Ginny,
I think you need to include shasta daisy 'Becky' in this category as well. I was early to jump on board with the 'Endless Summer' Hydrangea's and they have been everything they said they were but....I know I sound like the impossible to please gardener but I found it dis concerning having the pale blue hydrangea blossoms in the garden with the more earth tone fall colors of rust,orange,burgundy,gold. I am trying something different this year I have a very late blooming (Sept) 'Sandra Elizabeth' daylily that is a bright yellow. I am thinking the two together will extend the summer season...but is that what i really want? I'll let you know. I bought many rozanne's this spring and their color is camelion like taking on the attributes of it's companions. Katy

I planted 'Rozanne' late last season so can't really expound except to say that I am glad they made it through the tough winter. I fell in love with a Geranium 'Jolly Bee' that I found at a box store last summer and it really was a fantastic performer. I'm surprised I haven't heard more about it.

The Endless summer came from Fedco early last spring, leafed out before the weather had even settled. It was small, but performed fine, even had flowers. Then, despite the fact that I didn't mulch for the winter (having read that ES likes mulch the first winter), it is showing new growth at base, so I think it may be a winner.
Jury still out on Rozanne for me. Maybe if I were half a zone warmer....

I've been growing Rozanne for years in mostly shady garden conditions and it's a great plant. It does sprawl but truly blooms all season right into fall. The Jolly Bee I planted last year was a no show this spring. To my eye Jolly Bee and Rozanne look like the same plant.

Perhaps I haven't sited it properly but I've been totally unimpressed with Endless Summer. I have two of them-one planted two years ago and one planted last year. My two year old plant didn't bloom at all last season. I recently moved it into more sun. Both plants died to the base this winter despite solid zone 7 conditions. Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised this endless summer-I sure hope so.

Sue

I hadn't realized I'd bought two hyped plants. I'd read about both here on GW. Both my Endless Summer and my Penny Mac hydrangeas died to within a couple of inches of the ground, but are happily sending out new leaves right now. Both bloomed last year, their first year in my garden, on new wood, and I'll see how they do this year, but I expect good flowering again. I still haven't worked out pH for the best blue color, as mine were pinky purple last year. I'll do a soil test this year to see where it is now. I'm just thrilled to have a color other than white as a hydrangea. I don't know if I lived in warmer areas if I would grow it, but I'm happy with both of these hydrangeas here where it's too cold for most H. macrophylla.

My Rozanne is also sprouting. It bloomed all summer last summer, and instead of referring to it as floppy, I call it a weaver, growing between, around and over other plants. I was completely happy with it, but I love geraniums, so maybe I'm a little biased.

Sorry, Ginny, I haven't grown either yet, so I can't help there, but wanted to comment on Katy's observation of the color blue in the fall garden. In general, this color clashing can truly be, if not a *problem*, then certainly an annoyance. I have pink, red and white cosmos in my garden every year, and every year they look absolutely spectacular in the fall - and it drives me nuts because it is indeed disconcerting to look at those pinks when everything else is yellow and orange and russet, etc.

So Katy, you're not impossible to please!... either that, or we both are, lol!

:)
Dee

Hi Ginny :-)

I have only tried the Endless Summer Hydrangea. I have had trouble growing Hydrangea m. in my yard. Others I have tried have made it through the winter with good foliage often growing from the base, but no flowering. I bought an Endless Summer last year and was very pleased that it grew vigorously, produced tons of flowers all summer.

I left it in the fall with no attention and it was the first hydrangea in the yard to come back and leaf out. IT did start from the base, but it was pretty small last year. We'll see if it flowers this year. I will get back to you.

:-)

Ginny:

Add me to the list of believers for 'Rozanne'. In my fully exposed full sun spot, second year, she is up and running. I happen to have gotten it for the spreading habit and am delighted that the plant layered itself and I now have two!!

Martie

I've been growing 'Rozanne' for a couple seasons now...have several that are planted to weave thru/across a Jap. hakone grass hedge that is about 20' long. They are wonderful for this purpose, IMO. The flowers look awesome against the variegated grass and I also like the play of textures. Their place in my garden gets hit with dappled sun and walking along that hedge that fronts a shrub border and lines one side of a ribbon of winding turf grass is one of my favorite places in the garden. Makes me feel a little smug :) Like...finally, Tricia...you planted something very simple that REALLY works! lol

I have a fair number of perennial geraniums, and think I like the ones that cover themselves with flowers where you can't see the foliage for a month better than the ones that always have a few flowers. That said, I like Rozanne. It's in a stinky place with a big white pine on one side and a big helianthus on the other, but doesn't seem to mind.

Endless Summer went in last year, and I'm willing to give it some time. It hasn't bloomed yet, and may be in too much shade, but did come back quite well from a zone 7 winter. It's not going to be blue here, so I didn't buy it until I saw what color pink it turns into. Some of them are really disgusting.

