{Sponsored Post}
Today I want to talk about one of my favorite subjects… planting hydrangeas!! When it comes to hydrangeas, I consider myself to be somewhat of a hoarder… collector! 😉 Hydrangeas are my absolute favorite flowers and I just can’t seem to get enough of them!
I’m a big fan of The Endless Summer® Collection, they typically bloom longer than the average hydrangea, up to 10-12 weeks longer! That’s whole lot more blooming time! In fact, they are the world’s first and best selling assortment of re-blooming hydrangeas. So when I was given the opportunity to receive a free Hydrangea plant, in a brand new variety called BloomStruck™, and post about it… I couldn’t resist!!
Here you can some of the established Hydrangeas in my backyard. Including the gorgeous bright blue one in the foreground and a beautiful Lavender hued bush in the back!
The new one arrived like this… carefully wrapped up in brown paper. I couldn’t wait to tear it open to see the new variety! Even the pot is a pretty color!
It almost seems silly to write a post about how to plant and grow these pretties, because they are so easy to grow, there’s really not much to it… another reason why I love them! However I do have a few tips for you. The first one is, that picking a location is really important. I’ve found that my Hydrangeas love morning sun, but the afternoon sun is just too much for them. So you will want to find a spot in your yard that gets sun in the morning and partial shade in the afternoon. I like to grow mine close to my house, it makes it easier to find a spot with the right mix of sun and shade, and I feel like having them closer to the house gives them a little more protection during the harsh winter months. Once you’ve found your spot, dig a hole slightly larger than your plant size. 
We’ve planted hydrangeas in every home that we’ve lived in for over 20 years, and those homes had all types of soil. I’ve never had to amend my soil and they always grew great, but if your soil is particularly bad, you may want to amend it, before planting your hydrangea. Fertilizer is recommended as well. This is another step that I usually skip, we typically throw a little compost in the hole instead. Again, depending on your soil you may want to add the fertilizer, and perhaps it may give your plant a boost in growth, even if you have good soil. I’ll provide a link below for more info on planting. Make sure you add a nice layer of mulch on top and then water your new plant!
Here’s a close up of the beautiful new BloomStruck™ variety! Isn’t it gorgeous?!! I love the soft lilac shade of this plant! A new favorite for sure! Keep in mind that depending on the pH level of your soil, the colors will change over time, although you can correct that if you want to. In our last house all of my hydrangeas changed over to pink tones, at our current home they go towards vibrant blues. Endless Summer® actually has a product that you can add to your soil to get more control over the colors. You can use Color Me Pink™ or Color Me Blue™ to get the color that you want! Once planted there’s not much else to do but enjoy them! I do give them a good soak during the hottest summer months, especially if it hasn’t rained in awhile. I don’t prune mine either. All summer long you will have beautiful flowers brightening up your yard! You can cut some blooms and enjoy in arrangements. And in the fall, you can harvest the blooms to dry for Wreaths, or to display in Baskets etc. I usually harvest mine right before the first frost. After the frost hits it’s too late, so keep an eye on the weather if you want a good crop to enjoy all winter! FYI, dried hydrangreas look great tucked into Christmas trees too! For more info about these gorgeous plants check out The Endless Summer® Collection site HERE. Be sure and check out their “Care and Growing” section for more lots more tips and info!
Be sure to visit the Endless Summer brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ posts!
Amy Perlow says
Love, love , love them. We moved last fall and sadly had to leave our beautiful bush behind. I love blue hydrangeas!
Barbara Williams says
My 95 yr. old mother always grew hydrangeas by our back steps! Now, as a senior myself, I’ve planted one by my back steps! I just love them and plan to get some more!
Talie says
Hydrangeas are my absolute favorite! I love PINK!
Thanks for the giveaway!
Claudia says
Love, love, love hydrangeas…i have blues and pinks! I was so excited to see they come in red too. Love them all are my favorite.
di@Cottage-Wishes says
Oh my I love the White Snowball!! Thank you for a chance to win this wonderful giveaway. I need to do some planting! Di@Cottage-Wishes
Traci says
I LOVE hydranges they are my favorite too. I live were it is HOT and they don’t produce many flowers as they wilt easily. But I still grow them as I am hoping eventually we will have a cool enough summer for them to bloom the huge beautiful flowers I so love. I love all the colors they are all so beautiful!
Leena Lanteigne says
Hi Karen! I love the deep blue color of the hydrangea plant that I have, or should I say had. The harsh winter seemed to have done my bushes in and I was planning on purchasing some Endless Summer plants. Hope to win the gift card so I can buy even more! Thanks! Hugs, Leena
Kristen Donahue says
I looooooooove hydrangeas…they were in my wedding bouquet and I have three in my garden right now. Have you seen the “strawberries and cream” and “blueberries and cream” hydrangea? They are so much fun. I think white is my favourite color hydrangea though..there is nothing so pure and fluffy looking..! Although that bloomstruck color is quite impressive too…can I have two favourite colors?
Cheryl Weaver says
I love all the hyrdrangeas, especially the blue, but my very favorite one is the oak leaf hydrangea which has a unique flower head like a cone.
Cheryl
“forever in love with the sturdy long-lasting beauty of hydrangeas”
Patria says
I love hydrangeas! It’s hard to say which color is my favorite for I am particle to both the blue and pink. The prettiest hydrangea bush I every saw was pink on one side and blue on the other but the center of the bush was this beautiful purple color.
Cathy J says
Lavendar
jennifer says
i am crazy about every single color! hydrangeas are my favorite. i do lean to the green….like the anabelle hydrangeas…..sooooo pretty and they get about the size of dinner plates, which is a lot of glorious hydrangea to love. i also love the delicate whites….so pretty. and the endless summer hydrangeas just make me sigh because they start out green, turn to blue, then pink and then bright red. at least they did in the yard at my old home. love them. hated to leave them. thank you for an amazing blog….ALWAYS amazing and all your fabulous graphics. i don’t know what i would do without you. thank you for such a generous giveaway.
Erin Gerhart says
Hydrangeas remind me of my grandmother and great-aunt. They lived in a duplex next to each other and I loved to look at all the hydrangeas that they had around their yards.
Lisa says
I don’t haave a favorite color but yours are sure beautiful
Jennifer says
My favorite is the lilac/blue color and the mophead flowers. I can’t get enough either. I have to be careful when strolling though the flowers at Home Depot. My cart automatically finds the hydrangeas! They are addicting! Love your site – always an inspiration! Jen