question about Endless Summer

The summer of 2006 I planted a macrophylla hydrangea and then learned that I needed to provide winter protection to ensure blooms the next year. So I did that, and got blooms, and a ton of new growth on the canes from 2006. I covered it again this year, but also added and Endless Summer last summer so that I would not have to fuss with it so much to get blooms.

So here is my undoubtedly dumb question- when you've got a hydrangea like Endless Summer, which blooms on new wood, I assume that means it is going to leaf out and grow from the bottom? I was just out looking at it and actually noticed some green leaves at the base that look like they must have started to spring up when we had a warm spell recently. Can't quite remember when we had that, but it looks like something was inspried to grow. I can't imagine anything ever coming to life in upper portion of the canes that are just sitting out there now, exposed. So my question is.....how does Endless Summer ever grow into a full size plant if there is no new growth on the older canes? I'm pretty much a beginner at this- am I totally misunderstanding the way this all works?

It's very early yet, I'd give the older branches a chance before you assume they're dead. Your plant is just being smart--if it put out leaves now on those branches, they'd just get zapped when you have a cold snap, the new growth that's closer to the ground will be a bit more protected (although if you're expecting some really cold weather, it wouldn't hurt to throw a blanket over it for the night). And since ES blooms on new wood, even if all it does is put out new growth from the base it should still bloom for you this year. If it dies back completely every year and has to start from scratch, it probably won't grow as big as it would in a warmer climate where it doesn't die back.

Thanks, ecrane. My other hydrangea is covered up at the moment, as it was last winter, so I don't have anything to use as a comparison....but the Endless Summer canes sure look as dead as can be. I guess I will just have to wait and see what happens. If it only grows each year from the base, I can't imagine it ever reaching a size of greater than a foot or so, which just doesn't seem possible...otherwise why would they say these hydrangeas are the preferrered ones for this zone? I don't think I'm up for winter protection with two of these things, I have to say, so my fingers are crossed.

I think ES is a rip-off. I have two of the things, they are constantly dying and wilting when the Annabelles are doing just fine. Last year I thought the late freeze had killed them but they eventually came back and spent another year wilting and dying - I am just about ready to let them do it, they are so set on it.

I'll put in more Annabelles.

The reason they're the preferred ones for your zone is that they'll actually bloom for you without going to extreme lengths to protect them. Other H. macrophyllas will rarely if ever bloom for you unless you pile leaves, etc over top of them every winter. As far as the size--first of all it might not die completely back every year, and even if it does, as it gets older and its root system is able to support a larger plant, you may get several feet of growth from the base each year rather than just a tiny bit. And if you really want it to get bigger and it's not growing how you want, you can always protect it like you do with your other hydrangeas, that certainly won't hurt it.

I should say that I'm not positive on that--I didn't grow hydrangeas when I lived in zone 5/6 so I don't have any personal experience. I just know that plants which are naturally herbaceous and die back every winter will grow larger when they're older, and they're in the same situation where they're starting from scratch every year so I feel like the same thing would be true. And most shrubs take a couple years to get established and put out lots of growth, so if yours was planted in the last year or two then any growth you get in the first year or so isn't going to be up to its full potential even if it wasn't dying back over the winter. It's never going to get huge though if it dies back completely every year, so if you have visions of a big ES shrub then you probably ought to protect it.

LTilton's got a good point about Annabelle though, if you really want hydrangeas that are going to do really well in your climate, you ought to move away from the macrophyllas and go with cultivars of H. arborescens or H. paniculata instead. They're hardy to zone 4 or maybe even 3, so they shouldn't die back at all unless you have a really, really severe winter. Only trouble is you don't have as much of a range of flower colors, they're all basically white, some age to pink but that's about all you can expect. But they're very beautiful too and much lower maintenance!

Well actually, I don't have a lot of room in my yard, so if the ES were to stay on the small side, that wouldn't be the worst thing it the world. I just didn't want it to be a super runt, you know? I think Annabelle would get too big, if I recall correctly Protecting Merrit's supreme was work, but it sure was pretty last year. So that's probably worth it to me, for that payoff. My garden is almost ALL shade, so I'm greedy for real, longlasting color when I can get it. MS looked so pretty all the way until the first frost.

It seems to me that as I drove around last Spring I did notice some shrubs around town with bare canes and growth coming up from the bottom....so I imagine it all just works out in the end?

I'm tempted to leave off the winter protection on Merritt's supreme next year just to see what happens. We are very near the ocean and all the snow seems to melt quickly in our yard...more quickly than the next door neighbors,even. Am I just deluding myself into believing I'm in a different zone than my zipcode indicates?

This message was edited Feb 25, 2008 11:50 PM

Even if you are in a warmer zone than the map tells you, I'd still protect Merritt's Supreme. I'm pretty sure it's one that blooms on old wood, so I think you'll be disappointed in the amount of blooms you get if you don't protect it. Even in zone 6 people really need to protect them to get the best blooms, it's not until you hit zone 7 that they start to bloom reliably without protection.

As far as the new growth starting from the bottom--that's how my hydrangeas behave here in zone 9 too, that's why I didn't want you to give up on the top part yet. They start from the bottom, and then gradually the older branches will leaf out. I have one hydrangea that for some reason never lost its leaves last winter (they turned kind of red and look ugly, but they never fell off), but my other hydrangeas that did lose their leaves like they were supposed to haven't leafed out yet all the way to the top, and mine ought to be at least a month or so ahead of yours.

