I planted Hydrangea "Twist & Shout" (newest Endless Summer) last June. It bloomed non-stop well into October! I hope it survives my Zone 3 winter (rated z4). I did cover it with Oak leaves. I have
Endless Summer but her sister really out preformed her.
There are few lacecap Macs that are hardy in your zone so it was welcome news when this one was introduced. I was curious about your zone comment, samting. Do you live close to the edge of Zones 3 and 4? Or is this year's winter resembling a Z3 winter? My God, either would probably freak out my Mother. She is not even used to the winter in the edge of Zones 7 and 8. I could see her staying indoors all winter over in ND! Enjoy Twist and Shout!
According to the zone map, I am zone 4--there is a narrow area in eastern North Dakota that runs north and that is where my garden is located. I live in a sheltered river valley with lots of Oak trees with rich soil--hydrangeas flourish in this enviornment. I have Limelight, Pinky Winky, Pink Diamond,Little Lamb , Endless Summer and PG. They all survive our tough winters just fine (have good snow cover this year) Check out my web site --Corine's Garden and you will see photos of them. I am very impressed with "Twist & Shout" - it bloomed well into October!
Very nice website. And quite a large garden(s)! I hope the whole family helps with them. Say hello to Willow!
I understand that Endless Summer and Twist N Shout are two hydrangeas that are supposed to bloom on old and new growth. I live in zone 5, central Ohio.
I planted Endless Summer two seasons ago in a shady garden area. It did reasonably well in it's location but the 08/09 winter was pretty cold here. As a result, the plant had a lot of die back in my zone and I only got a few flowers later in the season. This year (09/10) I protected it with chicken wire filled with oak leaves. I have not yet taken away this protection so I do not know if it faired better this season.
I planted Twist N Shout in a large container last spring and placed it on my patio in an area protected from the hot afternoon sun. It thrived, doubling in size and bloomed all summer and into fall. I overwintered (09/10) it in an unheated garage and recently brought it out to a protected area on my porch. It has nice new buds forming throughout the entire length of it's branches. I expect to have lot's of early blooms off of last seasons growth.
You may want to consider this container approach in a colder climate.
I'm not sure how long I will be able to keep it in a container and may have to transplant it to the garden in a season or two. It looks great for now though.....
I actually bought Twist and Shout last year and left it in a pot all winter, unprotected....I just never got around to planting it. It seems to have come thru fine, and I see the buds are waking up since we had some pretty warm days last week. I think I will lift the pot and bring in into the garage for the next few nights are supposed to get pretty cold here. I'm going to plant in next to the house in a few weeks.
I have given up doing the cage/leaf thing with my hydrangeas. They get so big, it just becomes too much work. I hate taking the leaves off in the Spring. I see that another of my macrophyllas is waking up (not an Endless Summer type), and I will try my best to keep it covered with sheets thru these cold nights and hope for the best.
