Endless Summer Hydrangea
‘Endless Summer ‘ Hydrangea is part of a small group of Hydrangea macrophylla that is known to be dependable for winter hardiness and repeat blooming. It was discovered in St. Paul, Minnesotta, by Vern Black an employee of Bailey Nursery. After several years of trial testing, it was confirmed that wintered plants that died back to the ground still set buds and produced flowers the same season; proving that it bloomed on new as well as old wood. This is an unusual characteristic for H. macrophylla because it blooms only on old wood. This new plant was referred to as remontant or everblooming hydrangea because it had the ability to form flower buds in the tips of new growth, allowing repeat flowering throughout the growing season.

‘Endless Summer’ Bailmer grows to 3-5 feet high and wide and the color depends on the soil ph .
Since its introduction, similar cultivars of remontant Hydrangeas were discovered such as: ‘Penny Mac’, ‘All Summer Beauty’, ‘Blushing Bride’. ‘Dooley’, ‘David Ramsey’, ‘Decatur Blue’, ‘Mini Penny’, and ‘Oak Hill’. New and improved cultivars are constantly being tested and evaluated. Look for more varieties in the future.
Planting hydrangea
-Choose a location with morning sun and afternoon shade.
-Plant in moist, well-drained soil. Amend poor soils with organic material.
-Dig a hole 2x the size of the rootball, mix in compost/peat moss. Before planting check the roots are they white and healthy? Gently loosen the roots before placing in the ground and plant at the same soil level as grown in the container. Backfill the soil and be sure not to compact the soil. Water the plant which will fill in any loose soil and add 2 inches of mulch over the plants.
-Don’t plant under a tree as there will be competition for light and moisture.
Hydrangea care info
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I have two Endless Summer hydrangas and live in Vermont, how do you suggest preparing them for the cold winter months?
Comment by Mellisa — 1/14/2007 @ 5:47 pm
I have 5 new hydrangia (endless summer) plants I purchased from a nursery this summer 2005. They seem to be doing fine, blooming ok but they leaves have brown spots on them, it looks like rust. Any ideas what that might be? Thank you.
Comment by Lynn S — 1/14/2007 @ 5:49 pm
I planted my endless summer hydrangeas last year as babys in the fall. They are very green but no blooms, should they be blooming by now?
Comment by Hilary Blake — 1/14/2007 @ 5:55 pm
I live in central North Carolina and planted 2 endless summer hydrangias last spring. They seemed to have died off early in the summer and I have yet to see signs of life yet this spring. Is it too early to tell or are they not going to come back?
Comment by Leslie — 1/16/2007 @ 8:34 pm
I purchased an Endless Summer hydrangea last summer. It bloomed beautifully last year, wintered well, and has really nice foliage this year, but no blooms. It gets plenty of sun and water, and I haven’t fertilized it (so no over-fertilization). Any thoughts?
.Comment by Susan — 1/16/2007 @ 8:43 pm
I have a nikko blue and know it is suppose to bloom on old wood. Mine never has. It puts on 10″ of new grown and then blooms. It also put up new shoots out of the ground then bloom on the new shoots. I have lived in many states and it is the same everywhere i have lived.. . . what gives? Dawna
Comment by Dawna — 1/16/2007 @ 8:50 pm
Tina Miletich
I have 5 Endless Summer Hydrangeas plants on the side of my house which is partial to full sun. Now that we are going into the winter months here in Chicago Il, I dont know if we ned to cut them all down, to have full bloom and healthy stems for next Spring,,??
Comment by Tina Miletich — 1/16/2007 @ 8:58 pm
Can Endless Summer Hydrangas live in large pots?
Comment by Chris — 2/13/2007 @ 7:59 am
My endless summer hydrangeas had leafed out and then it froze - they look dead - any hope that they will come back this season?
Comment by Mary Lueneburg — 4/11/2007 @ 9:12 am
HELP!!!!!!!!! I over fertilized my Endless Hydrangea with the alkaline additive and it’s in SAD shape!! I live in Minnesota and alkaline levels are not adequate for blue blossoms. Please help me. My poor plant, which is young and just purchased, is dying a fast death. Is there anything I can do at this point to try to fix my mistake of making my alkaline/water mixture too strong for the poor thing????