Oh yeah, I know I'm way early to expect any sign of life- probably closer to two months, at this point. Not that that stops me from going out and hunting desperately for it ;)

I built a styrofoam box over Merritt's Supreme this year in place of the leaves that I used last year, since the weight of the ice and snow on the leaves knocked off a few canes. I *hope* the box works. It hasn't been particlulary cold here, but I understand the greatest vulnerabilty comes when the plant breaks dormancy and then you get a cold snap, right?




This message was edited Feb 26, 2008 12:03 AM

In terms of flowers a late freeze is definitely the worst, I'd definitely leave your box on for a while!

If you remove the box on warm days then set your timer so you can cover it again around 6 PM in case temperatures are due to drop at night.

Endless Summer has been referred to as Endless Dissapointment by some. My 5 yr old (I think, I've kind of lost track) plant was a respectable 3' last year. It came back from being killed absolutely to the ground from the horrible late April 2007 devastating freeze. It also bloomed reasonably decent on the new growth. This was the first I'd coaxed out more than a couple of stingy flowers because I generously banded triple superphosphate in the very early spring. Phosphate is slow to work into the root zone for plant uptake. This hydrangea will grow and flower in Zone 5b without protection - if you use an annual application of phosphate in early spring. I also had brilliant blue flowers. Every fall I side dress with garden soil sulfur to keep the pH at about 6. Since the normal soil pH here is 6.5 to 6.8 I didn't have far to go to bring it down. This might not be practical in all soils. Besides, pink is pretty too.

Actually, the Endless Summer I bought is the white one, Blushing Bride. The soil here is very acid, so the flowers on Merritt's Supreme were a beautiful purple instead of the rosy pink they are "supposed" to be. I don't actually know the soil pH, I have to admit. It will be curious to compare the two this year...the are planted fairly close together. What do you consider "early Spring", snapple?

In these parts April 1. I side dress with superphosphate fertilizer usually in the first week of April. I don't uncover the hydrangeas I do protect from the cold ( Blue Deckle and Lady In Red) until the 10th or so, keeping an eye on the weather forecast and keeping the mulch handy for another week or so just in case. My zone 6 hydrangeas are in wire cages stuffed with oak leaves. Last year was the worst I've ever experienced in 35+ yrs of gardening for a brutal mid spring hard freeze. I lost a 9' Acer palmatum dissectum 'Ever Red'. The temps dropped form an extended period of the high 60's to 19 in a twenty four hour period and they stayed there for over ten days. Lucky you to have the hydrangeas bloom blue without trying!

Have you ever tried any Enkianthus? They are beautiful small trees or large shrubs that need acidic soil. They are slow growers. I have three, the species, a pure white and a bright pink. They are tough but elegant, a beautiful bloomer in spring, blazing fall color and nice winter structure to boot. Like all Ericaceous plants they need moist soil with good drainage. They can stand alone in the landscape or fit in with a mixed shrub border. I think they are very under utilized.

Snapple, I've never even heard of that, but I just looked it up and I think it's really pretty....hmm, now you've got me thinking about that. So sorry you lost your Japanese Maple last year.

I really hope I have the same good results with the styrofoam box as I did last year with the bin full of leaves...only without the branch loss this time. I looked thru my records and pics, and I think I started seeing new growth from the buds at around the third week in March last year (I kept it covered, but I did peek now and then). So in a couple more weeks I will peek into the box and see what's happening in there. I had 18 blooms last year even with the branches that were lost, so I was happy with that. And I loved the deep, rich color. It seems like the ES blues are paler, which I don't care for quite as much. So, for the look I like, I guess it's worth the extra effort, since it's only one shrub...just not sure how big a box I will have to make next year! Here is Merritt's Supreme last year.

Oh my goodness, is that Meritt's Supreme ever beautiful. No wonder you went to the trouble of building the box. Now you've got me thinking too. I hope your winter has been as mild as ours, so far anyway. Should be a good spring.


Ya' know I'm probably going to find a spot for that hydrangea. I wonder if my slightly acid soil would produce such a rich color? I can only try. Thanks for taking the time to share that photo.

I have ES and I just ignore the darn thing! I had new growth come out on last years sticks and I just cut it back to where it was budded out. I had many big blooms on it, but don't know whether it was on the new or old canes. It does wilt down easily, but mine are in an area where they get little moisture. I toss some fertilizer down in the spring and water it with alphalfa tea several times. It is sink or swim here!

I am looking for limelight this year!!

The woody shrub lecturer I had yesterday in my Master Gardener class yesterday really liked "Limelight". Should be a good addition. I'm adding 'Little Honey" and "Pinky Winky". Neither are macrophylla's but will be hardy and bloom reliably here without any fuss.

I went a little hydrangea crazy last year before realizing that they're not as hardy as I thought they were in this zone. My Endless Summer looks like it might have survived (hard to tell yet), because at least it's still standing. The other two (both macrophylla types) that I started as tiny 6" tall plants are squashed to the ground now and look pretty much dead.

As much as I love the big snowball type hydrangeas, I'm thinking of giving Limelight a try this year. I've developed a thing for green flowers. ;)

I wouldn't give up on them yet--they may well put out some new growth from the base once it's time for them to wake up.

I like limelight too....wonder if I can find some room for that. My wedding flowers were all green and white- I love green flowers!


I was out the other day really scrutinizing the buds on ES. Some look completely dried up and shrunken- just can't imagine those springing to life, but I'm still not sure how this all works with hydrangeas. But there are some buds that still look "full", just maybe dormant, so I hope that I will get some new growth from the tops of some of the canes, anyway. We'll see soon!

Resist the temptation to cut back until June. (Speaking from experience)

I left the dried flower heads on my ES over winter for some interest. When should those be snipped off?

Snip them off to the first pair of healthy buds at bud break this spring.

Thanks, snapple45!

I'll get the hang of hydrangea grooming yet. :)