The plant tags on your ‘Endless Summertime’ hydrangeas guaranteed stunning sky-blue flowers– so why are the blossoms totally pink? For how to change hydrangea color, take a closer look at the dirt they’re growing in.
Here’s the Secret …
It remains in the soil! The secret to color-changing hydrangeas is whether the soil is acidic (low pH) or alkaline (high pH.) In order for hydrangeas to be a beautiful blue, the soil should be on the acidic side, with a pH lower than six. You can check this with a soil pH meter like this one. You can also take a look at your hydrangea blooms: If they’re pink, then the soil is alkaline.
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Which Hydrangeas Modification Color?
Prior to you consider altering your soil, know that not all hydrangeas change color. Hydrangeas with white or ivory flowers like oakleaf, ‘PeeGee’ or ‘Annabelle’ types aren’t affected by the pH of the soil. These hydrangea flowers will remain white, though a few cultivars like ‘Vanilla Strawberry’ might blush from white to pink.
The hydrangeas that can alter from pink to purple to blue are the macrophylla group, likewise called bigleaf, lacecap or mophead hydrangeas. (Lacecaps have flat blooms with frilly edges; mopheads have large, globe-shaped flower heads.) Varieties of this group include ‘Endless Summer,’ ‘Nikko Blue,’ ‘Summer Crush,’ and ‘L.A. Dreamin.’ Some of these ranges have “blue” or “red” in their names, all bigleaf hydrangeas can alter color.
How to Get Blue Hydrangeas
To turn your hydrangea flowers blue, lower the soil pH to 6.0 or lower. You can do this by buying a soil acidifier plant fertilizer to feed your hydrangeas every one to two weeks. Or, lower the pH of the soil naturally by spreading pine needle or pine bark mulch around the plants. Coffee grounds can likewise assist make soil more acidic, in addition to compost tea, vinegar or peat moss contributed to the soil.
A lack of aluminum in the soil can likewise prevent hydrangeas from turning blue. Since excess aluminum can be harmful to plants, verify aluminum levels with a soil test prior to purchasing additives.
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How to Get Pink Hydrangeas
Pink hydrangea blossoms require alkaline soil, with a pH of 7.0 or higher. To make the soil more alkaline, you can operate in ground or powdered limestone or wood ash. You will require to do this numerous times during the growing season. It is more challenging to make soil more alkaline, so it will likely take longer than the process for blue flowers.
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How to Get Purple Hydrangeas
Hydrangea flowers will turn tones of reddish-purple to pale purple when the soil pH is somewhere in between acidic and alkaline. You will often have purple flowers during the process of raising or lowering the soil pH. To accomplish purple shades, go for a pH between 6.0 and 6.9.
Be Patient with Your Garden
Altering the pH of your soil will take some time, so understand that these color modifications won’t happen over night. It will take a number of weeks or even months of modifying the soil, along with taking these actions in subsequent seasons.
If you’re hoping to see hydrangea color modification take place more quickly, attempt planting a small hydrangea in a container. You’ll have the ability to change and control the pH in potted soil much more easily, and this is an enjoyable way to try out hydrangea color. Here are a lot more concepts for taking your garden from great to excellent!
The post Here’s How to Change the Color of Your Hydrangeas appeared initially on Taste of House.