.Comment by Laurie T. — 5/17/2007 @ 1:24 pm
Where on the stem do you cut for cuttngs to bring in? I noticed the new growth and wondered if you cut above it or count leaves,etc. before cutting?
Comment by jana akers — 5/29/2007 @ 12:41 pm
Hi, I live in Ohio and we are in zone 5 and I have 2 endless summer hydrangea’s. At this time we are going thru a drought in our state but all most all my flowers look ok but the hydrangea’s I bought early this spring. Now I have rust on the leaves. It bloomed fine, except the ht. didn’t grow at all, is there some type of chemical to put on the plants to get rid of the rust, or should I remove the leaves? Is there any way to produce more flowers, as since this was there first season, I still have a few flowers, but was wondering if there was a method on how to produce more. I followed the planting instructions to the “T” so I know they are planted in the right place. If anyone could help I would appreciate I don’t want to lose them thanks. Barbara C.
Comment by Barbara Cummings — 6/12/2007 @ 6:54 pm
Thanks for the great information on my rust problems for my endless summer hydrangeas. The problem with one is the rust is on most of all of the leaves. I can’t spray anything on them in Ohio it’s in the high 80’s and going to be 91 degrees this week. We are in the middle of a drought. If I remove the rusted leaves I may not have any leaves left on 1 plant, I wouldn’t mind if it came back next year, or should I move it, right now it is facing east under an overhang. The tag when I bought it said shade part sun, and that’s where they both are planted. The other one is at the other end of the overhang in front of the house and now it looks good, after removing rusted leaves. Should I move it, or will it die, I really don’t want to lose it. Thanks Barb C
Comment by Barbara Cummings — 6/17/2007 @ 7:49 pm
I just planted my endless summer hydrangea around Mother’s Day. It gets morning sun & afternoon shade after about 3 pm. I am keeping it well watered daily or every other day. I live in Missouri & we have been dry the past three weeks or so. My question is this: It had beautiful blue blooms to start, now they are turning white. Are you supposed to fertilize at all during the growning season? Or only to start once in the spring? My soil is very clay-like. I’d like to keep the blooms blue. What do I need to give the plant to keep blue blooms? I love this plant & don’t want to kill it! Thanks! JB
Comment by Jan Bay — 6/18/2007 @ 6:49 pm
Just bought 2 Endless Summer Hydrangea plants and transferred them to our garden. We feel the instructions provided were followed appropriately; however, they are wilting after 2 weeks and I’m afraid they are not accepting their new environment. All the leaves are wilting and there aren’t any blooms. I really don’t know what to do for these beauties. Please Help. js
Comment by Joan — 6/23/2007 @ 8:32 pm
i have a endless summer that i planted last fall & it is growing well, has lots of green foliage , but only 2 flower buds are forming. I live in Montana & it’s been in the 90’s & above for the last 3 weeks. I water daily and the plant receives morning sun & very little afternoon sun. Is it normal for the plant to only start out with a few flower buds and also can I feed it Schultz plant food 10-54-10 to encourage more blooms? I did fertilize early in the spring with a all purpose fertilizer.
Thanks,
Bobbi
Comment by Bobbi — 7/11/2007 @ 3:14 pm
I have one Endless Summer Hydrangea that I planted in the spring. It bloomed beautifully and still has the blooms attached, but almost all the stems are lying on the ground. It is almost as if the blooms are too heavy for the stems. Should I deadhead the blooms which are pretty much past? I live in Mass and the weather has been hot, but the plant gets plenty of water.
Comment by Jennifer — 7/15/2007 @ 8:14 pm
I bought 3 baby endless summer hydrangea’s this spring. I planted one directly in the soil and it died within a few weeks. I planted the other two in pots and they are doing well. One is in a larger pot 15 inches and the other in a smaller pot. I’ve read now that the root system is vigorous and I’m afraid at least the smaller pot may be too small for much continued growth. I eventually want to plant them in the ground. Could you please provide guidance about the best way and time to go about this. I live in southern South Dakota - Zone 4. Thanks!
