IS IT BLUE FRIDAY???? HYDRANGEAS!!
I was just about to post this post about my BLUE hydrangeas, when I saw a couple blue color challenge posts ....great timing!
So....the blue hydrangeas are called "mop head" hydrangeas...Latin name is hydrangea macrophylla. The flowers come from the old wood.
TIP!! If you want lots of flowers in June, DO NOT cut the stalks back in the prior fall or winter or spring!
each spring you'll see 2 kinds of new growth. You'll see green leaves sprouting from the old stalks, and you'll see new green growth at the base.
Your flowers will come from the old stalks. You might notice that by end of May some of the old stalks just haven't produced new buds. Well, then those particular stalks should be cut down .
Some recent years in NJ we have had some warm weather in February which has stimulated bud growth, but then we got a deep freeze in April! Woe to the buds of the macrophylla hydrangea.
why are some blue hydrangea actually pink? It is the soil acidity that determines the color. The more acidic, the more blue.
Here are my hydrangea along the pool back in May when they were getting their buds:
Close up
Same hedge end of June
Closer
Closer
Closest
this year there was tons of blue, but you can also see some pink as well as some purplish/pinkish. I could probably get them ALL blue by amending the soil, but I kinda like the mix!
HAPPY GARDENING!
@gardenlady
(all photos from my iPhone 6+)
Haha I love the different shots making it feel like I am zooming in with you
They are some beautiful hydrangeas and it is even better that it coincides with the colour challenge haha
Great Shots @gardenlady and thank you for your tips and suggestions
Wow beautiful flowers @gardenlady
Great content, thank you for sharing! :D
nice flowers, upvoted
Those are beautiful blues @gardenlady! Perfect for the challenge! :)
Stunning hydrangeas! Nice work @gardenlady :)
As always hydrageas looks gorgeous here:)
Beautiful garden you have, as beeing gardener I can say: Keep it green :))
wow it is fascinating to watch wonderful.
Great shots of some really beautiful flowers. I just love the use colour.
My father used to bury rusty nails under some of our Hydrangeas to get them to flower blue, and it worked. Blue, pink, white, purple or even green.... I love all the different varieties of colour of Hydrangeas.
Very interesting post too. 😀
I've tried coffee grounds too...although I can't really tell if it worked ;-/
I've never heard of that before. We've always used nails or iron.
Beautiful!! Keep them watered.