Hydrangea Colours

[Lesley Jay]

I bought a beautiful blue hydrangea, planted it in the garden and now it is a horrible pinkish, greyish colour. I know the flower colour has something to do with the soil it is growing in but is there anything I can feed the plant with to improve the colour of the flowers?

[shirlthegirl43]

Our local garden centre sells a product which will change them back to blue. Can't remember what it is called I am afraid. Think it contains sequestered iron whatever that is. I have also read somewhere that if you bury old gardening tools (presume they must be iron) then as they rust they keep the iron content in the soil and make the flowers blue - not sure if it is true or not though. Good luck with changing it to blue!

[Lesley Jay]

Thanks Shirl. I am tempted now to stick something rusty into the ground and see if it works, as an experiment, but the colour of the flowers is awful so it will be a trip to the garden centre.

[Nicos]

I recall of the two colours pink and blue, they will revert to the other colour given a different soil pH.
I can never remember which way round it is, but one certainly indicates acid soil and one alkaline.
I imagine white ones change too????
Let us know how you get on LJ!!!

[Spuds Up]

Have you tried ericaciuos compost. I used it once when try to grow a heather that needed an acidic soil.

I think that blue needs acidic soil, but I may have it the wrong way round. I am working on the principal that our hydrangea is a wonderful pink colour and a few years ago I tested the pH of the soil and found it alkaline.

[Lesley Jay]

Hi Spuds Up! I wouldn't have minded if it had changed from being a beautiful blue colour into a wonderful pink colour like yours but it hasn't. The colour is awful.

Ericaceous compost is what blueberries like and they also want watering with rain water. I left the root ball in it's original compost and we have had tons of rain so would that mean the flowers should still be blue? I am talking rubbish!!!

[Nicos]

Try putting some blue ink in the tub LJ!!!!!!!
Nah- the leaves will go blue too

[TPeers]

My Geology isn't up to much - but to get blue lonerangers you need acid conditions

So.....

Can you grow Rodos, camilias and blueberries without altering the soil? If yes you should be able to get blue lonerangers.

I live on chalk so haven't a hope! Mine are pink.

If you live on a neutral soil - which I think you do, you may never get a good colour from a lonegranger - they hate neutrality!

I suggest you lift the plant, wash the roots, or at least knock off most of the soil, and repot it with ericacious compost - you should get blue flowers next year. Keep watering with rainwater, and top dress with an acidic compost and/or feed with an acidic feed - rodo and camilia feed should work.

Lonerangers are a right pain if you only want one colour - I really wish I had got my Aunt Dolly's plant - she breed the things and had a bush that produced both a clear pink and a clear blue on the same plant at the same time - amazing!

[Lesley Jay]

I never realised hydrangea's were so much trouble. The next door neighbour has a lovely blue one and the house opposite a shocking pink one. I will start with feeding it sequestered iron / rhododendron food and hopefully that should change the flower colour now. The colour started changing with all this rain. Makes me wonder what was in the rain!

[shirlthegirl43]

Perhaps the rain just diluted the stuff that it had been grown with to make it blue?

I have a lacecap hydrangea but it hasn't flowered for so long I can't remember what colour it is! (It hasn't flowered because I keep cutting it right down in the hope that it will die) I love the mophead ones and might plant one of those when I finally get rid of the one Ihave

[Sue]

Shirl
Lacecap, is that the one that looks like small bud like flowers with some larger flowers intersperced rather than a mophead of bloom.
I'd really like one of those, be interested to know what the lacecap looks like and where to get one.
best wishes
Sue

[Nicos]

Strangely my small white one (don't google that LJ!!!) now has pink and blue speckles all over the petals!!
Now what do I do??????

[shirlthegirl43]

Originally Posted by Sue

Shirl
Lacecap, is that the one that looks like small bud like flowers with some larger flowers intersperced rather than a mophead of bloom.
I'd really like one of those, be interested to know what the lacecap looks like and where to get one.
best wishes
Sue

You got it Sue. If someone tells me how to take a bit for a cutting, I can send you plenty bits of mine PM me if you want to give it a try. Can't tell you what colour it is though - too long since I last let it flower!

[Sue]

Shirl
Have pm'd you, thankyou!
and Nicos, I have seen one like this in the churchyard, looks very attractive.
best wishes
Sue

[Nick the Grief]

Originally Posted by Lesley Jay

I never realised hydrangea's were so much trouble. The next door neighbour has a lovely blue one and the house opposite a shocking pink one. I will start with feeding it sequestered iron / rhododendron food and hopefully that should change the flower colour now. The colour started changing with all this rain. Makes me wonder what was in the rain!

Take a cutting from there's then & ditch the orrid one.

[Lesley Jay]

Originally Posted by Nick the Grief

Take a cutting from there's then & ditch the orrid one.

That's easy for you Nick - just how do I take a cutting?

[shirlthegirl43]

Originally Posted by Lesley Jay

That's easy for you Nick - just how do I take a cutting?

Ditto - advice on which bits are suitable for trying to root or whatever muchly welcomed please Nick.

[Lesley Jay]

Shirl I have been reading about taking hydrangea cuttings. We need to take a cutting with 2 or 3 leaf joints from the top of a stem. Cut just below a leaf joint and remove the lowest leaves to clear the bottom of the stem. Remove any flower heads. Put into compost made up of 50% sand and 50% peat and it should root in 10 - 20 days. Pot the cuttings on, pinch out the tops to encourage growth, protect from the frost and plant out in spring.

Sounds easy, doesn't it? Bet it isn't!!

[Lamby]

wow - so much advice! Thank you to everyone - I would love a hydrangea but as they are so extortionate to buy I have considered sneaking a cutting when i take the mutt out one evening - the old fella at the top of my road has some gorgeous ones - blue on one side, and pink on the other!!

[Lesley Jay]

Hi Lamby! Welcome to our forum!

Yes, I agree, they are really expensive to buy and I am so disappointed with mine. So I am hoping to get cuttings from my neighbours - whether the cuttings take and grow is another matter!