Hydrangeas, with their large, showy blooms, are a garden favourite, especially when they display a stunning blue hue. A woman sought advice on the Gardening UK Facebook group on how to achieve that coveted blue colour for her hydrangeas.
Elaine Parker posted a photo of her pink potted hydrangea plantand shared her gardening dilemma: "What's going on here then? I bought this Hydrangea Royalty Fabolo Blue from my local garden centre for a fiver last autumn. They'd stuck it in the reduced section with a 'looking for a new home' label on it."
She went on to describe her efforts: "It was pruned back hard, but I planted it straightaway and it's survived the winter, thrived and looks very healthy. I planted it in a pot because our soil is alkaline and I wanted blue flowers. However, the flowers look to be dark pink instead of blue." In other news, Brits are told to never put one banned item in garden bins as you could face punishment.
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Expressing her confusion, Elaine added: "I've done everything right, so why is this? It's in a pot with ericaceous compost. I only give it rainwater. I've been giving it hydrangea feed weekly since the spring. It's in a sheltered morning sun, afternoon shade position. Thank you for any tips that I may have overlooked."
The key to turning hydrangeas blue lies in the pH level of the soil. The soil's chemical composition determines the colour of a hydrangea bloom. A low pH leads to blue flowers, while a higher pH results in pink blooms.
Gardening enthusiasts have been revealing their top tricks for transforming pink hydrangeas blue, with a surprising household staple taking centre stage: tea bags, reports the Express.
Martin Leachford disclosed: "I've heard putting used tea bags around the base helps if you want to turn pink hydrangeas blue." Mandy Price shared her success story: "I have two big pink ones in pots, 15 years old. I turn them a gorgeous shade of blue every year by putting used tea bags in the soil around them."
Marie Dean recalled her father's advice: "My dad said that used tea bags are fantastic for this. He would put them in the hole before planting to turn them blue, it always worked." Carole Griffin gave a step-by-step guide: "Put used broken tea bags around the roots, it will turn a stunning blue colour in no time. Mine turned blue, but preferred the pink so took the tea bags away the blooms went back to pink eventually."
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Other horticultural fans proposed a more conventional approach using iron nails. Marion Chapman suggested: "The age-old tale if you want them blue put a load of old iron nails in the soil under where the roots will go."
Kay Ruffle recommended: "Bury old rusty iron debris near the roots, it turns the blooms blue." Bee Mcginn added her experience: "Rusty nails turned my blue years ago. But now I prefer pink."
Debbie Grice shared her mum's unusual gardening tip: "My mum used to put rusty nails in water and leave them for a couple of weeks and then put the brown water in the watering can. Stayed blue all the time." However, an experienced gardener pointed out that this unique characteristic is only exhibited by certain types of hydrangeas.
Gilbert Collins clarified: "Not all hydrangea blooms change colour. It depends on the variety of hydrangea. I have a steel stem one that is purple and all my lace caps changed to bright pink." The primary types of hydrangeas known to undergo such colour transformations are hydrangea macrophylla or hydrangea serrata.
