Hay, I will have to apologize to my neighbor. She is from Buzzard's Bay, Mass and upon seeing my hydrangeas, was telling me how she used to cut her's back all the way to the ground each winter and they would come up and flower every year. This was maybe 15 years ago that she lived up there so I knew they probably weren't ES but more likely Nikkos. I must admit, I thought her story didn't add up. Surely she must have been mistaken. How could you get flowers when you cut off all of the buds? Well, this year I have had a profusion of blooms that came from buds on the crown of the plants. I had tons of buds on the crowns. I had also cut back (to the ground) some disfigured stems last year. Since this is supposed to stimulate new growth from the crown as I am sure you have heard, is it possible that by cutting back hard, you, I and my neighbor may have just stimulated tons of crown buds? If so, then we wouldn't have to worry about disquising them (or burying them) every winter. I noticed that I did not have the same profusion on the plants that were not cut back...hmmmm....Can't wait to see the results of your in ground experiment. Thanks again for yet another thought provoking thread!!...yg

Hi Stephen, your description sounds very much like the hydrangea I purchased, (Endless Summer, Hydrangea macrophylia Bailmer). The Endless Summer blooms on both old and new growth and can be encouraged to bloom even more by cutting the blooms. It's hardiness is from zones 4 - 9 and planted in partial shade. However the leaves are not a glossy green, they are more like the regular hydrangeas leaves. I can honestly say that it has bloomed for me since I planted it in the spring. Being that the soil where it is planted is more alkaline I am getting beautifull pink blooms. Next year I am planning on making the soil more acid by adding peat because I would like to have the big, bold, beautifull blue blooms. I'm not too sure if this helps.............Wayne

Being a mophead, I would expect that it would turn blue-ish in acidic soil but, oddly, Wayside says nothing about blues or color in acidic soils. Maybe they just left that out? I have looked at pictures in their website and on the Internet and all I saw was pink. Could it be like some of the pink Annabelles that stay a shade of pink in acidic soil? Hmmm. Wayside info (from their website): "From fine Japanese breeding comes this exceptional Hydrangea, its petals forming a slender star on every floret! With changing colors and increasing bloom size over time, 'Inspire' is a terrific addition to any shade landscape. The first petals are chartreuse, deepening to pink and then to purple over time. New petals arise as the flower matures as well, increasing the size and density of these big mophead blooms. So showy, so long lasting! 'Inspire' is just 3 to 4 feet high and wide, with a dense habit and plenty of blooms arising on old and new wood. This is a great shrub for northern climates, where late spring frosts may kill the first set of buds but not prevent subsequent flowering in summer and fall. But it's also quite heat- and humidity-tolerant, making it a good choice for the south, mid-west, and far west as well. Site 'Inspire' in partial shade everywhere but the northernmost edge of its hardiness range. Like all Hydrangeas, it appreciates regular moisture, but beyond this has few requirements for success. Prepare for many seasons of ever-changing beauty from this remarkable shrub! Zones 5 to 9."

Funny these ES bloomstruck. I'm North of International Falls MN (The icebox of the nation they call themselves)...Zone 3. 2 ES's, planted in spring '15 and they grew some. Summer of '16 great foliage but no flowers. Winter of '16-'17 mild for us up here (but still LOTS of -22F (-29C) in Dec/Jan and -13F (-24C in Feb/March)...yes that's mild for us lol. Summer of '17 we had our first crop of bloomstruck and they were plentiful and gorgeous. We were awed. Winter of '17/'18 was brutally cold hitting -40F/C a few times. Here it is May 30, everything in the yard is "up" as expected. Except the ES. Stalks are light brown/tan and just in the last couple days a little greenery is coming at the very bottom of the plant. I'll be surprised if we even get decent foliage never mind flowers. Meanwhile we have Annabelle's at 3 different locations in yard for 20+ years. Never fail to blossom and are quite spectalular (with literally NO winter protection). Probably last summer with flowers was a fluke, winters are just so cold here. Regardless, if we don't get at least a few flowers on each bush this summer they will be coming out. I don't know why people with mild winters when temps rarely get below freezing have problems with ES. Unless the breed itself is very finicky. Anyway, reading several threads on the ES's seems a lot of folks everywhere have issues with these. As a long time retailer (not nursery plants) the last thing we ever wanted was an un happy customer. If you haven't grown them yourself and had success with them, I don't know that I would even bother offering them for sale if I were you.