sun and if watered properly, they seen to be fine, but I'm not so sure about the white ones. I read somewhere that the white ones and I assume we can call BB a white, that the flowers will burn if too hot or too much sun. Just a thought if you decide to mix them, but if you have a lot of shade, then they should be fine! Good Luck, I'm sure whatever you choose they will be lovely!! Maybe someone else can give you some hints on how much sun the whites will take before crisping.
Donna

My BB blush and turn a light blue here-only the BB in pots will blush pink....

Thank you for all of the insight. And yes, Ostrich is my new idol! :) Talk about inspiration!

I think the sun will be ok---not completely ideal (morning sun would be best) but do-able. It faces west and gets sun from 12-6. Pretty much, full sun. BUT, I had a Sister Theresa in this spot (moving it to another bed to make room for this hedge) and it did fine. The flowers didn't burn and while it did droop around 3:00, it lifted right back up by 6:00. I think the sun will be ok. I'm in zone 5 and have spent the past week driving around looking at ES'ers and making notes about their placement. Some of the most profuse bloomers are planted on the West and South sides in full sun. So we shall see!

I'm not all that adventurous so mixing the hedge color is pretty crazy for me.... Do you think the 2 types are similar enough in form/shape that they will look alright together? I'd like it to form into one massive hedge but just with varied color blooms. Do you think the blue/white/blue will look too stripy or 'perfect'? I'm hoping that they will all sort of blend... the darker blues on the ES, the lighter blues on the BB, just giving the hedge a bit more interest and depth. That is what I'm HOPING for.... If that will actually happen in reality, well that's another story ;)

One last thing... When is the BEST time to apply the aluminum sulfate? Right at planting time, or should I wait a bit so they can get established first. Has anyone used Endless Summer's product "Color me blue?" If so, do you think it is any more effective than plain old Aluminum?

Thanks again for all of your help---I promise to post pictures when it is finished and blooming!

joannemb, thanks for the kind words! You are so sweet :-)

Just to give you a better idea, this area is about 14 feet wide (from one end of the wall to the other). The depth of the bed was extended from about 5 feet deep before to now probably about 8 feet, so that I could underplant those perennials there. So I think that your 4 foot depth there may be a little tight.

I personally don't like mixing colors like that, because I think that the impact of having a solid wall of colors is much higher. Imagine if I had a mixture of colors there? It would not look half a striking, would it?

Also, your location may be a little challenging there, with the western sun. You can do it, but you need to have plenty of supplementary water, especially in the first few years until the shrubs are established. Mine is an eastern facing wall so it is great there.

I hope this helps! Good luck.

Thanks Ostrich---I think it might be a bit tight.... Unfortunately I cannot make the bed wider because it is between the patio and house. I guess if they spill out onto the patio a bit that's alright though. I am a little iffy about the location---but I'm going to give it a go. I have to laugh when I read posts about how hard sister theresa is to keep alive.... When we moved into this house 6 years ago I bought a "white hydrangea" (didn't even know there were different varieties back then, and never kept the tags or even looked at the name!) We knew NOTHING about gardening, plopped it in the ground (in this western facing bed) and it's been there ever since. Didn't know that it bloomed on old wood so we'd chop it down to the ground every year. It must bloom on new wood too, because it always has blooms! I guess I figure if a finicky sister theresa can make it in that spot, surely endless summers can hang on to make me happy! lol

I lean so much to a formal landscaping style--and everything I did in front is "masses of the same plant/flower" for inpact---so I totally agree with your view. I guess I just saw a couple of these pictures (below) and thought it did look pretty to mix it up a bit--as long as the flower itself was the same.

{{gwi:1014294}}

This is off the endless summer website. It is endless summer, twist and shout and blushing bride. Picture taking out the twist and shout....

{{gwi:1011814}}

It totally goes against what I normally do design wise, and Ostrich I respect your opinion so much I almost considered going back there and ripping them out (because of course I already planted them last night while waiting for replies--lol) but I think I'm going to give it a try and see what it looks like next summer.... I can always move them right? :)

Good morning, joannemb! Thanks for the photos. Now that I have seen how they arranged for the 3 various kinds of ES together, I really like it! I like it because they are tightly packed together and that there are three of them. Odd numbers always look better in landscaping. Thanks for opening up my mind! :-)