CARING FOR YOUR
ENDLESS SUMMER HYDRANGEA
Endless Summer produces spectacular pink or blue blooms depending on the make-up of your soil. If you don’t know the pH content of your soil, ask the experts at Linder`s Garden Center for a soil testing kit.
· Alkaline soils, pH 6-7, will produce pink blooms.
· Acidic soil, 5-5.8, will turn your blooms blue. To add acidity to your soil, pick up a Bailey Nursery Endless Summer Color Kit (available at Apple Valley Nursery) to the soil before planting. Follow the directions on the package to encourage blue blooms throughout the season.
To encourage rebloom, remove spent flowers. Because Endless Summer blooms on new wood, you don`t have to wait until the next season to see armfuls of new blooms.
For more detailed instructions on pruning, changing flower color or drying hydrangeas, see below!
Pruning
The good news about pruning your Endless Summer hydrangea is that there is so little of it required. Big leaf or macrophylla hydrangeas will not suffer if left unpruned. In fact, young, recently planted shrubs are best left alone. Deadheading the flowers will be more important that actual pruning.
Unlike other macrophylla hydrangeas, your Endless Summer will bloom on both old and new wood, branches that grew last year and the new branches from this year. Another unique feature is that this hydrangea will continue to set buds and bloom through out the season. Deadheading the spent flowers will encourage this. You should feel free to cut the blooms for drying and for the vase because you will actually be encouraging the plant to produce more blossoms.
Pruning a young shrub can be limited to removing a branch that spoils the shape or symmetry or your shrub. Older plants, beyond 5 or 6 years old can take more extensive pruning if desired. A good rule of thumb is to annually remove about a third of all main branches at ground level. Select the oldest and most gnarled wood. This practice, know as replacement pruning, allows more light to reach the center of the plant and encourages new growth from the base of the plant.
Early spring is the best time to prune. Many people like to leave the spent blooms on their plant because it adds winter interest. It may also act to insulate the new buds from frost and cold. They should be removed in spring however. Any dead wood should also be removed at this time. If you do make a mistake, don`t worry. Endless Summer is a very forgiving plant.
Changing Flower Color
Big leaf hydrangeas are very unique in that their flowers can change color. We would all be very surprised if our roses were red one year and lavender the next!
The color of hydrangea blossoms depends on the soil`s pH and its ability to absorb aluminum at these different levels. A neutral pH is 7, a pH greater than 7 is considered alkaline and usually produces pink and red colors. A pH lower than 7 indicates an acid soil and generally produces blue flowers. Having said that, it is not at all unusual to see several different colored flowers on one shrub. You can buy a soil pH testing kit at Linder`s Garde Center to see how your soil rates.
It is possible to manipulate the color of hydrangeas and it seems we gardeners always want what we can`t have. But I have to say this, after years of gardening I have found that it is always better to try and work with Mother Nature. In reality, it is rather difficult to change the pH of your soil and even more difficult to sustain that change in pH. You will have an easier time if you are growing your hydrangea in a container. That way you only have to try and manipulate the pH of a small amount of soil. One more word of caution, many people have killed their plants applying too much aluminum sulfate. More is not better in the plant world.
Changing to pink
To change from blue to pink you need to change from an acid soil to an alkaline one.
· To help raise your pH you can use dolomitic lime several times a year several time a year. You will have to retest your soil and aim for a pH of about 6.0 to 6.2, if it goes above 6.4 your hydrangea may experience an iron deficiency.
· Use fertilizers with high levels of phosphorus such as 25-10-15. Phosphorus helps to prevent aluminum from being taken up in the plant`s system. (Phosporus is the middle number of any formulation. So in 25-10-15, phosphorus is 10.)
· Consider growing them in a large pot where it would be easier to control the pH.
Changing to blue
The presence of aluminum in the soil will produce blue flowers. Aluminum becomes available to the plant at a pH of about 5.2-5.5. Adding aluminum sulfate will lower you pH and ensure the presence of aluminum in the soil.
· Only recommended for established plants older than 2-3 years.
· Thoroughly water the plant before adding aluminum sulfate mixture.
· Use a solution of 1/2 oz (1 Tblsp) of aluminum sulfate (or less) with 1 gallon of water.
· If your climate allows, consider growing them in large pots. Decrease aluminum sulfate to 1/4 oz per gallon of water. Other Methods Include:
· Adding large amounts of organic matter, such as peat moss and composted leaves which will acidify as they break down.
· Applying elemental sulfur or iron sulfate. Sulfur works slowly. Iron works more quickly but requires more to work. Applied in recommended rates, it will be safe for your plants.
· Products like Miracid will help you maintain a lower pH once achieved.
If you are very serious about doing this remember to check the pH of your water. If you are trying to turn your flowers blue and you have hard water, water containing lime, that will not be very beneficial. Also remember that concrete foundations and walkways tend to leach lime, raising the pH in that area.
