Shrub of the Month July 2010
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Bailmer Big-leaved Hydrangea-Endless Summer®
(Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Bailmer')
Find July's Shrub of the Month outside the Administration Building, north side. This reblooming shrub can produce showy mopheads of flowers all summer.
This shrub has two standout features: its large, showy flowers and its ability to bloom all summer. In the neutral or alkaline soils, blooms will be a rich pink. If you want pastel blue or bluish-pink flowers, you'll need to make the soil acidic, which can be done with peat moss, pine needles, and the addition of aluminum sulfate.
Until recently, most gardeners despaired of growing hydrangeas in northern gardens. Even talented gardeners watched in frustration as flower buds died whenever temperatures dropped near zero. Then, in the mid-1980s, a sharp-eyed propagator at Bailey Nurseries in Minnesota noticed something remarkable. A bigleaf hydrangea was defying the odds by forming flower buds on new shoots, as well as on old growth. Bailey introduced this cultivar in 2003, selling 1.5 million in the first year.
Mature size: 3 to 5 feet tall
Rate of growth: Medium
Visit this shrub in all seasons to see its changing features!
Click on images to enlarge.
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