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Changing the Color of Hydrangeas


Gold Post Medal for All Time! 858 Posts
April 6, 2006

One of the most interesting aspects of growing Bigleaf hydrangeas is the ability to change their color. It isn't easy and it doesn't happen overnight, but if the beautiful pink or blue hydrangea you brought home from the nursery has started to look a little muddy and pale, you can restore its color (or change it) by adjusting the pH of your soil.

A Brief Lesson in Chemistry

The pH scale runs from 1.0 (strongly acid) to 14.0 (strongly alkaline), 7 being neutral. In general, plants grow best in soil with a pH of 6.5-6.8. This range makes for happy worms and microorganisms and generally supports an abundance of readily available soil nutrients. Bigleaf hydrangeas, however, prefer moderately acidic soil with a pH range of 5.0 to 6.4. A soil pH toward the acidic end of the scale (5.0) will change the color of their flowers to blue. On the other hand, a soil pH toward the neutral end of the scale (6.5) will change their flowers to pink. Tip: It takes about 5 pounds of lime per 100 square feet to raise soil pH by 1 point and 2 to 3 pounds of sulfur per 100 square feet to lower soil pH 1 point.

Start With a Soil Test

To get a baseline measurement of the pH in your soil, you're going to need a soil test. Inexpensive test kits are available at garden centers, although you'll get more accurate results if you send a sample to a soil testing lab (ask your county extension office). If you decide to send your sample out for testing, be sure to request organic recommendations for adjusting your pH and ask for an explanation of what each amendment will do. These tests and recommendations can be important because different types of soil (e.g. sandy or clay) will change pH at different rates. If you change the pH too abruptly, plants and soil organisms won't have time to adjust.

If you're just trying to intensify a color you already have, a soil test may not be necessary. You simply need to make your soil more neutral to darken your pinks or more acidic to intensify your blues. The best time to amend your soil is in the fall after the plants go dormant.

You Can't Change the Whites

Mother nature intended for white hydrangeas to stay white and no amount of soil amendments can change that. If your hydrangeas are white, enjoy them. They are going to stay that way. Sometimes as white plants age the flowers take on a pinkish tint, but that is about as colorful as white hydrangeas will ever get. The blue and pink Bigleaf hydrangeas like Mophead hydrangeas ( Hydrangea macrophylla) and Lacecap hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla normalis) are what you need to grow if you want to change colors.Blue Hydrangea

 

Changing the Pinks to Blues

For a hydrangea to go from pink to blue, aluminum needs to be present in the soil. In one respect, this sounds easy, because you're adding something to the soil instead of taking something away. Most experts recommend applying it in liquid form by dissolving _ oz (1 Tbsp) of aluminum sulfate in a gallon of water. Plants should be watered well with regular water before applying this solution to avoid possible root burn.

Hydrangeas take up aluminum best in acidic soil, so before you apply aluminum sulfate the pH of your soil should needs to be in the 5.2 to 5.5 range. The aluminum sulfate will then work to lower the soil's pH even further. Organic amendments used to lower soil pH include coffee grounds, fruit peels, lawn clippings, peat moss and pine needles. Fertilizers can change soil pH, too. Bone meal, as well as fertilizers high in phosphorus, should be avoided. Instead, use a fertilizer high in potassium.

Changing the Blues to Pinks

If you're starting with blue hydrangeas, your soil naturally contains aluminum and your soil is already more acidic. To change your hydrangeas to pink, you'll need to keep aluminum from becoming available to the plant. One way to do this is to raise the soil's pH by adding dolomitic lime or wood ash several times a year to edge up the scale toward 6.0-6.3. The higher pH will make it more difficult for the hydrangeas to take up any aluminum that is present. Fertilizers high in phosphorus will also help prevent hydrangeas from taking up aluminum.

Genetic Limitations

You may be able to change the color of your hydrangeas, but a pale blue will never turn into a deep red. Intensity is somewhat predetermined by genetics, so if you want to change your pink color to a blue color, expect it to be as pale or intense as the original color.Pink Hydrangea

 

The Container Advantage

One of the advantages to growing in containers is that you have complete control over the chemistry of the soil because it's contained. If you have naturally alkaline soil and want to grow blue hydrangeas, you can lower the pH of the soil in a container without negatively affecting nearby plants that prefer more alkaline soil. If you live in an area where blue hydrangeas grow naturally, you may want to consider growing pink hydrangeas in containers in order to easily control the amount of aluminum in the soil.

