Endless Summer

[CarolB]

Yesterday, I bought my mother and myself, an Endless Summer Hydrangea. I am holding off planting yet. We are expecting a couple of nights this week yet, to be in the low 30's. I bought them at Lowes for 20.00 each. The main nursery in town had the same ones for 38.00 - Last year I missed out on them as Lowes sold out immediately! There were only 10 left yesterday. I am in zone 4. Does anyone else out there have these? Can you give me any suggestions? How about keeping them over the winter. Should I cover it maybe for the first winter?

[Annie]

I just got one too. It's my understanding they are winter hardy. The tops will die in the winter but they come back from new growth. This is the plant that gets flowers on new and old wood I beleive!

So i'm guessing you do nothing for the winter. Thats why I got one LOL.

[CarolB]

Annie - Being in Illinois, you might be warmer then zone 4. Could you be in zone 5? I have a white Annabell and I just love it. The balls of flowers are as larger or even larger then a persons' head. Some people have just hugh bushes, but mine only gets about 3 feet tall. I wondered if that was because the rabbits nibble on the branches. I thought that they always came back on new growth, but that isn't true. I see leaves coming out of the old stems as well. I would love to be able to get it to grow about 5 feet high. maybe this fall, I should try to wrap it in burlap and see what happens. We have the jack rabbits here in North Dakota and they eat everything. They can stand up on those long legs and reach pretty high. They were even pulling the bark off of one tree a couple of years ago. They could stand on top of the snow and reach above the tree wrap and they started pulling off the bark. Darn rabbits!!!

[Chris_W]

Hi Carol,

Endless Summer is supposed to overwinter in zone 4 as an herbaceous shrub - meaning it will die back all the way to the ground in winter. But as Annie said, because it blooms on old and new wood this should not affect its blooming for you. Any other of the big leaf hydrangeas would rarely or never bloom for you since they mostly bloom on old wood, so the Endless Summer is worth a try.

Give it good soil, plenty of moisture, sun to part shade.

Good luck!

Chris

[CarolB]

I guess I'm confused as the Annabell I have, is getting new shoots from the ground around and inside the plant and then also leaves coming off of the old branches.

[Tigger]

Michael Dirr (author of new hydrangea book, among others) spoke about this one's history in a talk I heard recently. Seems he was visiting a nursery way up north somewhere, and saw a row of hydrangeas blooming their heads off—in late September! He casually asked the nursery owner about them, and was told they were about to plow them under, not thinking they were worth much. (!!!) Professor Dirr casually begged a few cuttings, took them back to his research group in Georgia, and got some great selections of essentially everblooming plants (blooming extensively from lateral buds, rather than mostly on terminal buds as with most hydrangeas).

They published a scientific paper on this, and had plants ready to go to market growers when they received a "cease and desist" letter from the lawyer representing the original nursery, who must have decided that if Mike Dirr liked their plants then they must be worth something! So indeed, that's who is getting the royalties.

Professor Dirr bears no grudge, still believing that this is a terriffic plant (he can certainly use the plants in breeding lines).

[JaneG]

Tigger is right. It was found in a private garden in northern Minnesota, therefore must be somewhat hardy. I would treat it similar to your Annabelles.

As for your Annabelle's . . . they are great plants, you can leave them alone over winter and the stems that look dead will get new buds, as well a new stems from down inside the center of the shrub. Left this way they can get very bushy and large. Or if you'd rather, you can cut them down to the ground every fall or very early spring and they will sprout new stems from the ground and bloom on those. Cared for in this manner you will have a smaller, neater shrub each year.

I got an Endless Summer last year and can't see wait to see how it does this year.

[CarolB]

Jane - I have a co-worker who planted one here last summer and it has not come back. You may be ok down in Ilinois, but I just wonder up here in North Dakota, that maybe I should try to cover it at least for the first winter. I would be sick if I lost it to the cold weather. Speaking of cold weather, it was only 36 above here this morning at 7 am. With my Annabell, one year I cut it down to the ground and that was a mistake. The new shoots from the bottom took forever to grow and it still is not as large as it was before. What I should be doing is try to wrap it in burlap for the winter as our darn jack rabbits keep chewing away at the bush. I want it to grow hugh. Do you let your Endless Summer turn pink or blue? If I want blue, could I just add Miracide to the water?

[Snow]

The difference here is that Annabelle does not die back in winter, whereas the Nikkos do. Rarely do we ever get a bloom on our Nikko here - as it blooms only on old wood. The Endless Summer will bloom on both old and new - so when those new shoots come up in spring, they are capable of producing flowers. I have one that is poking through the soil now, after having been planted last autumn. Keeping my fingers crossed

[DryGulch]

Carol B.,

Don't let your friend give up on her Endless Summer yet! They seem to be later to start emerging than Annabelle and want a bit more sun, too. I am north of IL but south of you and mine has just started to get growing. I think they need good drainage and adequate moisture, and of course if it warmed up it would be great, too!

[CarolB]

My mom lives in Northern Wisconsin. I thought that Hydrangeas do not like the hot sun from the West. So I was thinking that maybe planting it on the east side of her house would be better then a spot she has open on the south side. But if the Endless Summer likes more sun, then maybe it should be planted on the south side. What do you all think? Also, those who have one, do you really get a blue flower and if so, is it pale blue or does it look like the picture on the tag. I can't believe they really turn a dark blue.

[DryGulch]

Yes, I have seen them really that dark blue...but I think you realaly have to be feeding them a LOT of Miracid or Aluminum Sulphate.

I think in northern climates sun is not a big deal...water and temperature are.

[Toadlover]

I cut about a third to a half off of the stems of my Anabelle every spring. It then sprouts from those stems and from the ground and you have the best of both worlds. Mine get to about 4 to 4 and a half feet high every year. I would plant your Endless Summer on the south side of the house in zone 3(I am on the 3/4a border). I don't think that you can spare the bush from winter dieback- I once placed a four foot fence around my Nikko Blue and filled it with mulch to try and save the old wood for the next year- no such luck. Anyway, the co-worker may have lost hers due to other environmental factors such as a late planting. Get it in the ground to get established as soon as feasible for any marginally hardy plant in our area. The bigger you can grow those roots the stronger and hardier the plant will be for winter. Don't fuss so much about the tops- fuss over the root system. It's our first hardy blue hydrangea so we are all excited I know but the jury is still out on the rest of the performance of this plant. It may not get to be a huge as you hope having to start from the ground each year but the good news is that you can be sure it is the first step to more promising plants in the future.