This is the fourth growing season for my four Endless Summers in the ground here in the western suburbs of Chicago. Two of the four receive more sun (at least 4 hours total of early morning and late afternoon sun) than the other two (probably no more than 2 hours of mostly morning and a little late afternoon sun), and the sunnier two consistently have produced more flowers.

Their first winter in the ground was the mildest of the 3 winters, so far, and there was no subsequent cane dieback; so, there were flowers on old wood and on new wood the second growing season. This past winter had the coldest overnight temperature (-12F) that we've had in a decade, and then there was the Easter deep freeze. There was total cane dieback this year, and last year, on all four plants. But all four produced flower buds on the new wood; however, there are probably twice as many buds on the two plants in the sunnier situation as there are on the more shaded two (6-8 per plant, vs. 2-4 this year). These hydrangeas are certainly not as floriferous as are the various H. arborescens I grow in a variety of shady situations, where every cane produces a flower cluster.

But my best-flowering Endless Summer is the one I grow in a pot and overwinter along an interior wall in my unheated, attached garage. It's currently loaded with flowers on the old wood and has lots of flower buds on the new wood. I place the pot on a sturdy wheeled plant stand that lets us roll the plant in and out of the garage during the spring, so that new leaves and stems can receive the full benefit of warm, sunny spring days with protection from night-time frosts. After the last threat of frost, we move the pot to its summer location in a more shaded spot (about 4 hours total of sun), where we can enjoy its flowers, on old wood and then new wood, all season long.

I have endless summer. It has not done well on the eastern side of my house. I moved it this year to the northern side and it has grown well and has several blooms opening now. I have another variety which is supposed to bloom all summer as well and is 3 feet away from Endless Summer. It is covered with blooms and some are already beginning to fade. I think mine was getting too much shade.

My ES that is less exposed to harsh winter winds is about to bloom big time (some of the canes survive each winter). The other ES, which dies completely back every winter, has just now started setting some bloom buds.

It is true that the one that dies back does not have as many blooms thru the summer as the other one, and it starts a bit later (a couple of weeks), but it still blooms well for me.

I have never had either of these fail to bloom. I am wondering if somehow the ones you got really aren't ES but another "blue" hydrangea that doesn't bloom on new wood.

I have 10 ES that I planted last year and over the winter they died back to the ground. Right now I have all with flower buds which grow larger each day. A couple plants have over 10 buds soon to be flowering. Some plants are developing slower. Most are about 2 ft high and 1 flower has been in bloom for over a week. Cheers, JK

Well, cr@p, it's just mine, then....maybe I did get ones that were mislabelled and aren't really Endless Summer. BAH!

Well, I'll see how they do this season, but if they don't start producing, then out with them - whatever the heck they are. Life's too short to wait this long for flowers....

Nope, my endless summer aren't blooming either. They look healhty in every other way. I'm thinking to transplant them further out into the bed to get more sun.

Michele_1

Mine took a few years before they started blooming good. I sounded like you back then. Glad I waited now.

Not a great picture, but she did bloom good last year. More to come this year.

All but one of the seven ES plants that were new last year are trying thier darnest to blue. They have loads and loads of buds on them. The one that was rather small and sickly last year has no buds but otherwise looks happy and healthy.

mxk3, As I understand it Endless Summer should only come in the Blue pots which feature Bailmers brand "Endless Summer" logo on the side of the pots.

Now last year I did see some at a local nursery in black pots and although they had the ES paper tag I was leary.

Did yours come in the blue pots I mentioned? Cheers, JK

I was holding off on reporting since it is still very early here, but since you asked!! I have three that were purchased in spring 2003 (so this is their 5th summer). Mine die back all the way every winter.

Year 1 (purchase year 2003): bloomed non stop from planting time till fall.

Year 2 (2004): VERY slow to show signs of life in spring. About 1' tall/wide. No blooms. Figured the plants were getting established.

