Bigleaf hydrangea 'Endless Summer'
Hydrangea macrophylla 'Bailmer' (Endless Summer) · Hydrangeaceae Popular
Big mophead flowers, blue in acid soil and pink in limy soil, on both old and new wood, so that it flowers even after a hard winter.
- Size
- 4 ft tall, 4 ft wide
- Zones
- 4 to 9
- Light
- Part sun to part shade
- Flowers
- Late June to mid September
- Pets
- Toxic (mild)
- Job in a bed
- Anchor
A bed built around bigleaf hydrangea 'Endless Summer'
The planner designed this bed around bigleaf hydrangea 'Endless Summer' when this page was made: a 16 × 8 ft (4.9 × 2.4 m) English border in zone 6, part sun. It chose the other plants from the 708 that suit those conditions, and says below why bigleaf hydrangea 'Endless Summer' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Bigleaf hydrangea 'Endless Summer' × 1, blue
- 2 Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana' × 29, yellow
- 3 Stemless gentian × 26, blue
- 4 Canadian burnet × 4, white
- 5 Siberian iris 'Caesar's Brother' × 3, purple
- 6 Palm sedge × 5, green leaves
- 7 Columbine meadow rue × 3, lavender
- 8 Asiatic lily × 3, orange
- 9 Grecian windflower × 12, pink
- 10 Camassia × 4, blue
Why this plant
- The only bold leaves here. The rest are medium and fine. A change of leaf keeps plants distinct when nothing is in flower.
- The only dense clusters. The others are daisies, trumpets, spires and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- Part of the bed's structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down. So does palm sedge.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 4 ft it is one of the taller plants here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to columbine meadow rue (3 ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- One plant, alone. A shrub is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- In flower for 13 weeks. From late June to mid September.
- Fills a gap. For four of those weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as an English border: 10 of the 13 groups (77%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Stemless gentian and mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana' finish the front edge. Blue runs through the planting: 3 of the 9 kinds grown for their flowers have it.
The planner's own design check: 9 Excellent, 8 Good.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where bigleaf hydrangea 'Endless Summer' goes in a border
At 4 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is moderately tall (3 to 4 ft).
Its job: anchor. A shrub that gives the bed permanent structure. Planted singly, as soon as the front edge is laid; everything else is arranged around it.
The plant that made bigleaf hydrangeas possible in the North. Give it morning sun, afternoon shade and steady water. Do not prune it in autumn or spring.
- Blue or pink mopheads in colder gardens
- Foundation planting in part shade
- Cut flowers
What to plant with bigleaf hydrangea 'Endless Summer'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Hosta: its green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; spires rising out of its mound; low enough (18 in) to stand in front of it.
- Japanese forest grass: its green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; fine leaves against its bold ones; low enough (18 in) to stand in front of it.
- Astilbe: in flower together for four weeks, from late June; fine leaves against its bold ones; low enough (24 in) to stand in front of it.
Questions about bigleaf hydrangea 'Endless Summer'
Does bigleaf hydrangea 'Endless Summer' need sun or shade?
Bigleaf hydrangea 'Endless Summer' grows in part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun) and part shade (2 to 4 hours of sun, mostly in the morning).
It wants soil that stays evenly moist, rich in organic matter, and plenty of water.
What zones does bigleaf hydrangea 'Endless Summer' grow in?
USDA zones 4 to 9. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does bigleaf hydrangea 'Endless Summer' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late June to mid September. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 4 | Early July to mid September |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Late June to mid September |
| Zone 6 | Late June to mid September |
| Zone 7 | Late June to mid September |
| Zone 8 | Late June to mid September |
| Zone 9 | Mid June to mid September |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should bigleaf hydrangea 'Endless Summer' be planted?
3½ ft (100 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 4 ft (120 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 4 ft (120 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many bigleaf hydrangea 'Endless Summer' plants do I need?
At 3½ ft apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 1 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 4 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 3 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as one, planted singly: it is the bed's structure, and everything else is arranged around it.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is bigleaf hydrangea 'Endless Summer' poisonous to dogs and cats?
Yes: mild toxicity to people, dogs, cats and horses. Leaves and buds can cause vomiting and diarrhoea if eaten.
