My endless summer hydrangeas were blue now they are changing to pink?
They are in an urn facing the south and were a dark blue. I have added more acidity to the soil and now they are all pink. What have I done wrong??
3 answers
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You have done nothing wrong! Nature at work in your yard. Changing to pink means your soil is more acidic than alkaline. Are you by Oaks or Pines? I live under Oaks so most of my hydrangeas are either purple or a mix of pink and blue. So next spring put on the calendar to add aluminum sulfate to the soil. You can also use common alum or potassium alum to get the hydrangeas blue. If it bothers that much I would mix a bit of aluminum sulfate in a watering can (maybe 3 tablespoons per gallon) and water the hydrangea every couple days. this is a trick that the greenhouses use to keep the blue while growing in a pot. happy gardening!
The Garden Frog with C Renee
on Aug 01, 2014
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To change to blue you must make certain that your plant can uptake aluminum from the soil.....so you can add aluminum sulfate (1 Tbsp to a gallon of water for plants in the ground....1/4 Tbsp to a gallon for potted plants.....water plants well BEFORE watering with this). Your soil needs to be acidic(and it is hard to change a whole planting area...this works best if you have them in tubs where you can control the soil)....so adding compost and organic mulches (pine bark for instance). You can check the pH of your soil with a soil test kit.....you want it somewhere between 5.2 and 5.5. For fertilizer you want to look for low phosphorus and high potassium numbers. Avoid superphosphates and bone meal. If they are in the soil near a foundation that is concrete you may do best to dig them up and put them in large tubs.....concrete leaches into the soil over time making it alkaline and nearly impossible to alter significantly.
Dorothy
on Aug 03, 2014
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Here's a link that might help.......http://www.hydrangeashydrangeas.com/colorchange.html
Dorothy
on Aug 03, 2014
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