Hello Terry- I got my hands on 3 of them this weekend. The garden center where I work recieved a shipment. We were told that this is a varigated endless summer. Now when I check the book that this plant was in it was mentioned under the name "Eclipse". The man that our manager talks to when ordering said that it is now known as Light of Day. He also said that it was a lacecap that bloomed either blue or pink depending on soil conditions. I actually got on GardenWeb tonight to ask the same question as you. The book mentioned that it would take sun to shade. I was curious about how much sun it would tolerate. Anyway I bought 3 because I have no willpower!!! The foliage is stunning and the price was right.

Hope this helps!!
Tammie

Tammie:

Thanks that does help !!!

I talked with the manager late today(at his home :-)) at the nursery here and he said it blooms on both old and new wood like Endless Summer but that Baileys was listing it as Z5 winter hardy.
The foliage caught my attention - gorgeous but the flowers were equally beautiful. White, light pink blush and blue blush all on the same flower cluster , the rest of the buds were purple. I am going to break down and get a couple tomorrow. According to the guy here the multicolored blooms are the norm.

Terry

Hi folks,

I have never seen or heard of this cultivar before. Any chance you could post a picture? Would love to see it. If what you say about it being the "Variegated Endless Summer" is true, I am very surprised that we haven't heard a lot of buzz about it. Thanks....yg

Hi all,
I picked up one of these at the Home Depot today; like everyone else, I couldn't find any info based on the label which says "Light-O-Day" Hydrangea macrophylia 'Bailiday'. I was attracted to the varigated foliage, but have only the label description of "large lacecap blossoms will be either pink or blue". I'm sure I'll like the flowers, but am more concerned about how tall it will become. Anybody have any thoughts on that? I'm going to do a little research on the Eclipse that Tammie mentioned. I have read that varigated plants tend not to be as hardy as solid greens, and that any stems that appear non-varigated should be pruned out; also that cuttings may revert back to the non-varigated form. In my shady Zone 7 yard hydrangeas thrive, so I don't expect any problems, but would like to know where to plant it!

Greetings Everyone!

My Light-O-Day's are doing great! We received some much needed rain on Monday so that helped but we need MORE!!!!. From what I understand in talking with the representative from the company that we received them from they will be 3-5' high and wide much like the Endless Summer. I am glad to hear that the blooms are beautiful mine have none. I am also going to try to post a picture. I looked for the directions somewhere but I will have to dig or if somebody has the directions and could point me in the right direction that would be awesome. As for not hearing much buzz I too am surprised but according to what I hear they are only supposed to be in limited release in the Spring of 06 with a massive launching in spring 07. Maybe this has been stepped up? I don't know exactly how we got them but I am not going to complain.

Take Care
Tammie

Greetings All Hydrangea lovers,
I have a little info on Light-O-Day.
Just returned from a field day at Greenleaf Nursery in Talehquah OK. I purchased a large number of aforementioned hydrangeas to sell at our nursery in Wichita Ks. The original name was to be Endless Summer 'Eclipse' and they were to be offered in the blue pot under the Endless Summer umbrella. Bailey Nursery ( the originator of the Endless Summer series ) is a little apprehensive of the performance of the plants and has requested that all licensced growers pull back a little. They have taken all the plants out of the blue pots and repotted them in black and renamed the plant Light-O-Day. I think the major growers are taking a wait and see approach to the plant and making sure that it is going to be a real performer or just another lacecap. I will be monitoring the performance and will share my impressions. Hope this helps.
P.S. There is also a blushing Endless Summer coming soon which looks like a winner. Also one called Lady in Red and a beauty named Big Daddy ( 12 to 14" blooms!)

Mark- Thanks for the additional info. Do you know what the performance hesitation was for Bailey's? Lack of hardiness, bloom etc. Is this something that I need to worry about winter protecting? We were all wondering why the plants showed up in black pots instead of the endless summer blue that explains it.

Also do you have any info on the blushing Endless Summer. You have got me curious!!

Tammie, I believe they are hesitant because the repeat blooming has not occured as much as on Endless Summer. The hydrangea grower a Greenleaf said blooming has been sporadic at best. The new Endless Summer is called Endless Summer Blushing Bride--sorry don't have the botanical with me. The hype on this is a repeat white bloomer maturing to a blush pink or blue ( dependent on soil acidity ), 3 to 5 ft tall and wide. Hardy to Z5-- tested to Z4. I assume this testing was done in Minnesota at Bailey. Hope this helps. Mark.
P.S. Should be available in Spring '06.

Hi,

I wondered if anyone has anything more to add to this thread? I have recently seen these shrubs advertised. The foliage looks wonderful but would like to hear more about the performance of the shrub and whether it is more than one color blossoms.

Thanks :-)

Thanks prairiemoon2 for bumping this up...I too am interested in this plant and wonder how it is performing for those who got it last year...any info would help..

Yes! I would love to have an update on these variegated hydrangeas too! There are plenty of them in one local nursery and I am very curious about them. Please let us know how they have been doing! Thanks.

Here's one I planted about a month ago. There's one bud that started forming last week!

-Matt

Thanks, Matt! It is SO VERY PRETTY!

What sun exposure do you have there? I wonder if this variegated type would take more or less sun? Of course, your full sun in Atlanta is quite different from our full sun in NE Ohio! LOL

The foliage is truly gorgeous.... I wonder what the blooms will be like?

I really hope that those who planted this over the last year or so will come and post their update too! Thanks again, Matt!

They are available online at Carrolls...

