Endless Summer® The Original
Six Varieties, Endless Possibilities
Whether it's big, beautiful mophead blooms or silky lacecaps, the Endless Summer® collection offers six unique varieties that continue to raise the bar for reblooming hydrangeas.
A Bailey Nurseries introduction, The Original is a mop-head type hydrangea with the unique ability to bloom consistently on both old and new wood. The result is a plant that provides beautiful flowers all summer long.
Appearance. The Endless Summer Hydrangea is a shrub, growing in a rounded shape. Its dark green leaves range from 4-8 inches long, and its stunning blooms are showy mopheads nearly 8-10 inches in diameter. You can choose from a range of colors, depending on the alkalinity or acidity of your soil.
Types of Endless Summer Hydrangeas
The 'Original Bigleaf Hydrangea' was the first re-blooming hydrangea discovered and it remains the most well-known and widespread . Hydrangea macrophylla 'Original Bigleaf Hydrangea' : This variety grows three to five feet tall and wide with blue, purple, or pink blooms.
"Bigleaf hydrangeas, such as endless summer, should be deadheaded when the first set of flowers sprout from last year's growth in the spring," says Meyers. This eliminates the faded flowers before the next flush appears.
The Endless Summer series blooms on both new and old wood, making the plants much more versatile in the landscape. However, if the plants are not properly fertilized in the spring, few if any buds will be produced on the current season's growth.
Endless Summer hydrangeas grow at a moderate rate. They don't grow too slowly or too quickly, and typically reach their mature size in 3 to 5 years. These hydrangeas produce large blooms lasting up to 8 weeks during the summer months.
Bigleaf hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla) have smaller, ball-shaped blooms that are usually blue or pink but can be white, red, purple, or a mix of colors. Another way to differentiate them is by their woody stem. Endless Summer® Hydrangeas are all bigleaf hydrangeas. Prefer morning sun and afternoon shade.
Bigleaf Hydrangeas | Hydrangea macrophylla. Also called French hydrangeas, florist's hydrangeas, & hortensia. This is the most common type of hydrangea found in the United States. There are 3 different types of hydrangea macrophylla; mophead, lacecap and mountain hydrangeas.
There are a few main reasons that you may not see blooms on your hydrangea bushes: sun exposure, over-watering and over-fertilizing. Endless Summer® hydrangeas prefer morning sun and afternoon dappled shade. If they are planted in full sun, it may be too hot and intense for the blooms to produce.
The Original Endless Summer hydrangea was the first non-stop blooming hydrangea. Plus, it's easy to care for. You'll be wowed by its color-changing blooms all season. Blooms: Late-spring-early fall.
Hydrangea paniculata is one of the hardiest species; it thrives in Zones 4-8.
Endless Summer® The Original Bigleaf Hydrangea is a reblooming mophead hydrangea with classic Nantucket blue or soft pink flowers, depending on soil pH. Hardy from Zones 4-9, The Original provides season long, incredible color with its ability to bloom on last year's stems and this year's new growth.
Endless Summer hydrangeas should be planted in a place that receives morning sun and dappled afternoon shade. "The amount of sun they can tolerate depends on the zone," says Mcenaney. "Endless Summer hydrangeas that are planted in zone 4 can tolerate more afternoon sun than those planted in zone 9."
Hydrangea blossoms are at their best when they are well watered and well fed. Mulch also provides an evaporation barrier. Keeping your soil moist in the heat of the summer, which is also the flowering season for hydrangeas, will help to maintain the healthiest version of your plant.
Yes, you can use many types of all-purpose balanced Miracle-Gro on Endless Summer hydrangeas.
Fall/Winter Care
Cover the plant with a four-inch layer of organic mulch (wood mulch, leaves, etc.). There is no need to cover all stems to the tip or to cut them back. Covering should be done when fully dormant (around November 30th), or at the same time you would cover perennials in your garden.
Provide a layer of organic mulch to help retain moisture, add nutrients to the soil, and protect the plant in the cold winter months. Plant is a full sun to partial shade location, though this plant does best in partial shade. Water frequently, at least once per week. But ensure the soil does not stay wet.
If you don't prune hydrangeas then they can eventually resemble a tangled mass of woody stems, and the flowers will become smaller and less showy.
Some of the most popular reblooming hydrangea cultivars include 'Endless Summer', 'Summer Crush', 'Bloomstruck', 'Blushing Bride', 'Tuff Stuff', and 'Penny Mac'.