Re: Ash
- To: perennials@mallorn.com
- Subject: Re: Ash
- From: L*@aol.com
- Date: Tue, 8 Jun 1999 02:19:09 EDT
>>Janis, i rooted a hydranga a few yeare ago off a blue on, when the one i
rooted bloomed the next year,it was the prettest pinkyou have ever seen,i
put on the south side of my house,the mother plant is on the north side, so
i decided to see if i could turn this one blue also,and i did,much to my
regret,now i cant turn it back to pink,do you have any sugg?
Dot Ms. zone 7<<
Dot,
Did you try topdressing with lime? If it is blooming blue the soil is
probably acidic. Lime should make the soil more alkaline and thus produce
pink flowers. You could also try wood ashes to produce an alkaline soil
reaction.
If you want to get scientific about it, you can test your soil. A pH of 5.0
to 5.5 should result in blue flowers. A pH of 6.5 or higher should produce
pink.
Several other list members have said that when they took cuttings from blue
hydrangeas the offspring produced pink flowers. I would guess that means the
rooting medium was more alkaline than the soil in which the mother plant was
grown. One other possibility is that the age of the plant has something to
do with flower color, but I don't know if this is true.
How did you get your offspring to turn blue? Did you add sulfur to the soil?
I'm guessing your soil is acidic because your original hydrangea has blue
blooms.
Your offspring might have turned to blue anyway after the change from
alkaline potting soil to the acidic soil in your yard.
In my experience, blue hydrangeas are very responsive to the addition of
lime. I just sprinkle lime on the soil around the plant, work it into the
surface a little and presto, the next flowers are pink. I have even done
this successfully in the middle of the blooming season.
It has not been difficult at all to produce a plant with some blue and some
pink flowers by sprinkling the lime here and there around the base of the
plant.
Hope this helps. --Janis
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