Well, I lack enough info on the care of both sets of hydrangeas but, if I had to guess:

if the other places were winter protecting and your ES were not winter protected, I can see how you might notice a difference.

Hmm that’s quite possible. I think most of the old wood died and most of the new shoots took over. But endless summers are also supposed to flower on new growth too arent they?

Yes, although I find that -personal opinion, mind you- the Spring Flush (of flowers) is much bigger than the Summer Flush.

Endless Summer does have a bit of a reputation :-) While it does perfectly well here (as does any bigleaf hydrangea), it seems to have a less stellar performance in colder climates. It was the first of the reblooming or new growth flowering hydrangeas to hit the market and while it can and often does bloom on new growth, it doesn't seem to do so as prolifically as some of the more recent intros with this feature. For example, even ES Bloomstruck seems to do a much better job with new growth flowering.

One of the issues is the timing. While bigleaf hydrangeas start blooming early in Luis' very southerly location, up north it is not common for any bigleaf hydrangea to produce any flowers much before mid to late June, even on old growth that has been winter protected. New wood growth is later to appear and flowers from that seldom develop before late summer or even into early fall....late August into September. And with the new wood flowering half hearted at best, it just doesn't have the ability to put on much of a show.

While the whole point of reblooming or new growth flowering hydrangeas was to provide reliable flowering of bigleaf hydrangeas in colder climates, they just seem to do better and flower more reliably if provided winter protection just as you would the standard, old growth flowering cultivars. At least that has been my impression from countless postings on this forum over the years............winter protection is just not a issue in my climate :-)

Hydrangea serrata really is better for even zone 6 than H. macrophylla.

Hydrangea macs are doing quite well up here this year. That’s after -30f+ in some spots. Go figure.

So they’re root hardy to -25 degrees but not even top hardy to 0 degrees, which is usually the lowest temp we get here? The plant itself is very big and healthy. So I have to put this hydrangea in the high maintenance list if I really have to protect it every winter. Laceyvail, I was actually considering trying hydrangea serratas but how do they perform better when their hardiness is even lower than macrophyllas? And especially if they only flower on old wood and not new wood, how do they still manage to bloom after a harsh winter? I know some hydrangea serratas in my area and they seem to bloom consistently every year unlike macs. So the only explanation is that their wood is more cold tolerant than macs, could it be?

Hydrangea serrata - aka mountain hydrangea - is native to higher altitudes and is at least a full zone hardier with regards to stem and bud growth. Rarely requires winter protection in zone 6 and above whereas macs will definitely need it in zone 6 and often in zone 7 as well.

Oh that’s good. I think I will try growing this hydrangea instead.. Which is a shame because I already rooted 4 of my endless summers and that’s all gonna go to waste. Why don’t more people grow serratas here then?

Often because they are not as readily available in area nurseries and because many folks want those big, fat mophead flowers - serratas only produce lacecaps.

I am also in NJ, and I have given up on the macrophylla. Those late freezes we have been getting the last several years have been killing the flowers, if not all the top growth. After decades of gorgeous late spring blooms, I am lucky if I get one flower. So I switched to H. arborscens, the lovely Annabelle, and get tons of white blooms. My neighbor has gone with oakleaf hydrangeas, and they are also wonderfully bloom-covered. If I was intent on more colors, I'd go with serrata myself.

I think I will have to try serratas. Protecting them every winter especially once they become 10 ft wide specimens one day will be a full time job. Does anyone know if hydrangea serratas root readily just like macs do? Or is it more difficult?

I am NJ too. I have two Nikko Blue hydrangeas that are 4' x 4', but barely bloom each year (might get 4 or 5 blooms) and a 2 yr old ES that bloomed pretty well this year (better than year 1) but hasn't rebloomed yet (if it's going to). The worst part about them is that they look pretty sad and droopy in the NJ heat and humidity during the day, so without the blooms they are pretty ugly.

I did plant my first serrata (Tuff Stuff) last fall, but that hasn't had a single bloom this year. It's growing, so seems to be doing ok otherwise, but it's been extremely disappointing. I might give up on all Hydrangeas :P Oh and about the rooting...I took a cutting from the serrata in May and it rooted easily in a few weeks (and I'm no propagation expert...just stuck it in some peat moss and put a zip lock baggie over it). I was bold and even planted it in the ground towards the end of June and it's doing great, so now I have 2 non-blooming serratas :P

I agree with that. My endless summers and enchantress red stems are in the east side of the house but still wilt in morning sun but perk right back up in 2 hours. So I did end up buying a hydrangea serrata 'tuff stuff a ha' yesterday at my local nursery and I took three 6-7 in cuttings this morning. I did it in the same manner as I do with endless summers. Afterall serrata is only a subsp of H. macrophylla so I don't think propagation methods would differ. Hope fully they establish a good root system before the winter. I would protect those new hydrangea cuttings that you have in the ground for the winter. Gardengal did say serratas are very top hardy but I don't know about newly rooted cuttings.

I'm about to give up on the ES - just too much trouble to winter protect and un-protect in the spring. But when I drive around, I see many gardens with blue macs doing just fine without winter-protection. These plants have been there forever - I just wish I knew the cultivar to I could get some.

Interesting. I'm giving up on my ES and was hoping to trade it on here for a Paniculata or Aborescens. I'm solidly in zone 5 and it just.doesn't.bloom. Even with winter protection it often dies back. My mother has a HUGE one and this year is has 5 blooms, probably because it is enormous, close to the house, and we had a relatively easy winter.

However, Cape Cod and RI are zone 6 and most hydrangea macs do beautifully in both locations. I'm surprised to hear about people in NJ zone 6 having issues. Like, there are jokes about people on Nantucket trimming their hydrangeas, pitching them off a sandy slope, and discovering they rooted on their own. I suppose maybe those are Nikko Blue or some other blue variety not ES and maybe ES really does have some major issues. Anyone want one?