My Endless summer has been beautiful for the past 3 years since I planted it. Always had huge blooms and many of them. This year it has only had about 5 blooms. The foliage looks great and very healthy, just no flowers. Any suggestions?
Endless Summer not blooming
Were the blooms later than usual? It may be that you only got blooms on new wood this year.
I am not sure of your zone but I think you may be 5 like me and I still winter protect endless summer so I get blooms on old wood.
Yes, I am Zone 5. It is right up against the house protected on the north and facing the east. The blooms were later than usual though now that you mention it. I had a heavy mound of leaves at the base of it over the winter.
If you want to guarantee blooms on old wood as well as new, you'll need to pile the leaves over the whole plant not just the base--the buds that will become your flowers are going to be higher up on the plant, so if you don't have the whole thing covered then a late freeze can zap them and then all you'll get are the blooms on new wood. If the area you have them provides enough protection that you get the old wood blooms most winters then maybe it's not worth the extra trouble, but that's how you'd guarantee having them every year.
We've been discussing hydrangeas on another thread (under heucheras... getting off topic as usual), and Snapple has great success with flowering on her 'Endless Summer' plants, etc. using super phosphate every spring. She uses 1 cup per 3' of plant spread, along some 10-10-10 slow-release fertilizer every spring (M.Dirr recommends 4 oz. per plant). It's quite possible that the original planting medium has simply run out of nutrients. If the soil was not heavily "fortified" with lots and lots of organic matter, be sure to work in as much as possible this fall, and then mulch as ecrane3 instructs.