I've had Rozanne for years (4 or so) and it blooms practically nonstop. I've got 4 plants and they do beautifully. I bought Jolly Bee last year too, and it didn't survive this mild winter! I've also got 2 Endless Summers, one of which I bought last summer. Neither has every done particularly well, and so far I'm disappointed.

I planted "Rozanne" last year and was pleased with its habit and blooming. It weaves through taller plants, and though I planted it in half shade in a raised stone planter bed to drape over the edges. It duked out the season with the lamium "Ann Greenway" (sp?) I put nearby, which was entertaining and had a nice result. It would probably work well planted at the feet of tall, upright perennials to crawl among them and make a good groundcover.

It came up well this spring after a mild winter and is slowly sending out fresh new vegetation.

I've never planted "Endless Summer," but the garden center where I work part-time has had it for a couple years. It's remarkable in its tendency to bloom on new and old wood -- fool-proof if marginal climates kill the old-wood flower buds in a harsher winter. But as Kate notes, it would look kind of weird to have those baby blue flower in a fall garden. My preference would be for H. quercifolia to have more of an autumn appropriate hydrangea, and plant Niko Blue in the perennial border for summer blooms that won't stay around to throw off the russet fall palette.

I love both.

Rozanne has been a fantastic non-stop bloomer for me. This year I divided it into 3 plants, and all are doing fine.

Endless Summer leafs out early, looks lush & full, and gave me 2 sets of blooms last year (not exactly continuous, but at least a pretty good chunk of the summer). However, my shade of blue is fairly washed out, and I'm not sure if that is due to the plant or location.

good luck!

re: ES.
For those who is in a warmer end of z6 this plant has no reason to be grown, except in locations where you MUST have something blooming for a long time no matter what.
In acidic soil flowers are washed blue and if compared to Nikko they look like someone spill bleach on them. In neutral soil you'll have a muddy/dirty white with hints of blue and pink on individual florets. From the distance they look almost light grey. In alcaline soil (I don't have such conditions, but saw several grown in pots) it's light pink and to my eyes color has no substance.
However, it does bloom on a new AND old wood (less likely event for z5 since top growth will not survive anyway) and for those who always admired hydrangeas and wasn't able to grow them this is the plant to have.
Side note, since you'll be dealing with a 'die-to-the-ground' plant you'd need to feed it every spring to promote vigor for at least current growing season. Also, if established hydrangea may need just ocassional watering (if planted in part-shade) ES would need as much water as you could provide, especially early in a season and during the second growing cycle in July.

re: Rozanne
One of the two, either it doesn't like my unammended clay or need more sun, but last season all three of mine were not even close to what they have been in their first season.
All three are up right now and I'll see what season #3 will bring.

I don't have Endless Summer, but this will be the third year for Rozanne. I have been happy with this plant as once it starts blooming, it doesn't stop. It does have a nice way of weaving through other plants. It goes all growing season. The only hydrangea I've seen growing well in my neighborhood is either the PeeGee or Annabelle. One of my neighbors uses Annabell as a fence, about 20 feet long...looks great once it fills out and starts blooming.

You have all posted a goldmine of information. It sounds as if the jury is out on Rozanne, with some people loving it and some finding it so-so. Also sounds as if you have to enjoy a floppy geranium. I have heard elsewhere that some have had winter kill with this but there doesn't seem to be a consensus. Re Endless Summer, I am surprised to hear that it is a wishy-washy blue. But I am in a cold area where most mophead hydrangeas are not bud-hardy so may try it anyway, as George suggests.

Thanks to those of you who added info about 'Jolly Bee'. I'd been thinking about finding it, but knowing it isn't hardy enough, I'll look for a few more (or create a few more) 'Rozannes'.

My Endless Summers bloomed well last year after wintering over under a mulch of my discarded Christmas tree. But they wilt terribly in the hot sun and look sad during the summer days. Watering them constantly helps perk them up, and the blossoms stay on, but it's not exactly charming to see.

The blue color makes up for that bad habit, but only just...

It would be not fair to not add one more advantage of ES.
IT IS PRUNABLE, for either size or shape.
Even here, where macs are more or less reliable bloomers, I'm affraid to cut branch that have a survived top bud, but grew in a wrong direction or simply too tall for the space.
ES ability to bloom on a new wood give you a wonderfull chance to grow plant that you could form every year from scratches and fine tune it during the season, pretty much as you could do with HT roses.
On a separate note, lately I lost interest to mopheads as a class cause most of them pretty much are look alike (Nikko type) with few exceptions.
Contrary, lacecaps and especially serratas could give you wide diversity in shapes, colors, blooming seasons and great fall display of ever changing colors of spent flowers.
Throw in a mix advantage of bud hardiness (solid z6) and availablity of new japanese cultivars with exotic sterile florets ('Midoriboshi-Temari' and 'Miyama Yae-murasaki' are my favorites) and you might become converted as I become two years ago.
That said, I still have ES cause nothing else will stand a chance to bloom in that particular, open to all winter winds and sun location.
One more thing, if you are not looking for instant gratification for current season, but rather see it as a permanent feature of your garden, DON'T buy 3 to 5G plants, but rather spend the same money for 3(three) 1G ones and plant them together in a same large hole. Next year your 3x1G will be much larger than 1x3G.

