When I bought my Blushing Bride ES hydrangea three years ago, it was a 'test' for zone 4. I can attest that it does not do well (in my garden) as far as blooming. It has beautiful robust leaves but no blooms. boohoo. It is planted next to my ES and Twist/Shout ES hydrangeas, which are blooming very nicely. I hate to dig it up and pitch it but I am going to. But before I do, does anyone in zone 4 have any luck in getting a BB ES to bloom? Maybe there is a trick I am missing. I covered it with straw and chicken wire a couple of years ago and was rewarded with one wimpy bloom. zone 4 can be brutal.
Thanks for any info. Gail
Blushing Bride in zone 4
You might just need to be patient--I know that the original Endless Summer for some people seemed to take a few years before it would produce much in the way of blooms on new wood (which are all you'll see in zone 4 unless you do some really good winter protection).
The fact that it's got beautiful robust leaves tells me it's not your zone that's the problem (if the winter was getting to it, you'd see it struggling to grow back in the spring, etc). And winter won't have any effect on the new wood blooms, the cold only kills off the old wood blooms so to me if it's putting out healthy new growth but not blooming it doesn't have anything to do with your winters.
Another possibility would be to look at how much sun it's getting--while they appreciate some afternoon shade if you have them in shade that's too deep they won't bloom well. Or it could be that Blushing Bride is one of those plants that in general just isn't as good of a plant and was rushed to market--I've never grown it so I couldn't comment on it vs other hydrangeas.
Thank you for responding. It is curious that the foliage is great but no blooms. I'll give it some more time. I hate to dig up and throw a plant, I have never done that before.
The one I bought was in a large pot with very good roots. So it took off right away. This is it's second summer and it is a beauty! please just give it time. Somethings take 1-2-or even 3 years to get going.