Here is a link that might be useful: Hydrangea Light O' Day

I just purchased 2 Varigated Lacecap Hydrangeas this weekend. They are 3-gallon, and they are at least 4 feet tall! They are doing well, although they seem to be needing a LOT of water with signs of wilting leaves.

Does anyone know if they bloom on old or new wood? They are quite tall, and I would like to cut them back a bit. I am in zone 8a, and it is still warm here.

Thanks!

I live in north Georgia and planted 6 Light O' Day last year. Leaf buds started to develop on the old growth early this spring, then we had an unexpected freeze lasting several days. The leaf buds on the old growth died. New growth has slowly started coming in as the weather has warmed consistently, but no new buds have re-developed on the old growth. So, I've got an ugly "skeleton" of dried out looking branches with new growth coming up from the ground. My question is: should I wait it out and see if new buds re-form on the old ugly branches, or should I cut my losses and just trim back those branches?

I just planted 3 of these. I have them heavily mulched. They get full sun most of the day. Shade in later afternoon. They look great. Got them earlier at Sam's club. I hope they do well. Sure look pretty.

I read the many posts re Light-O-Day Hydrangea. I inherited this varegated leaf variety in 2005 when we moved in to a new home. It had beautiful foliage, but it NEVER bloomed. We live in eastern Ohio just south of Youngstown and west of New Castle, PA. I figured the problem may be the winters, because all the old wood would freeze. So last year I made a cold frame. 4 stakes around plant; heavyduty clear leaf bag around stakes and plant (cut out bottom and slid over); stuffed bag with leaves all around plant; pulled garbage ties but left about a 5" breathing circle for plant. The bag stayed in tact all winter (overall it was our coldest/snowiest since they kept records); removed bag and dried leaves around Mothers Day; all branches lived and had nice leafy starts already. It continued to leaf out and about a week ago I noticed I have lots and lots of flower buds all over. I did this just on a hunch. I was lucky! Just thought I'd share this. Can't wait to see the type of flower and color.

HELP: I would like to know if I should remove the non-varegated leaf stems as was indicated in one post, so the plant stays varegated.

Suzeeque,
What a great ideal to protect the Light-of-Day, I just got one that a customer returned as dying. It is leafing out all over for me. Have had it less then a week. I am outside of Chicago but thought it was worth a try. There is a sign posted next to the bushes that lets customers know that they may not bloom again in our area. Zone 5
I sure hope I have as good as luck as you.

Katie

suzeque, I just want to thank you for your advice of June 21 on how to protect my Light-O-Day Hydrangea. I followed your directions and I'm counting 6 blooms - the first ones since I planted the thing about 5 years ago. This is so exciting! I'll pass the word along.

So what is the best practice with the Light O Day plants that have a shoot with green

only and no variegation? Leave it?? Cut it? Does anyone come here anymore? Seems to have died in 2010.

Sounds like you will need to wait until it gets a tad larger. You did not say just how tall the stem is, where is the plant located and what is the usda zone, and how come there is only one lonely stem??? Should you have a picture, please post it.

Some of the other variegated ones produce green leaves that as they get larger/older will show variegation or if they get a different amt of sun (usually less sunlight) will look better. This one used to be part of the Endless Summer Series but did not perform well and was eventually discontinued. Not officially part of the ES Series now but, some mail order nurseries still have it in their websites with no mention of "ES".

Zone 6, planted on west side of house, morning shade, afternoon sun 5 hours, then shaded. 3 plants, all very healthy EXCEPT on very hot, sunny days they wilt. They've only been planted for 10 days. All 3 plants are full of varigated white/green, 2 of them have 2 stems that are plain green. I read somewhere that you should cut the green stems off or the plant will revert to all green? Don't know that I buy that.

It is called a reversal. But what can happen with variegated hydrangeas is that the plant does not produce much variegation when it gets too much sun. New (tiny) leaves may slow developing variegation if they come out in the summer due to the strong sun. Should you ever want to cut to prevent a reversal, you may be better off cutting the stem all the way down but first allow some leaves to develop above the all green leaf to see what do they look like. The real test of a reversal would be if the plant regularly, every year (not a single year), develops a non-variegated leaf in the same spot when grown in low sunlight conditions.

The correct botanical term is 'reversion' and it can be found with just about any variegated plant. Fully variegated plants are uncommon in nature - most are intentionally bred from a small genetic or random defect in a plant called a 'sport'. Because the variegation is often the result of a genetic abnormaiity, it is frequently unstable and prone to reversion to the dominant genetic presentation of solid green. And in many cases with unstable variegation, the more dominant genetic make-up of the reversion will in fact take over the entire plant if not removed, eventually eliminating all signs of variegation. This happens routinely with variegated euonymus and certain cultivars of Japanese maples. But some variegated plants are very stable - variegated boxwood for example - and you will almost never see any reversions.

I am not sure what you are seeing with the hydrangeas is a true reversion. In some cases, variegation will develop seasonally or over time, with newly emerging or immature foliage not displaying the variegation initially when it opens but only after the foliage matures or ages. And sometimes not every leaf will ever develop the variegation and will remain a solid color. However, this tends to happen on a leaf by leaf basis rather than an entire branch or stem.

I don't think I'd bother with the solid green bits now - plants are too new and probably too small to have chunks lopped off. And it's only a couple more months before they will enter dormancy and drop their leaves anyway. But I would keep an eye on them when they leaf out next season. If the same stems leaf out green without variegation and remain that way for more than a few weeks or until the plant is fully leafed out, then I would indeed remove them. And also be aware of other reversions occuring elsewhere on the plant.