Several resilient reblooming hydrangeas go by the name Endless Summer Hydrangeas®. Their magnificent blossoms come in various hues, including pink flowers, blue, purple, red, and white.
Pink blooms develop in alkaline soil, so certain amendments need to be made to lower the pH and create an acidic situation. We suggest Color Me Blue soil sulfur to encourage blue bloom production. This is safe, organic and all-natural
This mophead hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla) plant blooms on stems from the previous year and the current season, which is not how mophead hydrangeas typically bloom. From early spring through late summer, flowers are produced by the Endless Summer hydrangea bloom habit.
It is the ideal flowering hydrangea shrub for foundation plantings, pots, perennial flower borders, and anywhere else in your garden where you desire colorful blossoms. It has a rounded growth habit and dense, widely ovate green leaves.
Hydrangeas are toxic to humans1 and dogs, cats, and horses.
Endless Summer Hydrangea Care
Light
Endless Summer Hydrangeas prefer full sun but can tolerate partial afternoon shade. They also like to be watered regularly and, during the spring, should be given an extra water boost before their roots begin to grow in earnest.
If they are planted in full sun, it may be too hot and intense for the blooms to produce. You can also inhibit bloom production by overwatering and overfertilizing your plants.
Watering & Fertilizing
When it’s hot and dry, let your hydrangea plant sit for a few days after you’ve watered it. Then give it another good soaking with a strong water hose on a sunny day.
Follow this watering by adding a fertilizer such as 10-10-10 or 5-5-5 at half strength during the growing season. At other times of the year, apply one cup of slow-release granular fertilizer every two weeks (1/2 strength).
Soil Preparation
Other than climate, the soil is the most critical aspect of growing plants that are naturally occurring. Ensuring your soil is prepared correctly is crucial to the health and success of your plants.
Identifying your soil type is the first step. Get a soil test kit from your local nursery. “Jar Test” is another home test you can perform. Dig down 4″ and remove 14.5 cups of soil.
Place that soil, 2 cups of water, and a couple of drops of dishwashing detergent in a clear jar or plastic bottle.
Allow the contents of the jar to settle for approximately 24 hours after shaking for one minute.
There are three layers of sediment to settle out: sand, silt, and clay (which may look like yellow-brown, red, or tan water).
Most Hydrangea macrophylla only bloom on growth from the previous year; they don’t produce blooms on new growth, so they don’t flower nearly as long or as heavily as Endless Summer.
- Sand: If your jar contains over half sand, you have sandy soil.
- Silt: When there is little clay and more than half silt, you have heavy silt.
- Clay: Soil that contains 1/4 clay and significant amounts of silt is clay soil.
- Loam: Loam comprises 2/5 sand, 2/5 silt, and a thin clay layer.
Once you’ve determined your soil, hydrangea macrophylla can be planted more effectively.
The ideal soil type for Endless Summer hydrangea plants is loam. If you have heavy clay soil, add gypsum to drain and break up the clay.
The general rule is to apply 5 – 15 pounds of gypsum per 100 square feet.
Adding peat moss to sandy soil can increase the moisture absorption rate. In addition, humus and organic matter should be present at a minimum of 5 percent in good soil.
Generally, hydrangeas grow best when the organic material is spread 2 – 6 inches deep across the entire bed. In clay soils, organic matter creates air pockets that greatly improve water drainage.
Types of Endless Summer Hydrangeas
The ‘Original Bigleaf Hydrangea’ was the first reblooming hydrangea discovered, and it remains the most widely known and popular cultivar in the Endless Summer collection.
- There are three to five feet of blooms on this variety of Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Original Bigleaf Hydrangea’.
- With deep pink flowers or periwinkle blue blooms, Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Twist-n-Shout®’ grows three to five feet tall and wide.
- ‘Summer Crush®’ Hydrangea macrophylla: This compact variety grows 18 to 36 inches tall and wide and has raspberry red or neon purple blooms.
- ‘BloomStruck®’ Hydrangea macrophylla: This variety grows up to six feet tall and wide with vibrant rose-pink, blue, or purple blooms.
The only Endless Summer variety whose bloom color is not affected by soil pH is this three to four-foot variety with pure white blossoms that mature to blush pink or Carolina blue.
Pruning Endless Summer hydrangea
Endless Summer hydrangeas require minimal pruning. Never prune them in the fall.
The spring or early summer is the best time to prune without removing flower buds. Wait until green leafy growth appears on the stems before pruning.
Leave the green buds on the lower stems, as these will be the first to bloom after you remove the dried-out brown buds higher up the stem.
In the summer, blooms will emerge from the new stem growth at the plant’s base.
Endless Summer hydrangea Growing Zones Hardiness Map
The color area indicates growing zones where it thrives. Knowing this helps you pick the most compatible plant with your area. What does hydrangea do that bloom continuously throughout the year?
