Yes, you can deadhead but a new flower will not take it's place unless you have a reblooming variety.....yg

Yellowgirl,

What do you mean by reblooming variety. Is endless summer a reblooming variety?. If I let the hydrangea bloom die on the plant, would a new flower takes its place next year?

Do you ever cut the blooms to dry? To me, that's one of the best things about hydrangas. You have to cut them at the right time or they just wilt. On mine, it seems to be when they start changing from blue to a blue green color. And the petals start getting a slightly papery feeling. If the dried flowers are kept out of the sun, they hold their color for around a year or so.

Sheil,

Yes Endless Summer is a reblooming variety. The term "take it's place" is kind of inaccurate. When you deadhead ES, or any hydrangea, it causes the plant to stop spending it's energy on the bloom and start spending that energy on shooting out new stems that will produce more blooms. The difference between ES and some other hydrangeas, is that ES might complete this process in the same summer and therefore give you more blooms this season instead of having to wait until next season. If you leave the bloom to die on the plant, the same process will take place, it will just happen more slowly. This is of course a simplified explanation but I hope it answers your question.....yg

Thanks yg!!!

I just went to deadhead our Endless Summer hydrangea and stopped because I wasn't sure where to make the cut. There are leaves directly below the blooms - do I cut before the leaves, or farther down the stalk?
thanks for any help you can give me.

Cut the bloom and at least two pairs of buds (leaves) below it.
If you have enough height in your plant, cutting 3 or 4 pairs of buds without sacrificing appearance would be even better. You'll be promoting branching and therefore fullness.

Thanks for your help. The plant looks much better.

question: Do you cut off any bloom that has lost the majority of its petals and has mostly seed left? And if so, you then cut the bloom PLUS another set of leaves below it? Im not sure what type of hyndrangea we just planted a few weeks ago, but it is a mophead, and was in bloom when we planted it.

I have a lot of these hydrangeas in my garden but I'm so afraid of deadheading them. about how long will it the for the new blooms to grow??? Any help or advice is really appreciate it... I live in mid texas!!!!

That's a nice looking plant. Deadhead them after they start to look bad. I honestly doubt deadheading will help with blooms as macs really only bloom once a year. After their main flush, you may get a sporadic bloom here and there. I don't think it will do any harm to deadhead.

Ok thanks u so much!!!! Do u know if I can deadhead also the nantucket blue hydrangea, nicko blue and merrit's pink hydrangeas also??? I bought em 7 weeks ago and now they're starting to turn greenish!!! Will they bloom again this season or until next????

Your recently planted hydrangeas were probably forced into early bloom by the grower, this isn't quite their normal schedule.

Many of us don't rush to deadhead when the blossoms begin to fade and change color, we wait until they are really past, browning - or here where they bloom much later with our cooler weather, we may not deadhead until winter if then.

There's no hurry, once you've cut those flowers off, they are gone for the year ;) If they are turning a little greenish or are less bright, they still can have some interest. Both your Merritt's Supreme and Nikko Blue will bloom next year on growth they accomplish later this summer and Fall. It's called blooming on 'old wood' - they will put on their display of flowers formed on stems that grow the previous season each year.

Oh ok no wonder they r fading so early that blows... So all summer they r not going to be stunting as they were when I first got em... On the nantucket blue hydrangea said that is a rebloomer... I can't deadhead that one either until winter then????

The Nantucket Blue is one of the newer hydrangeas that has been bred to repeat bloom, forming flower buds on both 'old wood'/last years growth and the current years growth too. That one you can deadhead, cutting off the spent flower heads. New flowers should form and give you a more prolonged season of color in your garden.

Don't expect it to give you its full performance this first year in the ground. All of the shrubs you've planted including this one will need a year or two to establish in your garden, expand their root systems and settle in before you can appreciate their full value.