George, you know so much. Thanks so much for sharing that very useful info on ES. I think I'll take the chance on both of these plants.

Hi,

I just wanted to add to the ESummer discussion. I am surprised about dissatisfaction with the color etc. I love the mophead hydrangeas and not having been able to keep one flowering in my yard before was a great disappointment to me. So I was delighted with the Endless Summer I had last year. It bloomed a lot and my blue flowers were a fine color blue to me, in an unamended clay/loam soil with a ph of 6.4. It was a vigorous grower and the leaves were healthy all summer. It was placed in morning sun only just under the dripline of a silver maple tree. No wilt despite two months of barely any rain but supplemental watering and lots of heat last summer.

I added an oakleaf hydrangea to the yard last year, and it died back to the ground over the winter and I have one little sprout just barely up. The ES on the other hand has a bushy 8" growth covered with healthy green leaves.

So if the ESummer blooms again and stays healthy for me, I will be very grateful to have a dependable mophead in the garden with pretty blue flowers. I will try to remember to come back to this thread later when the plant blooms and post a photo of it.

:-)

Hey Buddy,
I love that :-) If I had a chance this month I might add some diluted liquid iron to the soil around my ES as an attempt to add more depth to the color. I have not tried this myself yet but have read that it works. kt

Hi kt :-)

Thanks for that tip on the supplemental iron. I hadn't heard of that before. BTW, the ES seedling you gave me at the swap came back! I was excited to see it yesterday. I can't send a photo right now, but I will later. :-)

Diluted liquid iron is not what you should add to hydrangea on a regular basis unless your soil has an iron deficiency to begin with.
Aluminum sulphate added once a month or so during the whole growing season would help plant to absorb iron from the soil thus creating more bluer plant the NEXT season.
Don't expect overnight miracle.
Some hydrangeas are very responsive to a such treatment, some are not.
In ES case, changes will be minimal and for all the troubles you MIGHT have a darker blue edge of the petals and still light blue center. The only more or less interesting result of experiments with ES colors I saw was the white centers and blue outer edges of petals. Eventhough, it was look good only upon close inspection. From the distance plant still was washed-grayish blue.

My Rozanne geranium is 3 yrs old now and it is my favorite perennial. It blooms from Mid-June through frost. I do garden design and try to include them in every design if I can. My clients have been thrilled with thier performance.
I have still to hear anything great about the ES hydrangea. Most people say they haven't had hardly any bloooms the second year. I used "Pink Elf" Hydrangeas in a clients yard and they are blooming up a storm their second year.
They only grow 18 inches so they can be put at the front of a border.Limelight is a true winner if you want a taller hydrangea that comes back even in zone 4 and has huge panicle blooms that go from lime green to white to rose for fall. My FAVORITE!

My second year ES is completely covered with blooms, so much so that you have to move them to see the foliage! I'm in love with this plant right now and see more in my future. It's a beautiful baby blue color and really stands out in the garden. Rozanne is blooming non-stop for me too they are also second year plants.

I had 'Rozanne' for three seasons and it was great. Then, last winter, I lost it. It may have rotted in too-wet winter soil. I replaced it with a field geranium, with similar habit though not the red tinged leaves. It's no 'Rozanne,' but very nice.

'Endless Summer' I've never planted in my garden, but the landscapers' nursery where I work has sold it since it was introduced. It is still a strong seller, and landscapers choose it as often, if not more, than Nikko Blue.

I can only comment upon Rozanne. I had two, but lost one last winter (not sure why). The surviving one has suffered fungal attacks, almost certainly from the daily lawn sprinklers that I have no control over (it's at the edge of a bed, so it gets the sprinkler full blast). I strongly suspect this creates an environment that is too wet for the leaves & stems.

I heartily agree about the way it blooms!

This is the third or fourth summer for it.

> daily lawn sprinklers

Wow! You must have a green lawn - I haven't seen a green blade of grass in weeks.

The old timers here didn't add liquid iron, they left rusty iron scraps laying around beneath their hydrangeas - so that's what I'm doing.

I don't have Rozanne, but do have Endless Smmmer, received as a gift the year before last. It blooms well, i's foliage is just fine; I have no complaints about that.

Since a wide variety of hydrangeas bloom reliably here, however, I can't say that it's a plant I'd seek out unless I lived someplace where there were limited choices. I guess this is what Geo said. Yes, it blooms early, and long, but I like hydrangeas with more floral texture and deeper colors. Maybe I just need a better color scheme in that part of the garden. Or, for that matter, *any* color scheme. In *any* part of the garden.

I planted 7 Rozanne's this year and I absolutely love them! They haven't stopped blooming yet.
As far as Endless Summers, I planted a dozen last year. Eight of them are beautiful this year, full of blooms but four of them haven't bloomed yet - I can't figure out why.