Endless Summer is a hydrangea macrophylla type, and Quick Fire is a hydrangea paniculata. In zone 5, I'd recommend getting a paniculata, because it will be a much more reliable bloomer. Quick Fire (up to 8' x 8') is much larger than Endless summer (around 4' x 4'), and the blooms are a different color (Quick Fire is white turning rosy pink; ES is blue, purple, or pink depending on your soil type). But ES will not bloom well after a very cold winter, and in zone 5 most winters will be cold enough to kill the majority of blooms. ES does advertise itself as being able to bloom on new wood after a cold winter, but don't believe it! You'll get *way* fewer blooms in your zone. I'm in zone 6, and after a few freezing days in early spring, no one around here has any macrophylla blooms.

So even if you decide Quick Fire is too big, consider a smaller version of a hydrangea paniculata. There is a dwarf version of Quick Fire ('Little Quick Fire') and several other dwarfs.

Thanks lalala for your response.

Can paniculata - Quickfire types of hydrangeas be maintained at shorter heights like 2.5 - 3ft by pruning? I am totally ignorant.

Thank you in advance.

Thank you so much!

I purchased 3 ES last year and only 2 made it through the winter. These are just now starting to bloom in my zone 5. I winter protected all of them but we had a late spring freeze so I think that affected it. I am planning to move one of the ones that made it to a different bed and would like to plant 2-3 bobos where 2 of my ESs were. The paniculatas are less work so more appealing to me :)

Normally, a mophead like ES will bloom well in warmer zones but not bloom reliably in cold zones. By developing re-blooming hydrangeas, you supposedly get around the problem but for some unknown reason, some individuals have issues with ES in Zone 4 and 5. The plant is advertised as hardy to those zones. The trick is ES is supposed to produce flower buds in July-August for Spring. These flower buds develop at the end of the stems and Z4-5 winters will kill the stems. But new growth then originates from the crown and you get new stems that are supposed to develop flower buds in June-ish. And sometimes this does not happen (no idea why).

Most people in zone colder than 6 will try to winter protect mopheads and lacecaps like ES to make sure they get blooms. You can do a search in the forum for 'winter protection' to see discussions on the topic.

So, feel free to consider ES. Or also one of the other re-blooming series: Cityline, Let's Dance, Together and Ever, etc.

With Quickfire, an excellent choice, you enter the realm of H. paniculatas that produce panicle-shaped bloom only in June-ish. They are hardier (Zone 3) and not impacted much by winter issues. Most are large plants but the last few yours have included some compact ones. So these will usually produce bloomage reliably. The huge problems with these is you do not get the mophead colors that most people associate with H. macrophyllas like ES (the various shades of blues, purples or pinks).

Another plant worthy of consideration would be Oakleaf Hydrangea, which is hardy to Zone 5. It has conical blooms like H. paniculatas but it too develops flower blooms in July-August which open in Spring. As such, winter can sometimes cause problems in the bloomage department but they are not as problematic as mopheads. And they produce some gorgeous fall foliage. H. arborescens like Annabelle are even hardier (Z3-4) and usually more compact than the large paniculatas but they can have issues with weak stems and flopping when the blooms weight a lot.

Oh, well. Decisions, decisions...

I agree with lalala and also would suggest H. paniculata varieties as being most successful in your area if you are interested in hydrangea flowers with less work. Bobo should suit your needs well and I know a couple of people who grow it and are quite happy with it. There are a couple of threads with photos over on the perennial forum about it. Bombshell is reported to grow 2'-3' tall x 3'-4' wide, but I don't know anyone who grows it; I think it's relatively new.

IME oakleaf hydrangeas (H. quercifolia) are hardy, but their flower buds may not survive winter and/or spring cold snaps every year in zone 5, so like the H. macrophyllas they may not have blooms from last season's buds, and there aren't any reblooming oakleaf hydrangeas, so you won't have flowers in those years. There are a couple types that are supposed to stay around 3' tall or so and they have nice foliage.

Your success with H. macrophyllas, even when winter-protected, may or may not be up to your expectations; zone 5 in many areas has somewhat unpredictable springs so even after they have been uncovered in spring, they may need to be recovered if there is a cold snap. You could try and see if you are happy with them, as in some areas they do well.

One other alternative would be Hydrangea arborescens (Annabelle is one example) which would be fine in your part sun. It would get to something like 4' though, a bit larger than your desired height. Even when mine is pruned to the ground in winter or really early spring, it reaches 4' by midsummer, but doesn't get taller than that, even if not pruned. It will bloom regardless of what the winter was like since it is like H. paniculata and blooms on the current year's growth.

