I bought endless summer two summers ago. It had one puny bloom last summer and no indication that it is going to bloom this summer. Dont tell me it has too much fertilizer. I have three of them. One is planted in a fertile perennial bed . One is planted in almost pure sand that recieves no fertilizer . The last one is planted along the foundation of the house with no added fertility. Not even a bud.
endless disapointment
How much sun/shade do they get? If they're in pretty deep shade, they may need a little bit more sun in order to bloom. Another possibility is that shrubs can take a couple years to get established, a lot of times they won't start to bloom well for a couple years after you plant them. It's very confusing because often when you buy them from the nursery they're blooming and so it seems like you should be able to toss them in the ground and they'll bloom like that from then on, but that's not the way it works a lot of the time. Or someone (deer, or maybe bunnies if the plants are small enough) could be coming along and munching some of the new growth which could very well include the buds. And do they look healthy otherwise? If the leaves are beautiful and green and there's no signs of insect/disease then it's probably one of those other things, but if the plant looks wilted or sad or chewed up or yellowing leaves, then there's something that's stressing the plant and that could be preventing it from blooming.
Another reason for no blooms is most likely the 'Easter Freeze'. The only Hydrangea macrophylla that bloomed for us was 'All Summer Beauty' and a few late blooming 'Nikko Blue.
That is why we are preaching Hydrangea serrata over and over, at least for Memphis and Zone 6-8 where late freezes are not uncommon.
All of our serrata varieties bloomed in full glory like every year.
Wolfgang
http://www.gardensoyvey.com
Well the plants are beautiful and lush green. There has been no damage from any pests one has full sun one has after noon sun and one has morning sun. I have wondered about the freeze; but these are supposed to bloom on new growth.... and theyre not.
You're right, Endless Summer is a reblooming variety just like All Summer Beauty so it'll bloom on new growth, unless the late freeze significantly damaged the plant itself that shouldn't have prevented it from blooming. Might have delayed it a bit since the buds on old growth would have been the first to bloom and those probably froze off, but it should have made more and I would think it should be at least showing buds by now. And if they're healthy looking otherwise and it sounds like they're getting enough sun, so it comes down to either new growth being nibbled off before the buds can form, or the plants are still working on getting established and should hopefully bloom better next year.
I also live in Louisville. I have four endless summer total - two in unprotected areas, and two next to my house in a very protected area. The ones next to my house did wonderfully! Probably 40-50 blooms per plant. The ones that were not protected did not do so well - one 0 blooms, and the other with about 5. You would think if these bloom on new wood they should still bloom despite the late freeze. Oh well. If you don't already have you should try Annabelle or Limelight. They bloom consistently without fail.
This spring's cold snap was really unusual--I wonder if it didn't damage the new growth on the plants, if that happened then there wouldn't be any new growth for new buds to form on. In a normal winter, the buds on the old growth may get zapped, but there usually isn't much cold weather once the new branches start to grow so then new buds can form, but this year since that cold snap hit so late it could have damaged the new growth to the point where it couldn't make new buds.
Hi there, timeinabottle. I feel your pain! I live in the Chicago area and have babied my large ES and it has a total of one very insignificant looking bloom. The foliage is lush, but hey, I didn't shell out good money for the foliage! I was frustrated enought that I talked to two of my very experienced horticulture goddess friends to ask if theirs were blooming and they are not. They, too, are ticked! When a plant is hyped as a beautiful premium plant refuses to perform, it is pretty maddening.
This message was edited Jul 9, 2007 9:53 PM
This message was edited Jul 9, 2007 9:54 PM
I really don't think it was the plant's fault this year, it was that weird cold snap that you guys had in the spring. In a normal year where you don't get a spring cold snap like that, your Endless Summer should bloom just fine and live up to the hype. Lots of other plants had trouble this year because of that weather too so it's not just hydrangeas.
The 2nd yr. mine were in there were very few blooms ( just 2 or 3 on all 10 bushes ). The bushes and foliage were great. They were just getting their root system going as this yr. they are all full of buds and blooms already. Any plants first priority is a root system then energy can be devoted to reproduction ( blooms ). How long it takes for the root system to develop varies due to the growing conditions the plant has available. Mine die back right to the ground each winter and 90% of the green come spring is new growth. Have a lot of frosts right up to 1st week of June and it has not hurt the growth at all as they seem to be true to their zone rating of 4. I would give them 1 more yr. and some Hollytone. If no blooms next yr. shovel prune them and try a couple serrata's. Good luck, kdcon
This message was edited Jul 12, 2007 8:50 AM
I have two ES plants -- one in the front and one in the back. I planted them in summer of 2005. Last year the one in the front was full of blooms and the one in back had only 1 bloom the entire season! This year it's the exact opposite: the one in front has only 2 blooms and the one in back is full of blooms. Perhaps I need to fertilize? Have any of you experienced this, i.e., many blooms one year and hardly any the next?
