have you noticed what does well where you live?..I live in Indianapolis and macrophylla hydrangeas are duds..mine (and everyone's I know) die to the ground every year and don't bloom..garden centers here have lots of them..I've said to people at garden centers "how many of these do you see blooming in your neighborhood?"..you can see their Aha moment as it dawns on them there aren't any..not all zone 6's are the same but for me they don't work..I prefer arborescens, paniculatas and oakleafs..

Tim Wood..I love your honesty about Endless Summer Lol..and I also prefer Bloomstruck..here's my potted ES that bloomed..it overwintered in my shed..but it's not that pretty for the work involved..I'm planting in the ground and considering it as groundcover since I have plenty of room..arborescens are a better choice here..paniculatas are great but mine need more sun and aren't spectacular..

@nicholsworth Z6 Indianapolis I live in New Hampshire by the coast, and people in my area have tons of hydrangeas. I actually see a lot of limelight, but also the macrophylla. I do think it will do well where I live but of course it might not, despite the setup being quite nice for it. I definitely want to give them a go. You and @Tim Wood are making me feel like Bloomstruck might be the way to go. I think I would get my hopes up for those multicolored blooms of ER and LAD!

Chelsea..if I had your coastal location I would try them too!!!..but they're such a disappointment where I live..one year I protected for the winter with leaf filled garbage bags..this was the result..a TwistNShout in the middle with a Bloomstruck on each side..a few blooms but the side yard was hideous for 6 months..

@nicholsworth Z6 Indianapolis Are you still trying with the hydrangeas or have you given up on them? They really are such a lovely bloom that I see why you keep on trying! I love the look of a vast amount that are really close together. That's the look I'm trying to achieve in my front garden beds. I'm actually hoping to get to the nursery tomorrow. Any advice on what to look for to pick a good one?

I won't buy any more macrophyllas..I have 7 that I bought years ago..they're basically groundcover..in one of these pics I used a filter and was focusing on my bananas..

buying tips..I'd look for good structure..a base with more stems..take your time and look at all of them and you'll find a winner..

What a marketing success for the purveyors of ES (sometimes called Endless Bummer), Bloomstruck and others in the series. There are many beautiful hydrangeas that are fully hardy, reliable, beautifully colored and graceful. Yet we are besotted with varieties that are simply not suitable for our zones i.e. 5-6 A East Coast with our unpredictable springs with late frosts, warm days followed by freezes as late as May.

Chelsea, you seem to have your heart set on the macs. So buy one on sale this fall and plant it well. . I hope it thrives. But if you see a paniculata, buy it too. You'll have a failsafe winner which you'll enjoy for years, certain that it will bloom every year. Some turn lovely shades of pink as the weather cools and are more tolerant of dryness than any mac. Then there's also Annabelle (arborescens)which has withstood the test of time. and blooms very early. very reliably. No, they are not the lovely blue balls of Cape Cod but have their own special qualities,

Some of the paniculatas are Pinky Winky, Bobo, Quick Fire, Little Quick Fire, Tuff Stuff. Tho there's a series of "Strawberry" paniculatas. The flowers are luscious but very heavy and the stems tend to droop to the ground under their weight

There's a Proven Winners Paniculata album of paniculatas. Excellent photos.

I'd like to recommend a mixture of different hydrangeas. If one fails, you still have others to enjoy. And a variety of flower shapes, bloom times and sizes are more interesting than a monoculture. Also, if an insect or disease afflicts one there's a good chance the same hydrangeas will have the same problem., If you grow a variety you won't lose an entire planting or have a big hole in your design.

The commercial websites don't mention the cultural problems of different hydrangeas, such a errant stems at the top or drooping blooms. They do get discussed on forums like this. so keep up the questions and research. Go to the nurseries before everything looks past their prime and see who has good stock. The sales don't start for a few more weeks but you can plant right through October.around here.

I have added three new hydrangeas this year - one each of ES mac 'Summer Crush', pan BoBo and arbor Invincebelle 'Mini Mauvette'. It was a hard summer on them because of high heat and no rain, they took a tremendous amount of watering. Flowers only lasted a few days before they were fried. I'm hoping they do better next year when they are better established.

Endless summer and bloomstruck were such fizzles I’m surprised they’re still sold!

Bloomstruck is not a fizzle at all!! In fact, it is one of the heaviest and most prolific blooming macs I've grown........out of about 20-25 different cultivars over the years.

A number of folks on the Hydrangea forum that live in macrophylla-marginal hardiness zones have also reported decent performance.

I would skip the ES Original, however. Even here, that one is a bit of a dog. It grows and blooms well enough but small flower heads and an insipid color.

I really appreciate all of the advice everyone! Very helpful for a beginner like me. I think I will try the macs and so how it goes as I do have my heart set on these specific ones. It seems like it’s just really mixed reviews for the Original and bloomstruck lol. One person says dud and the other says it’s amazing

I hope they succeed but if not, no big deal! I’m excited to see what happens. I guess it could go either way but I want to try at least.

Endl

Endless Summer are not reliable bloomers - zone 5 - or not in my yard, at least. Some years I get no blooms. Other years they are loaded with blooms. Good color - pink or blue - requires soil enhancers. Alkaline or acidic. These are granules that can be purchased at most garden stores and need to be worked into the soil.