Comment by jeanne — 7/16/2007 @ 7:48 pm
I have about 10 Endless summer plants. 4 of them are doing well. The others have no blooms and have turned a very sickly bright green color on the leaves. In spots they are almost white on the foliage. The also have not grown any since spring. Very small around 12 inches tall. I live in Alabama zone 7. I would appreciate any help for these poor plants.
Comment by Gwendolen — 7/23/2007 @ 9:41 pm
Our new Endless Summer Hydrangia died less than 10 days after planting. It looked a littly droopy just before we left for vacation, so watered it thoroughly. Two days later when we returned, it looked like cooked spinach, and did not surivive. Could it have been over watered? Some friends said it did not have enough water. It was planted in a filtered sunlight (not direct) area on the north side of our home. We have had this same problem with each hydrangia we try - in various locations in our yard - all end up irreversably wilted. What are we doing wrong?
You might consider the soil and planting procedures. Hydrangeas need rich, well-drained evenly, moist soil. If you have clay soil it will retain a lot of moisture but does not drain freely. Adding organic materials such as peat moss, compost will improve the soil. Good soil preparation is the key to successful growth. When planting make the hole larger than the root ball, 2x is sufficient and add orgainic material. Plant at the same level or slightly higher as grown in the container. Before planting check the roots are they white and healthy? Then gently loosen the roots before placing in the ground. Backfill the soil and be sure not to compact the soil. Water in the plant which will fill in any loose soil. Add 2 inches of mulch over the plants. I suspect that your hydrangeas died from root rot caused by too much water or underwatering (if you have sandy soil). Not knowing which type of soil you have and how much you watered, its difficult to determine but I hope some of this will help.
Comment by M. Pullen — 7/26/2007 @ 1:55 pm
I am in Ohio where we had a late spring freeze and are now in the midst of a heat wave & drought conditions. I planted my Endless Summer hydrangea last year and it had lovely blooms several times during the summer.
This year I have healthy green stems & leaves, but not a single bloom. I water it if it seems to be wilting from the heat.
Do you have any thoughts on why it isn’t blooming and what I should do to ensure blooms next year? Thanks for your help!
Comment by Ginger — 8/11/2007 @ 4:04 pm
What is meant by pruning? Is it just the flower? Is it only dead wood? If it is the flower, how far below the bloom do you cut? I have several varieties of Hydrangea in my garden. Thank you
Comment by Barbara Brace — 8/22/2007 @ 6:39 am
My neighbor just planted Endless Summer. She has a bout 5″ or more of mulch close to the plant, what is the proper amount of mulch to use after planting? Should the blossoms be cut after just planting, to encourage root growth? Should any root starter or fertilizer be used at planting?
Comment by Kay Densmore — 9/19/2007 @ 10:54 am
My mom lives in Central Illinois and wants to know if she can transplant her hydrangeas into pots for the winter. She wants to relocate the plants to a different area in her yard next spring.
Comment by Diana — 11/14/2007 @ 11:59 am
I live in Ontario and have a beautiful Endless Summer that is about 3 years old. We are moving in May and I would like to take it with me. How safe is it to tansplant at this time of year? Any suggestions on safe transplanting if you think it would be fine to take with us?
Thanks Lynne
Comment by Lynne — 4/30/2008 @ 9:39 am
I’m actually inquiring about another type of hydrangea. It looks like a weeping hydrangea tree (white). A friend of mine has 1 in her yard & doesn’t know what it is called do you?
Comment by nancy — 5/13/2008 @ 10:18 am
I bought an E.S. earlier this spring and replanted it in a pot and added some fertilizer. The soil is moist but well-drained and the plant gets afternoon sun. The temps where I live have mostly been in the high 70s to low 80s during the day, but they are still pretty cool at night (in the 40s) The blooms were a beautiful blue, but now they are fading and even turning green. Some look wilted. The leaves still look fine. What can I do to revive the flowers? Thanks.
Comment by kathleen — 5/15/2008 @ 11:25 pm