This year was a weird year with that late freeze--is the plant that's blooming better in more of a sheltered location? If so it might not have been hit as hard as the other one.
Ecrane, thanks. Neither plant was affected by the late freeze other than just getting off to a later start. I read on the Endless Summer website that a fertilizer low in nitrogen and high in phosphorus is recommended to promote blooming.
"To encourage flowering, we recommend a fertilizer low in nitrogen and with a phosphorus content over 30. (An N-P-K ratio of 10-40-10 is ideal.)"
I am taking this approach and will report back with the results.
In MIssouri the ES's are doing the same thing to most people. I live way north in the state and no blooms, Mother lives farther south 1 bloom, friend lives even farther south no blooms. Everyones plants look great but no blooms. Stopped at the nursery where I bought it but they were no help...kind of deer in the headlights look.
Guess there is always next year, oh year of course the nursery said buy some of this fertilizer it might help.....
happgarden,
I'm sorry to hear that your ES's aren't blooming. It sounds like climate is not a factor, either. I'll keep everyone posted as to the results of the "high phosphorus/low nitrogen" fertilizing.
When I first got mine I really dumped the aluminum sulfate on it and nearly burned it up. I did have a beautiful blue bush the next year -- and this year only a couple of pink blooms with a hint of blue.
Sounds like the nurseries really don't know what's going on -- very disheartening!
How long ago did everyone who's havig problems plant theirs? If they were planted in the last couple years, it really does take plants a couple years to really settle in and bloom nicely, then you throw on top of that the late spring freeze that probably damaged all the new growth that the plants would normally bloom on, and it's not really surprising that they didn't bloom much if at all this year. The late freeze all on its own would have been enough to cause a poor bloom year even on a plant that had been in the ground for several years. So I wouldn't give up on your plants yet, wait until next year and see how they do.
I am going to keep mine for one more year, but if this is an on again off again type of thing , I will have to shovel prune it. The idea behind endless summer was that it was a hydrangea we could count on even when there was a late frost. It certainly isnt living up to that billing. I was past hd yesterday and saw they had forever and ever. Only one out of 20 plants had a bloom on it. Needless to say I didnt buy one. Fool me once shame on you fool me twice shame on me.
I really think this year was extremely unusual, lots of spring blooming plants were knocked out of commission because of that late cold snap, I don't expect you would have problems like this in a typical year. This year wasn't the typical "late frost" that Endless Summer is supposed to save you from, lots of things that would do fine with a typical late frost got zapped by that cold snap. So I would look at this year as a very unusual one (hopefully!) and give it another chance.
I bought an Endless Summer this spring and planted it up next to my house in a mostly shaded part of my house. It is only about 1 ft high and 1 ft in diameter but it has two blooms and a couple others starting. I bought it bare root from Gardeners Supply and when I saw the bare sticks on top I thought I had made a mistake, but the root system was huge in comparison. And on top of everything else it sat in a plastic bag for about a week before I could plant it.
To my amazement it greened up right away and is performing beyond my expectations, though I don't know a whole lot about hydrangeas.
Last year I planted a PennyMac in a very shady spot. It is about 2 ft. high and it hasn't acted like it is planning any blooms. Not much branching. I thought hydrangas should be planted in the shade, but I am beginning to think i will have to move PennyMac.
We did not have as serious a freeze as most of the country, though we lost our apricot crop. Nevertheless, it wasn't such a bad freeze as the north and east got.
Was the Endless Summer planted already when you had the cold snap? My guess was that it was still somewhere nice and protected at the nursery you bought it from, but Penny Mac was exposed to the cold in your yard. Even if you didn't get as cold as some other places, it was probably cold enough to do some damage to tender new growth which is where the flower buds would have formed. It is also possible that it's in too much shade, if it really doesn't get any sun at all then I would move it, I've found I get the best blooms on hydrangeas in general when they get at least some morning sun.
ecrane, my 2 Endless Summers were exposed to the same weather conditions but each is performing differently -- one is blooming profusely and the other is not. So in my situation, anyway, weather was not a factor.
ecrane,
Come to think of it, I didn't plant the ES until after the freeze. My Penny Mac endured the freeze and is growing fine, but it doesn't get morning sun and I am thinking, I better move it to a slightly sunnier spot. It is in its second summer but has not bloomed.
figaro52--sometimes there are different microclimates in your yard and you won't necessarily realize it, so unless the plants are right next to each other one could have had more exposure to the cold than the other. Or even if they were right next to each other, one of them could have been slightly ahead of the other on putting out new growth and could have been damaged more.
pajaritomt--if it's not getting any morning sun then it will probably bloom better if you move it. Because a lot of plants won't bloom the first year you plant them and this year there was that weird cold snap it's hard to say for sure that it wouldn't bloom in its current location, but getting some morning sun should make it bloom better than it would have otherwise.