Rated from NC State Extension and the ASPCA. Where references disagree, the more cautious rating is used.
Do deer eat bigleaf hydrangea 'Endless Summer'?
They may. NC State does not list it as resistant to deer or rabbits. Where they visit, protect it, or plant it among ones they avoid.
What flowers after bigleaf hydrangea 'Endless Summer'?
Bigleaf hydrangea 'Endless Summer' is over by mid September. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Blue wood aster: from mid September to mid October, 3 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Toad lily: from mid September to mid October, 2½ ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- White snakeroot 'Chocolate': from mid September to mid October, 3½ ft tall.
What does bigleaf hydrangea 'Endless Summer' look like in winter?
Bigleaf hydrangea 'Endless Summer' drops its leaves and stands as bare branches. That is when to see its shape, and to prune it if it needs pruning.
More Hydrangea
- Bigleaf hydrangea Hydrangea macrophylla
- Bigleaf hydrangea 'Nikko Blue' Hydrangea macrophylla 'Nikko Blue'
- Lacecap hydrangea 'Twist-n-Shout' Hydrangea macrophylla 'PIIHM-I' (Twist-n-Shout)
- Mountain hydrangea Hydrangea serrata
- Mountain hydrangea 'Bluebird' Hydrangea serrata 'Bluebird'
- Mountain hydrangea 'Tuff Stuff' Hydrangea serrata 'MAK20' (Tuff Stuff)
- Oakleaf hydrangea Hydrangea quercifolia
- Oakleaf hydrangea 'Alice' Hydrangea quercifolia 'Alice'
- Oakleaf hydrangea 'Munchkin' Hydrangea quercifolia 'Munchkin'
- Oakleaf hydrangea 'Pee Wee' Hydrangea quercifolia 'Pee Wee'
- Oakleaf hydrangea 'Ruby Slippers' Hydrangea quercifolia 'Ruby Slippers'
- Oakleaf hydrangea 'Snow Queen' Hydrangea quercifolia 'Snow Queen'
- Panicle hydrangea 'Bobo' Hydrangea paniculata 'Bobo'
- Panicle hydrangea 'Fire Light' Hydrangea paniculata 'SMHPFL' (Fire Light)
- Panicle hydrangea 'Limelight' Hydrangea paniculata 'Limelight'
- Panicle hydrangea 'Little Lime' Hydrangea paniculata 'Jane' (Little Lime)
- Panicle hydrangea 'Pinky Winky' Hydrangea paniculata 'DVP PINKY' (Pinky Winky)
- Panicle hydrangea 'Quick Fire' Hydrangea paniculata 'Quick Fire'
- Panicle hydrangea 'Tardiva' Hydrangea paniculata 'Tardiva'
- Panicle hydrangea 'Vanilla Strawberry' Hydrangea paniculata 'Vanilla Strawberry'
- PeeGee hydrangea Hydrangea paniculata 'Grandiflora'
- Smooth hydrangea 'Annabelle' Hydrangea arborescens 'Annabelle'
- Smooth hydrangea 'Incrediball' Hydrangea arborescens 'Incrediball'
- Smooth hydrangea 'Invincibelle Spirit II' Hydrangea arborescens 'NCHA2' (Invincibelle Spirit II)
In these guides
- Salt-tolerant plants for roadsides and coasts
- Garden plants toxic to cats
- Garden plants toxic to dogs
- Shrubs under 4 feet for small gardens
- Long-flowering plants: 12 weeks or more
- Plants with blue flowers
Zone guides: Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8 · Zone 9
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 4 ft (120 cm) tall, 4 ft (120 cm) wide
- Plant
- 3½ ft (100 cm) apart
- Height class
- Moderately tall (3 to 4 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Late June to mid September; dense clusters; blue, pink
- Leaves
- Bold texture, deciduous; green
- Shape
- Rounded, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 9
- Light
- Part sun, part shade
- Soil
- Rich, evenly moist
- Water
- High
- Feeding
- Moderate, in spring
- Family
- Hydrangeaceae
- Comes from
- Japan, China, Korea and Southeast Asia
- Stands up to
- Salt
Checked against NC State Extension and ASPCA poison lists. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.