Year 3 (2005): Still very slow to start in spring. Still very small. One of my three plants had one bloom.

Year 4 (2006): Very nice foilage. First year with any real growth. One of my three (not the same one as 2005) had two blooms. I read the Endless Summer web page that said "To encourage flowering, we recommend a fertilizer low in nitrogen and with a phosphorus content over 30. (An N-P-K ratio of 10-40-10 is ideal.)" Based on that I applied super triple phosphate - but it was August so too late in the year to do any good.

Year 5 (2007): Fertlized with high phosphorus fertilizer and also applied super triplephosphate again. Currently TWO of them are forming blooms. The one in the most sun has the most blooms. Conclusion: fertilizer may indeed be the clue for locations with high die back.

I have some Endless Summers that I bought when they first came to the market. I lose track of years, but that must be 4 or 5 years ago.

I've moved them many times. Some I've overwintered.

Mostly I've not been very fortunate with blooms.

But this year I have {{gwi:1008881}} That's a top view and {{gwi:1008883}}

This is a friend's and there had been a Nikko there for years and years which never bloomed. So this is just extraordinary in comparison. This Endless has to have been one of the first I bought and I probably grew it in another location for a year and then moved it here. So it's established now. It's in a very protected spot, next to a foundation in a morning sun, afternoon shade, protected on three sides by the house and some steps. Has to be just about the perfect spot for a Hydrangea in my zone.

You don't see them, but I've transplanted some of the oldest ones last fall around the foundation from this plant. 3 or 4 of them. They're probably all the same age or close. The one closest to the one I just showed you has a lot of blooms but not as many as the more established one. As you move away from this protected spot, the transplanted ones died back a lot and I don't see much in the way of flowers now.

I sometimes think that maybe the reason our plants die back in the winter is not just because of the harsh cold on the canes themselves, but because the root ball, especially in a newly planted plant, also gets pretty frozen and the result is that the canes dry out from a lack of water. Not that the cold killed off the canes directly, but that the lack of water from the frozen roots dehydrated them. And that's why it's important for the plants to become established before they flower. (Keep in mind that I can overwinter an Endless Summer and it'll bloom like crazy, but it's not exactly established.

I should point out that I mulched the plant in the fall, too.

I also tend to think they don't flower as well in the shade, but I don't have a good test of that yet.

This year and this one plant is very encouraging.

Hay

Yes, all of mine were in the blue pots. I live in a place with a very high lime content in the soil. My township's name is Lime Creek Township, in fact. It will be a continual struggle to get them and keep them blue. I have amended the soil though and will continue to do so.

I'm disappointed too. I posted a similar question not too long ago and got good reviews from people in my Zone. It was suggested to me that I need to be more patient.
I have 4.
1- is 3 years old to this minute is barely a foot around and high. It gets afternoon sun with a 2 hour break from 2-4. Dies back to the ground every year.
1- was planted early last spring it bloomed all summer until heavy frost which came very late here. The Easter deep freeze took a real toll on it. Not a single bloom yet. It gets morning sun until 1 or 2 pm. Not even a bud so far. It has grown to about 15 inches around and 12 inches tall.

2- I was stupid enough to buy this year (with eternal hope that I will be happy I did). Of course, they are blooming great and in much more sun than the others. However, because they are young, I have to water them every day as they wilt terribly if I don't.

I have read that they require more sun than other hydrangeas full sun/ part shade. I don't honestly know what to believe. I have difficulty imagining that they will ever be up to 4 feet tall and around in Zone 5 with the die back I get but I would settle for short but blooming at least.

Wish I could be more help. You are not alone though.

I had posted another thread about my ES, but since then I have come to a conclusion about them (at least in my area)-THEY LIKE LOTS of SUN! My coworker, who I got interested in hydrangeas, bought mirrors of mine when I did (both ES and Forever & Ever), but she planted hers in full sun about 85% of the day. Mine are in full sun only half the day, ES AM, F&E PM. She just told me that both of hers are loaded with buds-she lives 10 minutes away from me! I have one bud on ES, and none on F&E! She doesn't fertilize at all either. It's the sun thing!

