Am I Blue?
I have been trying to grow hydrangeas for years. I had them in my former garden in IL in several places and one barely bloomed and then it pooped out. Some were in the shade, and some were in the sun, and neither seemed to matter. The plants were leafy, green and flowerless.A woman from GA was on TV with her beautiful hydrangeas and she swore that cutting them back each year made them bloom, but now there are lots of varieties which bloom on old wood, as well as new wood. Who can keep track of the promises these plants offer? Not me.
When we moved here my first planting (the first week!) was this hydrangea. It almost died while I was away teaching in Switzerland, as TN was having a drought. But it came back, all leafy and flowerless the second year. Here we are today, the third year and with no help on my part it is huge and full of flowers. I am thrilled, to say the least.
And even more thrilled that some of the flowers are starting to turn blue. Am I seeing things? I did a search for answers and found this site.
The petals are pink and then the ones around the edges are light purple-y with some even looking kinda on the blue side.
No doctoring of these photos, I swear.
And the plant is loaded with blooms and buds. I have another smaller plant in the back garden and it has buds which are still forming. A third plant is small and pitiful and has no blooms. I'll have to wait a few more years to see if it 'takes' I guess.
And then one day I have may have this kind of abundance.
There is an old saying about shrubs & trees that are planted or transplated: "First year they sleep, second year they creep, and third year they leap".
ReplyDeleteYour hydrangeas are beautiful! Glad you are having success with them. Have you ever grown Annabelles? I always had good luck with them when I grew them in Nashville.
ReplyDeleteThey are fabulous! I am still waiting to see what happens with mine this year. I had blooms the second year and they were on old wood. I have lost probably three plants and only have two remaining. Can't seem to find the "perfect" place.
ReplyDeleteI just love the variety of colors in yours!
ReplyDeleteI have been led to believe that acid soil gives blue, alkaline pink. Don't know for sure if this is true or not!
ReplyDeleteYour hydrangea is great! But the folks in that picture - WHOA! AMAZING!
ReplyDeleteblue is one of the colours I've commonly seen in Nova Scotia - I lived in a rented place that had a nice big patch of them.
ReplyDeleteThanks Melody, You're so sweet to share so much information. I have one plant that is about the size of a basketball, and with not one bloom. Hopefully with the information from the site you gave I'll have a beautiful plant to post.
ReplyDeleteWow - look at all those flowers. The old way to change hydrangea to blue was to put nails into the soil. Love all your photos on your new camera - new cameras are such a joy.
ReplyDeleteLucy
Your hydrangeas are beautiful. I was told to make hydrangeas bluer, sprinkle your coffee grounds around the base of the plant. It seems to help.
ReplyDeleteMarti