My both my ES and Limelight have produced new blooms in the last couple of weeks. I certainly can't complain about ES - it has always been a nice producer for me.

Hi guys!!

I planted two Endless Summers this summer, two Blushing Brides (my daughter was married in June) a Little Lamb and a Limelight. When I realized I seem to have the perfect combo of sun and shade for hydrangeas I went a little wild. So this is my first winter with them. I just came back in from cutting one of them to the ground. Big Mistake, I guess. Then I decided I better get some advice on what do to for these guys for the winter. I have two HUGE bushes of PeeGee (both over 6 feet tall) For these I do nothing until Spring, when I prune them by about half. They seem to like this and have produceedd great flowers for several years now. I think the ones I planted this summer require some different treatment. How should I prepare them for winter? I am in zone 7 in Charlottesville, Va.

Jack - how tall are your Endless Summers? I'm in zone 5 in Vermont (Burlington area) and am not sure where to put my new plant - how tall it's going to get makes a difference. Thanks

Ophelia, mine are 4 feet tall and wide. I have them in 4-5 hours of direct morning sun, which affects how big they get.

Kassjac, pruning depends on what kind you have. Mopheads need to be pruned differently than PeeGees do. See the link below. Actually, I don't even prune mine. I wait and see in the spring which branches lived through the winter and prune off the dead ones.

Deanna

Here is a link that might be useful: Pruning Hydrangeas

Thanks, gardenfanatic. That's extremely helpful not only because you're in the same zone as I am, but also because the place I'd like to plant mine will only get morning sun. Thanks again.

Hi Ophelia in Burlington. You are up by the big lake so you do have some moderating weather to help you. My ES are only about 2 1/2 ft high and they are only a couple years old. I suspect that as they grow older they will perform like a Nikko and grow to 5ft X 5Ft or maybe 6ft.Cheers, Jk

Ophelia - My 'Endless Summer' is two seasons old and is planted in morning sun only. It got to be about 4 feet or a bit taller this year, but I don't expect that it will get a whole lot larger. It is limited by how much it can grow in one year, since it tends to be killed back to within a few inches of the ground in winter. My Annabelle seems to grow the same way, as does a 'Penny Mac' but the 'Endless Summer' is the smallest of the three. I'll look and see if I can find a photo of the whole ES shrub to show and post again if I do.

Like Jack's, my ES started blooming in June and didn't stop all summer - our first hard frost was in early November, and it didn't stop until then.

I have had the same luck with Endless Summer Hydrangea as
Jackz41!! Endless Summer is rated as Zone 4. In northern Wisconsin, I saw that many people did not have good luck with Endless Summer blooming before mid-July up here, this could be a problem elsewhere in the country too. I have over 65 roses so I took a wintering trick from my roses to get Endless Summer to bloom early!

I bend the plants completly over and hold them down with bricks or larger rocks, in early November after a hard freeze(this can be hard as the shrubs get bigger, but you can do it carefully) I then cover them lightly with oak leaves and let snow fall on them! As we get lots of snow up here it has worked well for winter protection so the tips do not freeze! I have not had any mold problems with this trick!

I have been growing Endless Summer since they first came out on the market, I have seven of them some just planted 1.5 ago. The older plants are around 3.5-4'high-4' wide. They get 4-5 hours of direct sunlight and filtered for several more hours, I also fetilize them with the same fertilizer I use for roses in lesser amounts. They start blooming in the middle of June with lots of blooms in all colors depending on your soil. I just add nail filings to make some of them more blue and leave the rest of the plants alone so I get colors from blue to lavender, purple and pink! Later in summer the mature blooms turn more green, then in fall they take on a burgandy hue with the green. They are really pretty, hardy and long blooming and great cut flowers when dryed as they mature in the Fall. Along with my pee-gee and several annabelle's (my hydrangea work horse) I love my Endless summer hydrangea's just as much as my roses!!

I'm wanting to start my first Hydrangeas this spring. ES sounds great for framing my front bay window. Is it pink or blue depending on the ph?

I aslo need recommendations for a pink and blue "Pink Elf"?, and others to put out in containers on the front deck. These need to be compact and less than two feet tall. Any help is appreciated. Morning sun only.

Im a pink and blue fan but if anyone can tell me about a great one to fit the bill that isn't, ok.

Sure would like to see some photos of yours.

We had that late May frost, which seemed to kill off the ES buds last spring on new and old wood. No one around in MI had much success with flowering last year on the ES.

The laying over of stems is an interesting trick, may try that next winter! We had much more snow cover this winter than we normally get.

I mulched all the Hydrangeas last fall, so how well all the new ones did over winter is yet to be decided. We are just getting the frost out of the ground, everything is saturated here. Daffs are up a couple inches, but only snowdrops and crocus blooming. Lots of buds, with Elderberry getting tiny leaves. Nothing on the Hydrangeas yet. I am expecting a good show on those new plants, with the later summer blooming times. My August flowering needed some help, so Hydrangeas in pink shades are the first step. Hope the ES does better this year than last. My Swan and Limelight seem to be the most reliable flowering, put on good shows.

Hi,
Has anyone planted Endless Summer in Madison, WI area? (Dane County, WI) We are zone 4 (edge of 5). How does it do? Size? Does it bloom every year? How long? Have you bought through Bruce Company? Also, what experience have you had with Annabelle Hydrangea or other hydrangeas?

I am looking for perennials that bloom in 3-5 hours of sun in the midday, so it is partial shade/shade. Thanks.