I am inclined to think that sun has alot to do with it. My ES and Nikkos are in full sun meaning they get full sun from 9-5 and shade at other times. My spring and summer temps are cooler than most so I don't seem to get any real negative results, just a wilt on the hottest days.

Well double cr@p then!! Mine are all in partial shade, moist soil - great conditions for hydrangeas, thought the location was a no-brainer. I have a spot in sun where I can move one of them, but other than that I don't have space in my beds to move them (nor do I want to rip up the years of work I put into my gorgeous perennial beds just to make room for these bums...).

Well, I'll fertilize them this weekend and see if that does anything, but if not I'll hit the plant sales in August and pick up Annabelle as replacement - she NEVER lets me down!!

Has anyone tried the other rebloomer 'Penny Mac'? I have 1 ea of that and ES. PM has been in the ground for a few years, while I got ES in fall 2005. I think it is a little early for comparisons, but so far Penny Mac seems to bloom a little longer. After reading the above posts, I'm thinking of moving my ES to a sunnier spot. BTW neither have even considered developing buds this year. The nasty April surprise took care of that. I suspect they both would have been blooming by now if that had not happened.

Ok, I live in Maine, and my endless summers bloom every year since I planted them three years ago. I agree Annabelles are almost fool proof in growing hydrangeas. I also have Nikko Blues too, but have to cover both the Endless Summers, and Nikko blues for the winter. Yeah, I know that ES bloom on old and new wood, but protect the old wood from frost, and you will be rewarded. ES has more blooms then Nikko Blues but the mopheads are smaller, but Nikko Blues are still my favorite hydrangea. People drive for miles to see my pretty blue flowers, and I love it too. But it's a chore to cover them for the winter. I use Pvc pipes for a frame, and mill felt from the local paper mill, which I attach the felt to the pvc frame with wire ties. Endless Summers are a great hydrangea, just take care of them.
Phil in Maine

I refuse to winter protect things, outside of the first winter (i.e. I'll coddle plants for one year, after that they're on their own).

And that was the whole marketing point to ES - that it was developed in Minnisota and you don't have to cover it. If you do, it gets the boot.

EXACTLY!!!

Be kind to overwintering.

Phil, I love to overwinter hydrangeas and I'm always interested in other people's ideas. I'd love to see any pictures or any more details you might be willing to share. What is mill felt for instance? What does your PVC frame look like and how is it placed in relation to the plant?

We (mostly me) have talked a lot about overwintering in this thread and in some others.

Thanks.

Hay

I have one ES that will be 2 yrs old and it gets 5 hours of direct sun and it has many blooms. I do think sun is the answer to blooms for the ES.

This is my one year old ES that is just starting to show off her colors.

Hi - count me on you side Mxk3 - I managed to get my 17y/o Nikko to produce 15 huge blooms following Hayseedman's Overwintering tutorial and all 4 marginally bloom-tender Lacecaps as well but both pairs of ES and F&E are a disappointment. At least the 2 blooms on F&E look pretty and the stems are heftier than the ES ... even collapses to the ground completely with these heatwave we are going through of late, at least F&E can hold her legs up!

I'll stick with the beautiful paniculatas and even other intriguing Lacecaps, as Hayseedman suggested - I'll be keeping Frillibet in mind for '08 and keep hoping for Angel's Blush!!!

Hi Phil - I hope you post again with your more detailed description of PVC/mill-felt method of overwintering. Hay loves to overwinter, perhaps as a challenge, right Hay? I on the other hand, would like to enjoy blooms, my 17 y/o Nikko could deliver, from good Winter protection ... for sentimental reasons.

Really we are very interested in your method!

MTIA <:->