Karen summed up the two very well. ES has a very big thirst. Love both of them. Limelight is also looking very impressive.

There is no blue Forever and Ever. There is pink, a double flowered pink, and red.

Bob

You can turn the pink Forever and Ever blue using aluminum sulfate.

how often to use aluminum sulfate to change from pink to blue and when to use it.

I have both Endless Summer and Forever and Ever. The ES do very well here if they are winter protected. I planted three Forever and Every last year and they bloomed profusly this year but the plants remained small, about 18" high. I also winter protected them with leaves in November. I think its worth the effort as they both provide a mass of color.

QUOTE: "You can turn the pink Forever and Ever blue using aluminum sulfate."

You know this for a fact specifically for the Forever and Ever line?

In any case, why would anyone buy a plant that was specifically meant to be pink or red, then "experiment" to change the color when they could buy a plant that is actually blue, or is noted for its changeability, like the originally suggested Endless Summer?

Just wondering here....

Bob

The card that came with them was a rather elaborate thing that showed pink on one side and when you flipped it over, it showed blue and instructions to use aluminum sulfate. I planted one in a pot where I had poisoned an ES by misusing the AS (another story, alas.) This year, it bloomed a deep purple, while the other one remained pink.

My ES have been vigorous growers. However, my Forever & Ever Red hydrangeas have been extremely slow growers, to the point that I had to yank them out this year. Oh, and they have no bloom at all this year..... to me, F&E is a bust.

I have never done anything to change the color of my Forever and Ever and it has always been blue. This is from their site.

http://www.foreverhydrangea.com/info_pink.aspx

Forever & Ever® Hydrangea

This original variety in the Forever & Ever® series was introduced in 2005. It's mophead flowers are either pink or blue depending on soil pH. Pruning of spent blooms will encourage more blooming throughout the season.

To answer Bob, I bought an ES at the end of the season. It had one spent pink flower hanging on. I would rather have blue, but pink was all that was available. I have followed the instructions for three years and have yet to have a blue bloom. So I have decided it may be possible to change the color, but not likely. Next year I will purchase a blue one and hope to keep it blue following the "for blue instructions". I just moved my three year old ES. I decided it was getting too much sun. I purchased a raggedy F&E for $6.00 re-potted it and had it in full sun for the last 6 weeks. Now it looks healthy and has a beautiful dk pink bloom. I think it is supposed to be red. My new planting bed is done so now the ES and F&E are side by side. They will get morning sun. We will see how it goes.

Arcy, there aren't any pink or blue endless summer plants. There is soil that will either make them pink or blue. Your soil must have a lot of lime in it.

I was determined to have blue hydreangas and bought a lot of ES's. I put AS by apparently almost all of them. I ended up with one that is a very beautiful and vibrant pink. I think I'm just going to leave it up to the plants and my soil to determine what color they wish to be.

I will try anything to make them blue. I bought hydrangeas just bcs we can (?) make them blue, I hope one day they will be blue or I will be a very mad man:-)

I planted 3 Forever and Ever and love them. They are 2 years old and was told my the nursery that it's the 3rd year that they grow like crazy. I was not expecting blooms this year and have 2 on 2 of them and just love them.

I have never heard of Forever turning blue. Would be pretty though.

Here is a link that might be useful:

I have an Endless Summer and a Blushing Bride next to each other. I had added aluminum sulphate to this bed last summer so when my Blushing Bride started to turn blue I added some lime. Now my Blushing Bride is blushing pink and my Endless Summer is a mixed bag of pink, blue and lavender flowers.
Sherry

I have one ES doing exceptionally well with striking blue blooms even in our extremely alkaline soil in central Indiana.
I planted in late spring this year and dug a wide hole. When I replaced the soil around and under the roots I mixed in plenty of sopping wet peat moss and a big pile of coffee grounds. It worked like like a charm.
Every month or so I just dump another pile of coffee grounds around the base of the plant when I see the blooms are starting to turn greenish-pink again and it goes back to blue.

Hey guys... what determines if the bloom on ES will be pink or blue is the aluminum in the soil and the availability to the plant which is determined by the pH of the soil... if you want the aluminum to be available to the plant, the soil has to be in the acid range... if you have a plant too close to a foundation, it's likely it will be pink no matter what you do, because the lime from the foundation leaches into the soil. Lower the pH of your soil to get it below 5... have it tested. Using sulphur is safer than aluminum sulfate if you don't know what you're doing. Add natural organics... compost, coffee grounds, pine needles, grass clippings, vegetable peels, etc...to keep the pH down. Don't constantly water to leach nutrients, but water thoroughly less often... mid day wilting is ok and normal... too much watering won't make the beautiful blooms you want, but the leaves will look great :)

FE&E has a lot of different varieties out there..the most common ones are FE&E Red, FE&E Pink, and FE&E early sensation...these are the earlier releases and I know FE&E red is VERY difficult to turn blue even with high doses of aluminum sulfate...FE&E with better luck...don't have FE&E early sensation in any of my or my client's gardens..I'd suggest FE&E BLUE HEAVEN for blue colors...this is a newer release with very limited quantities...some folks have bot this plant and trial in their gardens...from what I heard, FE&E BH can turn blue with relative ease, even in soils not that acidic where ES blooms might not get the blues...

Hi - Last year I experimented on trying to blueify my 2 ES & 2 F&E - I used both a/s & Tiffany's organic amendment suggestions on both sets. my nursery friend advised a/s solution applications in early Spring - 2-wk intervals 'til buds are ready to open - (due to the enormously long days of heavy rains/strong storms/tornados, in early Spring, I was late in my efforts).

Results - F&E no response except 1 huge bloom turned dirty pink. ++ on F&E vs ES tho is, the sturdiness of canes & much larger blossoms shaped more like an upside down bowl.

ES: more blooms (30 each) but due to skinnier stems, had to be corralled/supported, eventually - as far as attempts at color manipulations (a/s vs organic mix) ES2 on coffee, tea etc - stayed pink with only 1 light lavender. ES1 only 1 a/s sol. applic. = like a dish of pastel mints or Jordan almonds. See in the link posted.

This season, I will attempt to apply amendments on time & see what happens.
Another observation bet the 2 ... protected F&E showed up their green shoots, from the ground a week later than unprotected ES. So far not a 1 are showing any leaf buds bursting open on old canes.

FWIW ... Happy season to all!

Here is a link that might be useful: ES1 & ES2