My Bombshell did not flower at all. My Bobos have been very reliable bloomers for last few seasons even when I had them planted in a shady area under a 100 year old Norway maple! It just flowers a little later than the ones under full sun.

Yes, I have heard about issues with Bombshell not blooming for some people. I have suggested not pruning it ever, adding some phosphorus and trying it for 3 years max. Then replace it if it does not work. Someone in the forum was very put off by Bombshell performing so badly (no blooms at all either)... considering it is a paniculata and it blooms on new wood!

Bombayhills, this discussion inspired me--I had a hole in my garden bed where I'd taken out some roses (a bit too shady), and I filled it with three Bobos today! I'm excited to see how they fill in. Hope you find a good match for what you're looking for, too.

Thank you everyone for your input and empowering me with more hydrangea knowledge. I have become a more keen observer in my neighborhood and while driving in my zone to see and recognize the broad varieties of hydrangea they could be...I will be visiting my local garden centers to find the right fit for our garden. I just have to come to terms with the image of colorful blue/pink/limegreen ball shaped hydrangeas in my head I had envisioned for my garden....will get there shortly :-)

Lalala- roses are my all time favorite, recently I read there are some varieties of roses for shade area specifically.. Good luck to all of you in creating a beautiful garden.

I am in Zone 5a in Ottawa and disappointed with endless summer. I had 2 , one with no bloom at all. the other with two tiny sick looking blooms. I would go for paniculata family

I heard great things about the "Bobo" paniculata, too. I bought 10 of them for a garden bed, two years ago. They didn't bloom the first year and haven't done well, at all, since. Scraggly, is the best description and all different sizes, weird shapes, too. I fertilized them in April 2016 with Espoma and they're mulched. They get morning sun and dappled shade in the afternoon. Only a few plants have shown a bloom. I'm not happy at all with them. I have Incrediballs that I put in two years ago that are going gangbusters. I wish I could find a dwarf Incrediball. The Bobos are a bust for me. I'm thinking the Bobos are pure "marketing" hype! Comments anyone?

david_madison, To my mind, two years is too soon to give up on a shrub; I'd give them 3-4 years since in the first couple of years they are settling in and growing roots. I'd also check how much sun your Bobos are actually getting since in zone 5 these are quite happy as full sun shrubs, and often low bloom is due to not enough sun for H. paniculata. From what folks have said over on the perennials forum, and from what I've seen in a friend's garden, they are fairly prolific bloomers.

I don't know the formulation of Espoma fertilizers, but unless a soil test tells me that something is lacking in my soil, I don't fertilize. If you do, be sure that the N (nitrogen part of the formula, and the first number in the NPK) is the lowest. Extra nitrogen can cause plants to put out leaves at the expense of blooms. I usually work on the principle of feeding the soil with compost and organic mulch such as shredded leaves rather than feeding the plants.

Bobo has become my favorite hydrangeas for the last 2 years. I have 2 planted in a full sun location in the fall of 2013, as 2 quarts (~ 1 ft tall) small plants ordered online since local stores did not carry them yet. Both gave nice and long blooms in 2014, and have been doing great ever since. The size is much more compact (~ 3'x3') so this is a big plus for my small chicago area lot. In spring time, I only sprinkle a little bit (1 tbs per palnt) of Miracle-Gro® Shake 'N Feed® All Purpose Continuous Release Plant Food. There are several kinds, I use the one with NPK 10-10-10. I don't typically use fertilizer but rely mostly on mulching well.

I agree with NHBabs that these H. paniculatas need to have more sun for best performance. Mine is planted in the same full sun bed with cone flowers, Phlox and black eye Susan. I almost never water them so Bobo endures the summer heat and drought just as well as cone flowers, etc. I did notice that my neighbor's little Lime blooms much less as they are in a partial shade locations than my limelights (full sun). I understand the fun sun in zone 5 (chicago) may be different from other areas.

Thanks so much to NHBabs and vivian_2010 for your feedback on Bobo and paniculatas, in general. I'll be more patient going forward with my Bobos. Next year I'll compost around them, instead of fertilizing. Hopefully, they'll grow and bloom.

My friend has a t least 5 ES (zone 5, Michigan) -- it is very hit or miss if they bloom but nothing like the tag promises!