Hydrangeas are like the spring’s pompom, cheering on the season. Blooming from spring to autumn, this flower is so beloved that it even has its own holiday! Hydrangea Day is celebrated on January 5th, which is perfect since it is a time of year when the beautiful Hydrangea ‘Endless Summer‘ is in full bloom!
If you are looking at growing your own hydrangeas at home, read the following tips and tricks on how to plant and care for them, particularly the Hydrangea ‘Endless Summer’:
Appearance
Hydrangea ‘Endless Summer’ is a deciduous shrub growing in a rounded shape. Its glossy, dark green leaves range from 10 – 20cm long, and its stunning blooms are showy mopheads nearly 20 – 25cm in diameter.
You can choose from a range of colours, depending on the alkalinity or acidity (pH) of your soil. Starke Ayres Acid Loving Plant Food is a good fertiliser to help you regulate the pH levels. Shades range from deep blue to vivid lavender and from soft mauve to rose pink, depending on the .
Hydrangea ‘Endless Summer’ is compact, growing 1.5m tall and 80cm wide.
Planting
Autumn or early spring are the best times to plant Hydrangeas ‘Endless Summer’, since you want to give them time to establish a healthy root system before the blooming season begins.
Choose a sheltered planting site that receives partial shade – ideally, sun in the mornings and shade in the afternoon. Before planting, decide what colour Hydrangea ‘Endless Summer’ blossoms you want.
Dig a hole twice the width of your ‘Endless Summer’ root ball and roughly its depth. You want your plant to be just slightly higher than the level of the surrounding soil.
Begin to backfill the hole with soil. Stop halfway and pour water into the hole until it rises to the top. Once it drains away, finish filling in the rest of the soil.
If you’re planting your Hydrangea ‘Endless Summer’ plants as foundation plants, space them 2.5m apart from each other, measured from the centre of the plants. For a garden border, space them out 1m apart.
Growing conditions
‘Endless Summer’ actually enjoys partial shade to full sun and is able to bloom on both old and new growth from spring through summer or early summer to autumn, depending on the climate of your area.
Sun and shade:
‘Endless Summer’ thrives in partial shade, or roughly four hours of direct, unfiltered sunlight per day. It’s best if it receives sun in the morning and shade in the afternoon.
Soil:
‘Endless Summer’ can grow in a range of soils but needs moisture to flourish. The key thing to remember about soil is that the level of acidity or alkalinity will determine the colour – from blue to purple to pink. For a bluer shade, make sure your soil is acidic. For pinker, amend it to more alkaline, as needed. For bluer blossoms, you can adjust your soil with sulphur. If you’re more interested in bold pinks, adjust it with lime.
Watering:
You should water your ‘Endless Summer’ routinely each week, up to twice a week during the hotter months.
Fertilising:
Fertilise your ‘Endless Summer’ once in spring or summer with a specially formulated fertiliser, such as Starke Ayres’ Hydrangea Food or Acid Loving Plant Food.
Pruning:
You do not have to prune your ‘Endless Summer’, because they can bloom on both old and new growth. However, you should trim any dead, dying or diseased branches when you notice them.
Happy hydrangeas makes for a happy gardener
Be sure to follow these easy steps for happy Hydrangea ‘Endless Summer’ plants. They will keep blooming for you to enjoy! Buy your ‘Endless Summer’ hydrangeas in all the colours at Plantland.
