Endless Summer Hydrangea-Spring Growth
Molly D. Zone4B
last year
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woodyoak zone 5 southern Ont., Canada
last yearlast modified: last yearMolly D. Zone4B thanked woodyoak zone 5 southern Ont., CanadaRelated Discussions
Endless Summer Hydrangeas don't bloom
Comments (7)I agree with jemboysch, Cathy. Since ES is supposed to rebloom throughout the year, the suggestions of not getting enough sunlight or getting too much fertilizer are worth checking. Unfortunately these are somewhat difficult to test for. I have seen some equipment that can help determine if a plant is getting enough sunlight but it was expensive. However, I do recall seeing some cheap test kits that tested the soil for Nitrogen content (and other things). Now ask me where I saw it.... groan.... it must have been a place like Lowes, Home Depot or a local nursery. Stores may be out of stock now but when Spring starts in your area, that is when these types of kits will easily be found locally (you can also check the Internet). When trying to see if the location gets little sunlight, remember that these are part shade plants. The definition of part shade suggests that the plants should get no more than around 4 hours of sun or less. Measure from what time to what time does the sun hit the plants directly and see how many hours of sun you get (if any). Also observe if the light is indirect bright light reflecting from elsewhere. As few as 1-2 hours may be enough for many varieties. If you have dense shade, observe if anything else grows there. Nothing growing suggests that you may need to raise the canopy of trees, that the trees produce jugalone (Butternut and Black Walnut Trees, for example) or that the tree roots prevent other plants from getting enough water/nutrients. I have some hydrangeas, azaleas and camellias that bloom well in front of the house (North side). Most get no direct sun ever but absorb quite a bit of reflected light from a cemented driveway and stuff like that. Regarding borers, I have not had much personal experience. I had a tree affected by borers and know they like rhododendrons too but hardly hear about borer problems in the Hydrangea Forum so *knock *knock on wood. It is strange that they would return to the same plants again although some pine sawflies will overwinter in the same place. If you prune hydrangeas, try adding some Elmer Glue on the stems that you prune to t-r-y and break the cycle or the attraction. Of course, that leaves one wondering where will they go next.... They drill holes that cause sap to fall or ooze down stems. So keep an eye during the Fall (when they deposit eggs) and Spring (when the larvae begins to feed off the sap) for symptoms of a borer attack. Effective chemical control is usually difficult so most recommendations are to cut the stem when the problem is detected. When shrubs have been reinfested year after year, it may be helpful to protect the plant with a pyrethroid insecticide such as permethrin or cyfluthrin. This is claimed to give adequate control if applied in spring after the new growth has emerged and hardened off somewhat in mid-May and again in early June. But I have not heard from anyone who has used this insecticide so, take it with a grain of salt. Luis...See MoreEndless trouble with Endless Summer Hydrangeas
Comments (4)Hi Erica, I'm thinking it was a combination of more fertilizer (which they don't need the first year), the insecticide spray, and the sun! Is it possible that he tender leaves did not like the spray on them and burned in the sun! You may have to cut them back and wait for new growth, but no more bug spray and limit the sun until they get used to it. New plants in pots look great when you buy them but they don't acclimate themselves to the elements for a while. I have a bed of 6 hydrangeas in shade most of the day but they get 2/3 hours of sun in early afternoon and this year we added 3 new plants to the planter and the flowers burned to a crisp on the new ones and the older ones that had been in the ground for a year or so sailed through the heat and sun with no problems! The temps went up to low to mid 90's for several days, and all the hydrangeas in my yard wilted from the heat but the flowers perked up in the evening. Don't be afraid to prune them back if necessary, it will thicken the plant for you and you should still get some blooms later on the remontant types. Good Luck! Donna...See MoreFall / Winter Care for Endless Summer Hydrangea
Comments (7)I'll tell you what I did and then decide if it is suitable for you. First, I'm in a warmer end of z6 and only on a rare ocassion all buds of 30+ macrophyllas I grow got killed. So, I didn't protect any of them and had no serious reason to grow ES since there are many much more interesting hydtangeas. However, I had one particular spot in a garden where macs don't want to bloom even after relatively warm winters. Problem with this spot is that it's in a full sun the whole winter and early spring and then become part-shaded as season progresses. What usually happens there is that hydrangeas buds start swelling very early and got zupped by March frosts. I planted three ES there last year and usual thing happened again even though we had an unusually warm winter. On April 1 I pruned all three of them to 6-8" off the ground leaving two pairs of live buds on a stem. By July they produced a lot of new growth from the old stems as well as from the base. First bloom occured on or about August 1, 4 months after pruning, on a new growth from the old stems and since then they are in a CONSTANT bloom because new growth from the base also produced flower buds, but 1-1.5 months later than the first set. This picture was taken last week. As you can see, right now I have a combo of aged (pink), semi-aged and new(blue) flowers on a same plant. Though plants are only 2'+ tall (no wonder with such severe spring pruning) I finally made hydrangeas bloom in that spot. How all this should be translated to z5? Unless you want to go a long way to protect current year top growth and have a mid-summer bloom, you may instead simply settle for the late-summer bloom on a new growth and do nothing, except mulching to protect the root zone.. Before ES was invented you had no luxury to chose the bloom time. Now you do....See MoreEndless Summer hydrangeas don't bloom any more ...
Comments (9)Hello, jillkins. Yes, in Zones 4 and 5, ES is known in the forum for having blooming reliability issues.... not everyone though... for some people. They are described as being root hardy only in posts. They did ok for me until I killed the one by accident. The way these re-bloomers work: like all mopheads in the north, these hydrangeas develop invisible flower buds in very late Summer or early Fall; these then open in the Spring if winter does not kill the stems; you can prune the stems down if the stems do not leaf out by the end of May; keep any live stems if you winter protect the plants and the stems survive winter; the new growth that comes up in Spring is supposed to also to produce flower buds & bloom, provided the new stems get tall and old enough. That normally occurs in mid to late Summer. Soon after the flower buds develop, the buds open and go thru the broccoli phase and bloom. Now, anything that can interfere with that process can throw a monkey wrench into the "system". The weather (early winter, dry weather, etc), pruning, allowing the soil to go dry in the Summer, etc .... all those things can cause a problem or prevent the plant stems from getting tall or old enough to develop flower buds & bloom. The Let's Dance Series is another one that includes re-blooming hydrangeas but these are more compact so, I speculate, that their stems may get to the proper height and age faster and thus they may be more reliable re-bloomers in the Summer for you. If you want to try them out that is. Not sure if hydrangeas are out of stock for you locally but it is a suggestion. ;o) Other things to keep in mind in no special order: hydrangeas like uniform moisture in the Summer so try not to have dry soil (in the Summer) as this may trigger the shrub to kill flower buds and flowers; maintain 2-4" of mulch to reduce the need for lots of water and protect the roots from temperature extremes in winter and summer; fertilize only once in Spring, unless you live in the extreme South (too much fertilizing = too much nitrogen = green leaves = no or few blooms). Rule out deer, bunnies, squirrels as these all like to eat flower buds....See MoreMolly D. Zone4B
last yearJason, zone 7A, near Greensboro NC
last yearMolly D. Zone4B thanked Jason, zone 7A, near Greensboro NCMolly D. Zone4B
last yearJason, zone 7A, near Greensboro NC
last yearMolly D. Zone4B thanked Jason, zone 7A, near Greensboro NCSusan , 7a, CT
2 months agoJason, zone 7A, near Greensboro NC
2 months agoMolly D. Zone4B
2 months ago
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