Thanks for letting me know about the morning sun. These two hydrangeas are my first ever and I have been wondering what they needed. I am very pleased with the ES. Probably I will move the Penny Mac
ecrane, I assure you weather was not a factor. My bushes were still dormant on Easter Sunday, and not at all affected. I appreciate your concern and your willingness to try to find an answer.
Well, I have an ES also that has not bloomed, and another (small leaf) variety that I can't recall the name of that has not bloomed. Both get plenty of sun, plenty of water and look very healthy, but have not formed any buds. The ES was planted after the other one and had a rough time. I did not think it was going to make it, so if it doesn't bloom this year I won't be too upset. But the other one is 4' tall and gorgeous, but not a bud to be seen. Hopefully next year.
I have had an ES for four seasons. I have had one past bloom and one bloom just showing this year. I'ts coming out. I planted two Forever & Ever dbl pink hydranges this June (mail order Carroll Gardens as there was no local retailer.) They are just beginning to show buds, tons of them. The Forever & Ever dbl pink is a smaller shrub and tolerates quite a bit of sun. I am going to replace the ES with another variety of Forever & Ever as they seem to be a superior hydrangea that blooms on new wood.
http://www.foreverhydrangea.com/
Snapple, thanks for mentioning Forever & Ever and for posting the link. One of my local nurseries is listed as a vendor. That's where I'll be come Saturday! ES has been unreliable -- to say the least!
figaro52, I do use a fertilizer with a high middle number (phosphorus) on all the flowering shrubs, including the Forever & Ever. The ES just doesn't seem to respond to it. In my particular planting situation a high phosphorus number is important.
Snapple, thanks again! I've started fertilizing weekly with the high-phosphorus blossom booster, but I won't get my hopes up. Based on the photo on the link you provided the Forever & Ever is very beautiful. I look forward to getting one of them -- and maybe two.
Edited to add the following:
Further, in reading some of the news articles included in the Forever & Ever link, it appears to be common knowledge among garden experts that ES has simply failed to live up to its hype!
This message was edited Jul 24, 2007 1:14 PM
Now I feel bad that I was sticking up for it! I figured the weird weather this spring did a number on a lot of plants and Endless Summer was just a poor innocent victim. Guess not!
Well, before you give up on ES consider that the web site you were reading was put out by the Forever&Ever people, which for some reason I can't reach. It does sound true that Forever & Ever is a lovely Hydrangea though.
pajaritomt, the comments I am referring to appeared in the Wall Street Journal!
Really? The WSJ? Huh! I get that particular publication. Do you remember a date or the title of the column?
No kidding? I didn't know the WSJ cared about hydrangeas.
snapple, it was September 9, 2006. Here is the hyperlink to the article that appeared last fall.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115774420974157860.html
Really there was just a "passing comment" about Endless Summer. Interesting since a lot of us have ES bushes that aren't quite blooming up to par.
Interesting. Thanks for the link. They are right about hydrangeas being a "hot plant genus", I didn't know until last fall that hydrangeas could grow in zone 5a. I guess I started with the wrong ones. I have a friend who is doing well with Annabelle and another one doing well with Limelight. Maybe I should try one of those.
While you are considering new hydrangeas take a look at "Lady in Red". It is a Michael Dirr introduction.
http://www.ladyinredhydrangea.com/
While rated for zone 6, 5 with protection, I bought one, knowing I would have to take extra care. It may not ever bloom here, but the leaves are a deep green laced with a gorgeous burgandy. One odd thing. The planting directions stress that this is a shade plant. Perhaps that is the case in the warmer zones, but not in my garden. I kept watching the same plant in the retail nursery (I am a garden center shop-aholic) and they all were sitting in full blazing sun even through a two week stint of 90 degree temps and high winds. None of the plants wilted or showed any signs of strees, no browned, crsip leaf edges, nothing! Finally I took one home and planted it in nearly full sun. It is doing beautifully. Absolutely no wilting whatsoever and the foliage is downright beautiful. What happens over winter remains to be seen. Michale Dirr is a genuis plantsman and this is certainly one of his best.
For winter I'm going to surround mine with a chicken wire cylinder full of oak leaves and hope for the best.
This message was edited Jul 24, 2007 8:27 PM
I will check it out. Sounds lovely.