Change colors of your hydrangeas on a whim from pink to blue (2024)

FAQs

Will apple cider vinegar turn hydrangeas blue? ›

There is one more trick up the apple cider vinegar sleeve: You can actually change the color of hydrangea flowers from pink to blue. Hydrangea flowers will be pink in alkaline soil, but change to blue in acidic soil. So, mix up some apple cider vinegar and water, and give all the acid-loving plants a treat.

Many gardeners add vinegar to their watering can to change the acidity of their soil and turn their hydrangeas blue. However, you'll probably have better results using Hydrangea Blue, a liquid fertilizer that produces blue flowers.

If you've been trying to get your hydrangeas to become big and blue, then we might just have the tip for you. Hydrangeas color is based on how acidic your soil is—the more acidic the soil you plant your hydrangeas in, the more blue. We've found that adding a few coffee grounds to your soil can do just the trick.

Mix one cup of apple cider vinegar with 10 litres of water (an average watering can's worth) and direct the solution at the base of the hydrangea, avoiding the leaves. Do this every couple of weeks and the colour will gradually change.

The Short Answer. Unless your soil is deficient in magnesium (or inhibits the uptake of magnesium), Epsom salt is bad for hydrangeas. It does not change soil pH and, by extension, flower color, or improve flowering without deficiencies present.

Baking soda is often recommended for hydrangeas for a range of uses, from changing flower color to disease control.

To turn the flowers blue, lower the soil pH (make it more acidic) by adding aluminum sulfate or wettable sulfur to the soil. To turn the flowers pink, raise the soil pH (make it more alkaline) by adding limestone to the soil.

Unlike flowers, which get their color variations from different pigments, the acidity of the soil often determines the color of a hydrangea bloom. This means you can change the color of your hydrangea with soil additives – add lemon juice to get blue blooms, for example.

The easiest way to acidify your soil and turn those babies blue is with aluminum sulfate, which can be found at almost any garden center.

Does baking soda make hydrangeas blue? - Quora. Goodness, no! It would do the exact opposite and make them pink assuming it didn't just kill them stone dead. Generally, if you want blue hydrangeas, you need to grow them in acidic soil that has a pH lower than 6.

Why won't my hydrangeas turn blue? ›

The flower color of a French, or bigleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla), depends on whether the soil is acidic (below pH 7.0) or alkaline (above pH 7.0). Strongly acidic soil of 6.5 or below produces blue flowers.

He would put them in the hole before planting to turn them blue, it always worked.” Carole Griffin instructed: “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.”

Alkaline soil, with a pH above 7.0, promotes pinks and reds. With a pH between 6 and 7, the blooms turn purple or bluish-pink. To lower your pH, add garden sulfur or aluminum sulfate to your soil. To raise the pH, use ground lime.

Crush the shells with your hands, and sprinkle the powder near flowering bushes like rhododendrons and hydrangeas. Your plants will thrive from the calcium boost the eggshells provide.

Large hydrangea plants can take months to convert their color, so you might not see the results until next year's bloom. Sometimes you'll see some flowers change color and others not, so be patient and amend the soil as needed.

Contrary to popular belief, baking soda does not change hydrangea colors.

To turn hydrangeas blue, you'll need to make your soil more acidic. You may have heard of tricks like adding coffee grounds, vinegar or even pennies or a bundle of rusty nails to the soil. However, it's best to use aluminum sulfate, which is a proven method for changing flower color.

Alkaline soil, with a pH above 7.0, promotes pinks and reds. With a pH between 6 and 7, the blooms turn purple or bluish-pink. To lower your pH, add garden sulfur or aluminum sulfate to your soil. To raise the pH, use ground lime.