Drying Hydrangeas for Endless Pleasure
Air Drying
The single most important thing about drying hydrangeas is not which method you use; it`s when you harvest them! Fresh, newly opened blooms seldom, if ever, dry well in the open air. It is best to wait until the blooms begin to dry on the shrub. The petals will have faded a bit and feel papery to the touch. At this point, you can cut them, strip off the leaves and air-dry them in a baskets or vase with or without water. If you have the space and the time, hanging them upside down in an airy place out of direct sunlight works well too.
Silica Gel
It is possible to dry fresh blooms in Silica Gel to retain their natural blue and pink colors. Silica Gel is available a most craft stores and isn`t a gel at all. It looks like white sand with blue crystals in it. This is an expensive, time consuming method but the results are very beautiful. First of all you`ll need a large Tupperware-type container. The entire bloom needs to be suspended in the gel. Always use dry blossoms. Add a base of Silica Gel to the bottom of the container, then holding the bloom upside down, sift in enough of the gel to completely cover the bloom and seal the container. After 4 days, you can gently pour out the Silica Gel onto a newspaper (you can save the gel and reuse it). Now your flower is dried, the colors preserved and ready to use for decorating. Some people like to spray them with hair spray at this point the help preserve them. Other people don`t like the slight gloss this adds, so try it on a small one and see what you think.
Cat Litter
Believe it or not, many floral arrangers are now using cat litter in the same way you use Silica Gel. This is a much less expensive way to experiment with drying hydrangeas. Use the finest textured, non-clumping cat litter available.
Dye
For the more adventurous among you, try dying your dried hydrangeas for a special effect. If you have a particular color scheme in your home or you need a specific color bloom say for a wedding, this might be fun for you to try. This works especially well with white blooms but you can of course, dye faded pink blooms brighter pink and make blue flowers bluer. It works the same as dying fabric. Get your dye up to the boiling point and dip your flowers one by one, then hang them to dry. To get a variety of shades you can bold the bloom in the dye for a longer or shorter amount of time. The cooler the temperature of the dye the softer the tint will be. Use lots of newspaper, they`ll drip!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Do I need to cover my Endless Summer Hydrangea during the winter?
Although this hydrangea is crown hardy to Zone 4, it is a good idea to provide some winter protection, especially the first season. It is recommended that you cover your plant using 6 to 8 inches of marsh hay or straw in late fall (usually around the end of November)
Endless Summer can bloom in shades of pink or blue. How can I achieve the color I want?
The color of bloom is dependent on the pH of your soil. If you desire pink blooms, in most cases, you need not do anything, as neutral to alkaline (6.0 to 7.0) soils will produce pink blooms. If you do not know the pH of your soil, most garden centers carry a soil test kit which will help you determine the acidity of your soil.
If you desire blue blooms, increase the acidity (5.0 to 5.8) of your soil. We recommend adding Soil Acidifier or elemental sulfur to your soil before planting your hydrangea. If you have used or are using aluminum sulfate, be sure to follow the package instructions carefully. Adding too much aluminum sulfate to your soil can be harmful since aluminum does not move through the soil. This can create a condition called aluminum toxicity which can be very harmful to your plants.
The leaves on my hydrangea are turning reddish-purple. What is causing this?
Cooler temperatures have been noted to cause the leaves to develop a reddish-purple tint, especially at the tips and margins. You might notice this color change on the leaves in late spring and early fall.
My Endless Summer Hydrangea has already bloomed this season. Will it rebloom?
Yes. Since Endless Summer Hydrangea blooms on new wood, it has the ability to rebloom throughout the season. By removing the spent flower heads, this will encourage new flower buds to form.
When do I prune my Endless Summer Hydrangea?
Since Endless Summer blooms on old wood as well as new wood, any pruning you do should be kept to a minimum. If you need to prune your Endless Summer Hydrangea, the best time is in early spring. Remove any dead, broken or damaged branches and prune lightly to shape.
When can I expect my Endless Summer Hydrangea to leaf out in the spring?
This is dependent on weather and soil conditions in the spring. Endless Summer Hydrangea needs warm soil temperatures (above 75 degrees) to break dormancy and leaf out in the spring. If you have your Endless Summer Hydrangea in a shady spot, it may take longer for the soil temperatures to warm up for your plant to leaf out in the spring.
My Endless Summer Hydrangea looks healthy but did not bloom last summer. Is there something wrong with my plant?
No, there is nothing wrong with your hydrangea. Growers have discovered Endless Summer Hydrangeas that did not bloom in their first growing season was due to the plants immaturity. Once your hydrangea is established in the ground, you will start to see it bloom. Be sure that you regularly fertilize your hydrangea with a balanced fertilizer (10-10-10) during the growing season.
Information gathered from Bailey`s Nursery.