I forgot to add, one of my Endless Summer ones has a blooming problem. It's never had more than 5 blooms on it the last 5-6 years. Every single fall I remind myself to move it to a better place with a bit more sun and every single year I quickly forget about doing it 🙂 Maybe this year will be the year!

Thanks Melinda!

The biggest reasons a hydrangea doesn't produce a lot of blooms is not enough sunlight or pruning at the wrong time.

As for sunlight, I have two Limelights on either side of my porch. The one on the slightly shadier side normally has 1/3 the blooms of the one on the slightly sunnier side. They were planted the same time, same soil, same nutrients and that small amount of sun is the only difference.

As for pruning, different hydrangea bloom differently. Some bloom on new growth (like the Limelight), so if you want to prune them you want to do it after the blooms are done in the fall/winter or very early in the spring. Never prune a Limelight after it has started growing again in the spring or you'll chop off any potential blooms for that year.

Some hydrangea bloom on old growth only (mainly the older traditional varieties, like the Mopleaf, Lacecap and Oak Leaf), they'll start setting buds for the next year soon after they are done blooming for the current year, so if you want to prune them do it shortly after they have bloomed in the summer.

And then there are some hydrangea that bloom on BOTH old growth and new growth (like the popular Endless Summer varieties). They aren't as picky about when you prune them back, since they will get blooms on both types of growth. But generally, I leave mine alone and just cut out obviously dead canes in the late spring when I am sure they are truly dead.

It was a little bit cooler than normal here, so I had an extra large "crop" of hydrangea blooms!

Oh, Annabelles are gorgeous! Hope you are enjoying your weekend!