You've given it a good run...now get rid of them and try something else. that's exactly what I would do. Life is too short to spend it nursing uncooperative plants!

Thanks for the advice - all my other hydrangeas are doing so well in spite of our past two winters - my Annabelles, Quick Fires and Limelights - but these three have been a constant disappointment for the amount of area they take up. I just wonder if there are others out there who are also disappointed in their All Summer "Un"Beauties - even those folks who have not had horrid winter temps. Are they blooming for them? Is it just the winter temps here in SE Michigan. I would love for others to chime in........

My All Summer Beauty dies down to the ground or at least to the snow line each winter, but it does bloom most years relatively well on new wood. I have lots of room and this fills a need for me where it is, but if you don't like it, get rid of it.

The forewarning is the best, although most don't receive any, because H. macrophylla are faddy and pushed to the masses. If you're in zone 6 and don't want dead sticks, you MUST use winter protection methods. There are many - simplified: use *any* type of wrapping, filling, windbreaks or other insulation that won't kill the plant. Additionally the crown MUST be covered and the soil MUST be kept moist.

Just search the hydrangea forum on Google, or search on this site, or just scroll down. I'm a nice guy and all but these questions have long-become unnecessarily repetitive and clutter up the forum. A properly moderated forum would have these topics closed with links to other posts.

Do your research!!

All summer beauty did well for me. For a mac that is. I pile leaves on all my macs in the fall and then remove most of the leaves once danger of frost has passed. It helps.

I don't buy macs any more because the other hydrangeas are better. New cultivars mean you don't have to settle for only white flowers.

NHBabs - I had no idea that All Summer Beauty still will bloom on new wood - which confuses me ....then why didn't it bloom last year on the new growth in spite of the temps that killed the original buds? (BTW - if yours dies down to the ground, does that mean you don't do anything to protect them during the winter?) Hhhmmm.....I may wait one more season. And continue to do my research - geez SPRINGWOOD! Chill out! You have no idea how much reading I've done on these - no reason to be so stern. This is a garden blog for heaven's sake. Get a cup of coffee.

isherwood777 - I think you will be very happy with your Limelights - I planted about 10 of them as a hedge (so my poor neighbor won't have to look at my compost pile, compost bin and water collector-thingy) - this is their 3rd year and I think they will be great. I had blooms my very first year in spite of these horrible winters. In spite of the one poster's impression, I have also done a lot of research on these dud All Summer Beautys. I'm tired of being unimpressed when they take up so much room. After even more reading about them, it appears as if I might possibly get a few blooms on the new wood in August (though I had zero last August) - I think I'm going to shop for dwarf Quick Fires - I have the larger ones and they bloom even earlier than my Limelights and no worries about our winters.

Thanks for your nice post - I was feeling irritated by a particular response.

In areas where bigleaf hydrangeas are not fully bud hardy (zone 7 and above), even the reblooming (old and new wood flower production) types can present problems without winter protection. If protecting the plants in winter is too much trouble - and it can be for many folks - then maybe these are not the best types of hydrangea for you and should be replaced with a less fussy and hardier type. It IS your garden........you get to choose :-)

btw, a blog is different from a discussion forum. A blog is owned by the creator and they get to determine the content. Discussion forums are open to all and there is no restriction on who can say what. One often gets contentious responses in what is essentially a free for all.

Thanks gardengal - in the fall, all my energy goes into mulching the leaves from my 8 huge oak leaves - it's a ton of work but it surely pays off. When that's done, I'm pooped. So winterizing my ASB's just ain't going to happen! If these harsh winters continue in the Midwest, I can only imagine the gradual change to more winter hardy shrubs and perennials - at least here in Michigan!

LOL!!! Oak TREES not 8 oak leaves - so much for proof reading before I hit submit.

Mary, I'm so new at this I don't even consider myself to be a novice gardener, so please take this idea with a grain of salt. However I'm in SE Michigan too and just planted 2 of these, in 2 large oversized pots. I was told they would do fine in the pot size we got and we plan on moving them into the garage during the winter months to protect them. Maybe that's something you could try with them? We also have 5 or 6 oaks and can totally relate to the leaves!! We just spent the last part of our afternoon collecting the last three bags from the side yard. :c)