Bloomstruck® Hydrangea

There is no doubt that blue hydrangeas are great, and bring a special color to the garden, but getting those pure-blue tones is not easy. You need very acidic soil, with a pH value of no more than 5.5, and areas where this happens are not so widespread. If you just have regular soil, neutral or alkaline, why not go with the flow and take what your garden soil has to offer – fabulous bright pink hydrangeas with pure, clear tones. The Bloomstruck® Hydrangea will give you them, on a hardy bush that is continuously in bloom from late spring all the way through fall. Not only is this variety in bloom much longer than traditional ones, it allows you to grow flowering hydrangeas in much colder places, because it is hardy and blooms reliably right through zone 4.

Unlike many other so-called re-blooming hydrangeas, this one has been proven, by the 2013 to 2015 winters, which were unusually severe and killed many hydrangeas to the ground. At trial grounds in Georgia, Bloomstruck was one of the very few varieties in those years that really did re-bloom well, entirely on new wood. So if you live in a colder zone, don’t miss the chance to have hydrangeas bloom in your garden, despite the weather.

Growing Bloomstruck® Bigleaf Hydrangea

The Bloomstruck Hydrangea grows into a broad, low, multi-stem shrub 3 to 4 feet tall and 4 to 5 feet across. Just one plant will fill a good-sized space in your garden, and it doesn’t take many to create a colorful border along a shady pathway, or along the north-side of your home. Hydrangeas are great for growing in all those difficult, shady spots where most plants won’t grow, and even when not yet flowering their bold leaves and bushy habits make them wonderful plants in early spring too.

Appearance

The Bloomstruck Hydrangeas flowers on two types of stems. The first flowers, in early summer, develop on side-shoots from existing stems that lived through the winter. Once new shoots grow from the base of the plant, these too will flower in fall. Since each flowering lasts many weeks, in milder zones you will have flowering throughout summer and fall. In colder zones, where the over-wintering stems are often killed and traditional hydrangeas don’t therefore flower, you will have a wonderful display in late summer and into fall. No matter where you live, now you can enjoy beautiful hydrangeas in your garden.

The Bloomstruck Hydrangea flowers heads are large and dense, a full 5 inches across, and packed with about 70 large florets. In neutral or alkaline soil, they will be a gorgeous rich pink, and they remain effective for a full two months. In acid soil the flowers will be a fascinating blue-purple color, giving a stylish ‘antique’ look to your beds. The large leaves are striking, and attractive even without flowers. The young stems are red-purple, and the leaf stems and veins of the leaves are red, making a striking contrast to other plants around.

Planting and Initial Care

Choose a lightly shaded spot to grow your Bloomstruck Hydrangea plants. Morning sun and afternoon shade are good in cooler zones, or the shade on the north-side of a building or tall fence. The dappled shade beneath deciduous trees is an ideal environment, and hydrangeas look lovely growing in woodland settings. They are also effective container plants, thriving in pots and in planters. The soil should be rich and moist, so add plenty of organic material, like compost or rotted manure, when preparing the ground. Mulch each spring with more rich organic material, to conserve moisture, reduce weeds, and to feed your plants. The soil should be well-drained, and young plants should be watered once or twice a week until they are established. After that, water whenever the ground becomes dry, and certainly if you see any sign of drooping leaves.

History and Origins of the Bloomstruck® Hydrangea

The Bloomstruck Hydrangea is a form of the mophead hydrangea, Hydrangea macrophylla. This shrub originated in China and Japan, and it has been grown there for centuries, and in America for about 150 years. Because they bloom best in milder climates, plant breeders have been working hard to create hardier plants, for colder zones. The variety sold as Bloomstruck® was created by the master plant expert Dr. Michael Dirr. It is a continuation of his breeding that produced the Endless Summer Hydrangea, the most famous re-blooming type. He took seed from another plant called Twist -n-Shout® (`PIIHM-I’) from the same breeding program and grew seedlings. Once of these was selected, tested rigorously, and it was patented under the name ‘PIIHM-II’ in 2015. It is a genuine re-blooming variety, proven in trials during hash winters, and it is far superior to other varieties on the market.

Our plants are produced by Bailey Nurseries, under license from Dr. Dirr, as part of their Endless Summer series, and they are guaranteed to be true to the original carefully selected plant. With so many hydrangeas on the market claiming to re-bloom, and so few living up to that claim, this is your chance to have the real thing. Order now, because the demand for top-quality re-blooming hydrangeas is enormous, and we cannot possibly satisfy every order. Don’t hesitate.