Reblooming hydrangeas bloom in late spring or early summer, like many “Hyperangea macrophylli” and then bloom once more produce blooms two times later in seasons.
Early Season flowering is produced by buds formed in the previous year. Flowers appear during summer form after the current season of growth.
When To Plant Endless Summer Hydrangea?
Summer is a perfect time to plant Endless Summer Hydrangeas in most states. The colder growth zone must be planted 6 to 8 weeks before thawing to give your newly cultivated hydrangeas time to grow.
Zones 8 & 9 can grow it during the winter. During summer, planting isn’t an excellent alternative to Hydrangeas, but you can find milder temperatures for summer here. Keep it moist. Hydrangea love water even when the sun is warm.
The original Endless Summer Hydrangea Spacing
The borders should be planted 4 feet apart, and the center should be central. For a massive planting or a base plant, place plants 8 feet apart. This hydrangea is suitable for plants on plants for the garden. Make sure the plant has a minimum height of 30 inches. Hydrangeas need much higher moisture as pots dry easier than soil.
Propagating Endless Summer Hydrangea
A plant patent prohibits the Endless Summer collection propagation by cuttings or seeds.
Overwintering Endless Summer hydrangea
Several resilient reblooming hydrangeas go by the name Endless Summer®. Their magnificent blossoms come in various hues, including pink, blue, purple, red, and white.
This variety of mophead hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla) blooms on stems from the previous year and the current season, which is not how mophead hydrangeas typically bloom.
The Endless Summer bloom habit produces flowers from early spring through late summer. It is the ideal flowering shrub for foundation plantings, pots, perennial flower borders, and anywhere else in your garden where you desire colorful blossoms. It has a rounded growth habit and dense, widely ovate green leaves.
Common Pests and Plant Diseases
Several common pests and diseases, such as powdery mildew, bud blight, leaf spot, bacterial wilt, aphids, Japanese beetles, spider mites, and slugs, can affect original endless summer hydrangeas.
Each of these widespread illnesses is treatable and curable with the proper care. Provide ample airflow around plants to ward off powdery mildew.
Use a burst of water from the hose or a shot of insecticidal soap to get rid of aphids or spider mites. Beetles should be manually removed from the plants and placed in soapy water.
Use bait to entice slugs away from plants, or cover the plant’s base with a diatomaceous earth ring (this only works in dry conditions).
Make careful to frequently inspect your hydrangeas to spot any pests or illnesses early, before they spread and become infestations.
How do you keep Endless Summer hydrangeas blooming?
Where the plant receives early light and afternoon partial shade is excellent for ensuring continual bloom. They might stop blooming in direct sunlight.
Are Endless Summer hydrangeas deadheaded?
Deadheading Endless Summer hydrangeas help provide space for the subsequent bloom. Under the flower head and above the following set of leaves, remove the wasted blooms.
Deadheading endless summer hydrangea helps make space for the subsequent bloom. Under the flower head and above the following leaves, remove the wasted blooms.’
How long does it take an Endless Summer hydrangea to change its flower color?
Your soil’s pH level will determine this. It may take a year or longer to progressively acidify alkaline soil if you want blue flowers, which need soil that is below 6.0.
If your soil’s pH is already neutral, at about 7.0, soil acidification occurs more quickly, and blue blossoms may appear during the same growing season. Your soil’s pH level will determine this.
It may take a year or longer to progressively acidify alkaline soil if you want blue flowers, which need soil that is below 6.0.
If your soil’s pH is already neutral, at about 7.0, soil acidification occurs more quickly, and blue blossoms may appear during the same growing season.
Do endless summer hydrangeas need full sun?
Endless summer hydrangea grows best in afternoon dappled shade or four hours per day in direct, unfiltered sunshine. Usually, the full sun is not good.
Should I prune endless summer hydrangeas?
Endless Summer Hydrangeas are not suitable for trimming in autumn. Cut the trees in May. So flowers that were already surviving winter can come back. Remove dead wood from the ground and leave the green foliage.
What do you do with Endless Summer hydrangeas in the winter?
Fall/Winter care Cover plant with 4-inch mulch (wood moss and leaf mulch). There are no necessary trimming stems. Coverage should be made when completely dormant (around December 30th) or covered by a perennial plant in your home.
What month do endless summer hydrangeas bloom?
How long will summer flowering be? It produces blooms in summer, from July to August. Like most hydrangeas, the flowers bloom on either old or new growth so that flower buds can form in the next season.
Sources used
The Gardenfrontier uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles.
The University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources. “Toxic Plants (by Common Name).” Ucanr.Edu, https://ucanr.edu/sites/poisonous_safe_plants/Toxic_Plants_by_common_Name_659/
“Hydrangea.” ASPCA, https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control/toxic-and-non-toxic-plants/hydrangea
“Hydrangea Planting and Care.” Endless Summer, 6 Mar. 2020, https://endlesssummerblooms.com/resource/hydrangea-planting-and-care/
