History

Endless Summer® has a long history dating back to the introduction of The Original in 2014. This plant was discovered during a tour through Bailey Nurseries test facility in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1998. During this tour Dr. Michael Dirr, a well-known professor of Horticulture at the University of Georgia, noticed a unique hydrangea that produced flowers on both the old wood (as most varieties do) AND on new shoots. This was a trait he had never seen before.

Hence, he focused on this special trait in his plant-breeding facility in Georgia. “It was immediately clear to me that this new characteristic will forever change the hydrangea market,” says Dr. Dirr.

On the flight home, he scribbled the name “Endless Summer” into his notebook. Dr. Dirr retired from the University of Georgia in 2003 to become a founding partner of Plant Introductions Inc.. Dr. Dirrand his partners sold their business to Bailey Nurseries in January 2015. Breakthrough breeding work in hydrangea and other plant categories continues under the new company name of Bailey Innovations.