Not Just Summer: The Beautiful Hydrangea That Blooms Until First Frost

Surely, you've seen them: beautiful hydrangea hedges adorning the fences or doorways, smothered in cabbage-sized, colorful flowers. Or, maybe, as the summer rolls in, your social feed is suddenly full of their breathtaking display. For whatever reason, it's difficult to escape the parade of bigleaf hydrangeas. If you've ever tried to grow them, you know their show barely lasts through the summer. Luckily, a variety blooms until first frost: the remontant, or reblooming, hydrangea. Pop Star and Summer Crush are just two examples of this type of shrub. When conditions are favorable, you may be able to enjoy those massive, colorful blossoms continually from May, running into October!

Reblooming hydrangeas can produce a second flush of flowers late in the growing season because they produce flowering buds on both old and new stems.  (One of the main reasons your hydrangeas aren't blooming is cold temperatures or unexpected spring frosts that destroy the set buds.) Unlike traditional bigleaf hydrangeas, which can lose their flower buds to winter damage, reblooming varieties produce buds on both old and new stems. These produce the much-loved early summer show next year. But for that, you must take good care of your hydrangeas and deadhead them regularly.

To ensure your hydrangea blooms last into fall, you can choose the original rebloomer 'Bailmer.' Introduced in 2004, it now sells as Endless Summer® The Original. During flower trials in Florida, it flowered for nearly 33 weeks. At about 5 feet tall and wide, it requires considerable space but looks spectacular in foundation plantings. Grow it with morning sun exposure in zones 4 through 9. For a bigger show of color, consider other options like Pop Star and Summer Crush in the Endless Summer collection.

Proven Winner's Let's Dance collection also has strong contenders. They stand out with bronze-gold fall foliage and steady performance. Petal colors darken as the weather cools and stand out beautifully amidst the mass of leaves. Because species vary in hardiness zones and size, you may find one that better suits your needs. For instance, Let's Dance ¡Arriba!® reaches about 3 feet, rarely needs pruning, and works well in borders and containers.

Monrovia's offerings in the Seaside Serenade series can reliably bloom even in hot, humid summers, in part because of their relatively thick leaves and sturdy stems. They will also put on a show again in the fall. Bloomineasy also offers several reblooming hydrangeas, like Cherry-Go-Round, Grin and Tonic, and Soul Mate. Tuff Stuff hydrangeas are another collection, but they have the lacelike appearance and size of mountain hydrangeas. Note that you must water these hydrangeas regularly, especially in the summer, or they may stop flowering when conditions become too dry. Also, keep them out of the afternoon sun.