3/4 of the day is a lot of sun. If it was along the north side of house, it would be in a lot of shade, but if it is away from the house, it is south-facing. That might be too much sun for a Hydrangea, esp in your zone. Is it mid-day afternoon sun? That could be very stressful. If you don't want to worry about watering, Limelight is going to be more forgiving. It is a paniculata and not a mophead. Mopheads have thinner leaves and wilt easily. There is a 'Little Lime' plant also that may be better suited to the size available. Limelight can get quite large and will overgrow that space. QuickFire is another great paniculata choice and may run a bit smaller than Limelight.

when did you cut off the spent blooms...i cut off my spent blooms in mid-July (most are fairly papery at the time already), down to the healthy set of buds...feed the plant with a half reco dose of superbloom in Aug, and I have a pretty good second round of flower buds..and they are beginning to bloom now...I am in zone 6b, the plants get a bit of morning sun, no afternoon sun, well watered at all times..maybe the weather in z5 is a bit less friendly for a rebloom season this yr...in my experience, a second feeding of a high phosphate fertilizer is a necessity for ES...ES is a gross feeder, phosphates will do it good.

:-) LOL...I love that, it will be my new name for them now! Thanks for the comment, I feel better knowing it's not just me. I can get most kinds of plants to perform, even some fairly fussy roses, but these guys baffle me, no discernable rhyme or reason I could figure out as to why they bloomed some or not at all. They were giving me a gardening confidence crisis... I even sort-of did winter protect them last year with some soil (I was winter protecting some first year roses and had a bit of dirt left over). So at least I would have thought they'd improve, relative to other years. And they didn't have the stress of die-back after they'd broken dormancy as far as I know. Maybe they just don't like our la Nina years, or I looked at them wrong. No idea... I think that, rather than commit hydrangeacide quite yet, in spring I'll move the one in the back to a new location that is more of an North-western side location, not quite as much sun and a little wetter. That spot isn't so great for roses anyway, and the hydrangea foliage should at least not be stressed for water or fried in the sun there. They are pretty foliage plants, when they aren't in places where I'm constantly eying their spot and thinking how many flowers I'd have if I had a rose there instead... Thanks again!

I'm up in Bailey's neightborhood and have used Endless Summer in my own garden and several clients gardens. I lost a few the first year they came out but since they've all done well and bloomed subsequent years. It seems I only get one good flush in mid summer, I think the early crop is killed off over winter and then there isn't enough time to ripen a fall flush. None get chemical fertilizer but all are in shady woodsy gardens with fertile soil. I can't really think what would be different about the upper midwest. More heat then the east coast? Cooler evenings? Blushing Bride is supposed a better reblooming - time will tell. BTW my understanding is the original Endless Summer was purchased a forced plant for a Mother's Day gift and planted in a garden where it bloomed happily for years until it came to the attention of someone who worked at Bailey's Ted