Hydrangea Colour
Hydrangea Colour and the Soil
The acidity of your soil will affect the colour of blue, pink and
mauve hydrangeas. Acid soil will give blue flowers, neutral to
alkaline soil will give pink flowers. If your hydrangea is white it
will always be white regardless of the soil.
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The blue colour comes from hydrangeas which take up aluminium.
So the secret to making your hydrangeas blue on soil which is not
naturally acid is to add aluminium sulphate to the soil. Don't do
this every year though, it can cause problems. Alternate aluminium
sulfate one year with sequesterd iron the next. |
There are lots of hydrangea colourants on the
market. Be aware though, to get the bluest booms you really need
naturally acid soil, the pH should be between 4.5 to 5.0.
Hydrangea Pest and Disease
Hydrangea are very free of pests and diseases. The occasionally get
attacked by powdery mildew but not often (click
here for how to deal with powdery mildew).
What does cause problems with hydrangeas is the site of the plant and
pruning. Follow the pruning instructions given on previous pages and you
will be OK. As for site, if the variety you buy requires full sun, do
just that. If it likes partial shade, that means around six hours of sun
a day, do that.
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Gardening Advice Center Share with us your gardening experience!
Name: Mrs Cooke
E-mail: Private
Date posted: July 22, 2011 - 02:43 pm
Message: I have the same problem as Mrs Blakeway, comment on 14th July. Just purchased a mid-blue colour & the blooms have now gone greyish,a lot of the leaves were yellow & brown however new leaf buds appearing look healthy. I also have a pink one in a pot in my back garden and have never had any issues over the last 5 years. It is located in a more shaded area. Thanks
Name: mrs martin
E-mail: Private
Date posted: July 15, 2011 - 07:22 pm
Message: Ihave an established hydrangea but need to change it's position in the garden how and when would this be possible or if indeed possible.thanks
Name: Mrs Blakeway
E-mail: Private
Date posted: July 14, 2011 - 11:48 am
Message: I have a hydrangea macrophylla which is in a pot at the moment, it was very blue when I bought it, but now the blooms have gone a greyish colour,it is in a semi shaded area and is watered every evening except when it has rained. I thought maybe I had overwatered it but a friend of mine who is a gardener said the leaves are in good condition so he didn't think that was the problem, how do I restore (is it possible) the blooms to their former glory? I also have another hydrangea which is planted in the ground which had purple blooms but has now changed to pink, how can I encourage the growth of this little plant, I remember my grandparents had huge hydrangeas in their gardens and I want to carry on the tradition. Kind regards Mrs L Blakeway
Name: sandra miller
E-mail: Private
Date posted: June 19, 2011 - 07:12 am
Message: I have a pink hydrangea bush, planted in compost, in a flower pot. It has produced wonderful blooms for the last two years, and again this year. Interestingly, two of blooms are blue and I was wondering what the explanation of this could be. Absolutely nothing has been added to the soil.
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