Other Considerations

Weather can also play a role in color intensity, as can plant stress or environmental variables like nearby concrete walls or paths leeching lime. Don't try to change the pH of your soil dramatically over one season. Doing it over the course of several seasons will give beneficial soil organisms time to adapt and you'll get to experience the many shades of color in between your starting point and end results!

Read More Comments

October 3, 2016

I like your article about changing hydrangeas colours. You talk about lime added to the soil to change the acidity of the soil and plant colour.

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Could you use a large amount of crushed egg shells instead of commercial lime to produce the same affect on the soil? Thank you for your help.

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Bronze Post Medal for All Time! 107 Posts
February 6, 20170 found this helpful

What I was reading is that changing the acidity levels of the soil, as well as manipulating the plant's access to aluminum can change the colours of the hydrangeas. If eggshell can change or repel/attract aluminum, it would work.

"Generally, an acidic or low pH will induce 'blueness'; whereas, a higher or alkaline pH will induce 'pinkness or redness'. Work in England seems to indicate that higher aluminum content influences blueness more than pH levels."

www.hydrangeashydrangeas.com/colorchange.html

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eggshells are considered alkaline and here's an actual study saying whether they could be useful for liming: www.agronext.iastate.edu/.../eggshell-lime.pdf

 
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March 22, 2016

Is it true you can add cold coffee to a hydrangea bush to keep it blue? How much do I use?


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March 24, 20161 found this helpful

It should work. The color of the flower depends on the acidity of the soil.

 
September 16, 20161 found this helpful

does coffee grounds turn hydrangea blue?

 
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August 11, 2013

I started out with pink and blue hydrangeas in pots and they have now turned green. What can I do to get them colorful again?

By Rose

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February 22, 2013

Pink hydrangea flower.Ii brought a red hydrangea on my holiday in Daylsford. I brought it home and sat it on my bench in its original pot and watered it the very next day. It turned purple why? Bluish purple hydrangea

 

By Jess D.

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Bronze Feedback Medal for All Time! 131 Feedbacks
February 25, 20130 found this helpful

Hello!
The change of shade is natural but traveling is not something plants really enjoy so maybe it aged the flower a bit quicker than usual. Anyway with maturity the red flowers of hydrangea fade to shades of purple. They always do.

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All you have to do now is wait for a new flower and check how long its red shade will last. This changing of shade is what makes hydrangeas so interesting if you cut them and make dry bouquets.

Hope this help!
Catherine

 
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August 15, 2012

Pink flowering hydrangea in yard.How do I turn a pink or white hydrangea blue?

By Joy

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August 18, 20120 found this helpful

Check out this website. www.hydrangeashydrangeas.com/colorchange.html

 
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June 11, 2012

I have a hydrangea I got from my daughter last year for Mother's Day. It's taking root, but I need to know how to add the ash and in what quantity, and where to place it. Dry on earth? Dilute in water in root area? Teaspoons or tablespoon? Thanks ahead of time.

By Sharon

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Silver Post Medal for All Time! 255 Posts
June 11, 20120 found this helpful

Why are you adding ash? Are you trying to change the color of the bloom? The color of the bloom is determined by the ph of the soil, and you would have to first test the ph, then determine what color you wanted the bloom to be to know how much ash to add...BUT, add to much and you will kill your plant.

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www.gardeners.com/.../hydrangealp%2Cdefault%2Cpg.html

 
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May 5, 2011

I had some hydrangeas that were blue, and now they are pink. What can I do to make them blue again? My grandmother used to dump her coffee grounds on them, but I'm not sure that's what kept them blue.

By mara from Seattle, WA

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May 6, 20110 found this helpful

Acid content of soil is deciding factor in making Hydrangea blue or pink. Just forget whether it's high or low acid content.

 
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May 6, 2009

How do you get blue hydrangeas?

Hardiness Zone: 8a

By Meg from GA

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May 6, 20090 found this helpful

My grandmother always said to put a rusty nail in the ground next to your plant, that will change the color.

 
May 14, 20090 found this helpful

Rusty nail is for iron deficiencies. I think you add aluminum sulfate to the soil to get the blue color.

 
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