Endless Summer Hydrangea has left me feeling inadequate
Written: May 23 '08 (Updated May 23 '08)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: It has leaves.
Cons: It isn't blooming and it is prostrate.
The Bottom Line: I have not done well with Endless Summer Hydrangea.
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| laura10801's Full Review: Endless Summer Hydrangea |
I love Hydrangea! One of the fist things I ever planted was a tiny little Mophead Hydrangea which eventually became so big it looked almost prehistoric, with giant leaves and flowers the size of someone's head! So why then have I failed to produce flowers from the hydrangea that is supposed to be the easiest and most rewarding of them all, the Endless Summer Hydrangea?
According to numerous sources, including Gardener's Supply Company, Endless Summer Hydrangea is particularly wonderful because the flowers bloom on both new and old wood. Most hydrangeas, except the "Pee Gee" cultivars, bloom only on old wood. That means that if your winter is particularly brutal, or you foolishly prune your plants when it has already prepared to set next season's bloom, you will end up with a lot of leaves and few, if any, flowers. With Endless Summer Hydrangea you are almost guaranteed oodles of lovely blooms all season long, from "June to first frost."
I got my Endless Summer Hydrangea last year from a very reputable, local nursery. It already had a few flowers on it and a branch that was preparing to bloom. I planted it right in the middle of my back garden, where it gets 1/2 shade, fertilized the soil, and watered it fairly regularly. The plant just sat there, drooping. I am not exaggerating. It drooped to the point where you could accurately say that it appeared to be a prostrate growing perennial and not a shrub at all. No new blooms developed, although everything that was already blooming continued to bloom. I don't know for sure what I did wrong, in addition to fertilizer, I watered it and occasionally added aluminum sulfide, which raises the soil pH enough to make the flowers blue, instead of pink. I did the exact same thing with my giant Mophead Hydrangea and never had any problems.
Endless Summer Hydrangea is hearty in American growing zones 4 through 9. Here is the address of a zone finder, in case you don't know your zone: http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/ushzmap.html. I live in zone 6B, so I know the climate had nothing to do with my hydrangea problem.
Here is what I think MAY be going wrong. I planted this hydrangea a in a different section of my garden from the Mophead. I have since tested the soil and discovered there are absolutely no nutrients in that section of the garden (I find this hard to believe, but since other plants have not done too well there, I am going with it).
Here is what I am doing about it. I have heavily fertilized the soil with Hollytone, which is specifically made for acid loving plants, like hydrangea. On top of the fertilizer, I mulched with compost (the most nutrient rich garden amendment there is), later I used regular pine mulch. Last summer I put a support ring around the prostrate branches and I have kept it there, it appears the branches are much more able to stand on their own (this is called "training," when you force a plant to conform to a shape it isn't naturally taking). I have installed a soaker hose in the area and I am planning to make sure I give it a good soaking at least once or twice a week.
I am not quite ready to give up on Endless Summer Hydrangea, but if I don't get some fantastic blooms out of it this summer, I'm going to dig it up and replace it with a more easy going plant. I hope I don't have to do that, I've seen healthy Endless Summer Hydrangea, and they really are lovely.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
laura10801
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Member: Laura
Location: Somewhere over the rainbow
Reviews written: 112
Trusted by: 136 members
About Me:
A patient asked if I ever have problems.
"Do physicians ever get sick?" I replied.
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