About Us
The Endless Summer® Collection is the world’s first and best-selling brand of re-blooming hydrangeas. With the introduction of The Original in 2004 by Bailey Nurseries, the world of hydrangeas was revolutionized with this new variety of perennial plants having the ability to bloom on both previous seasons’ growth as well as the current season’s growth. Not only did this allow for the hydrangeas to bloom repeatedly from spring through fall, but also allowed for a greater number of big, beautiful blooms.
From the Beginning
This new variety was discovered in the mid-1980s in the yard of a 5th Grade teacher outside of St. Paul, Minnesota. Dennis Bostrom, a teacher at the aptly named Gordon Bailey Sr. Elementary School, had one hydrangea that showed the unique trait of re-blooming and surviving the cold Zone 4 winters, unlike any other hydrangea he had seen before. Vern Black, Foreman at Bailey Nurseries, lived down the street from Bostrom and had his eye on the hydrangea.
Working with Bostrom, Bailey Nurseries brought the hydrangea into their facilities for testing. The hydrangea was propagated and tested for over 10 years in the Zone 4 climate of Minnesota to test hardiness and the re-blooming capability in such a northern region.
The Brand
On September 11, 1998, the renowned Dr. Michael Dirr from the University of Georgia noticed the hydrangea during a tour of Bailey Nurseries. He had been breeding for a remontant Hydrangea macrophylla and was incredibly surprised and excited to come across this new species in the Bailey test garden. He saw its incredible potential and brought cuttings to Georgia for further development and testing. On his flight home, he scribbled the name Endless Summer on his notebook, having great confidence that the hydrangea would be everything that he had hoped. Following four additional years of work with Dr. Dirr, the hydrangea proved its ability to develop buds on new growth and a breeding program to incorporate these genes was established. Dr. Dirr and Bailey Nurseries began to develop a plan to introduce this new hydrangea, and the Endless Summer brand was launched in the spring of 2004.
The Collection
With an incredibly successful launch of The Original, demand for more reblooming hydrangeas grew and led to the establishment of the Endless Summer® Collection of hydrangea, which includes Blushing Bride, Twist-n-Shout®, and the newest introduction, BloomStruck™.
No matter what variety of Endless Summer hydrangea you have in your garden, you can be confident that it will live up to its promise of endless blooms. With decades of testing and garden excellence, it is a sure bet that your hydrangeas will be a showstopper! For additional information on achieving hydrangea blooming success, see our Inspiration & Resource section for tips, and enjoy your hydrangeas all summer long.