Endless Summer Hydrangea

I have an Endless Summer hydrangea that I planted in the fall of 2005, so last summer was its first year blooming. It was gorgeous, lots of pink blooms. I cut almost all the blooms off of it to put in vases because I thought Endless Summer was supposed to bloom again later in the summer. Well, it never did. That first round of blooms turned out to be the only round of blooms.

This summer, it has been blooming beautifully again. I've cut a few blooms off, but I'm hesitant about doing many because I don't want it to look bare the rest of the summer. Was I wrong that Endless Summer is supposed to bloom repeatedly? If I wasn't wrong, is there anything I should do differently about cutting the blooms this year to encourage more to show up later this summer?

Thanks in advance for your advice! I feel bad never answering others questions, just watching threads and starting my own, but I'm a beginner gardener without much insight to offer others!

Zoe

I just recently bought one of these plants, haven't even picked a spot for it yet. Embarassed

So I did a little research, and I have to say that I found some mixed reviews.
You are not the only person to say that re-blooming seemed "iffy".
In fact, quite a few folks said they were getting NO blooms at all. Confused

Anywho, I found this online Zoe, (there's more here):

Quote:

Pruning Instructions
'Endless Summer' Hydrangea is very forgiving and will not suffer if left unpruned or pruned at the wrong time. In fact, young, recently planted shrubs are best left alone. Unlike other Hydrangeas, your 'Endless Summer' will bloom on both old and new wood, branches that grew last year and the new branches from this year. Another unique feature is that this hydrangea will continue to set buds and bloom throughout the season; deadheading the spent flowers will encourage this. Feel free to cut the blooms for drying or fresh cut in vases because you will actually encourage the plant to produce more blossoms. Spring is the best time to prune. Many people like to leave the spent blooms on their plant because it adds winter interest. It may also act to insulate the new buds from frost and cold. They should be removed in spring however. Prompt removal of the faded blooms will encourage new growth and new blooms. I expect you will see 2-3 cycles of bloom instead of the usual one.

Reading this makes me think that it would be okay to cut the flowers,
but maybe not take too much stem at the same time, as that's where new buds would set.
Or, perhaps the reason that yours didn't repeat it's bloom cycle last year
was just because it was newly planted.

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~*~ zuzu ~*~
I put a lot of myself into my garden.