Hydrangea Colours

[Ian Binnie]

I am seeking a red (really red) Hydrangea - can anyone help?

Ian

[luis_pr]

Technically speaking, there are no "red" hydrangeas because they lack the pigment necessary to have red blooms. Having said that, here is a list of good pink mopheads: Alpengluhen, Glowing Embers, Harry's Red, Masja, Merveille, Paris, Pompadour, Radiant, Satelite, Sontagskind and Westfalen. And good pink lacecaps: Fasan, Grayswood, Zaunkonig. Remember that you will need alkaline soil to get good dark pinks (soil pH of more than 7.0 for sure).

[Ian Binnie]

Dear Luis(?),

Many thanks for your most helpful advice.

Ian Binnie

[GardenGnome]

I think I saw somewhere if you throw some pennies where your plants grow they turn color from the copper.

[rainbowgardener]

I seriously doubt it, especially since today's pennies (since 1982) are made from coin blanks made of 99.2% zinc and 0.8% copper. They have just a very thin outer plating of pure copper.

I'm not sure what copper would do to plants except that too much of it could poison them, but you'd have to have your soil so full of pennies you couldn't dig in it to get any significant amount of copper.

[luis_pr]

You can get better results by testing the soil with a soil pH kit. If your soil is acidic and has naturally occuring aluminum, the hydrangea roots will be able to absorb the aluminum and this will turn colored blooms a shade of blue. If your soil is alkaline or lacks enough aluminum, the roots will not be able to absorb much or any aluminum, and this will trigger the colored blooms to turn a shade of pink.

An amendment that help change blue blooms to a shade of pink is garden lime.

Amendments that help change pink blooms to a shade of blue: liquid iron-chelated compounds, green sand, aluminum sulfate, iron sulfate, etc. The most recommended one is aluminum sulfate; it provides you with aluminum and it acidifies the soil. However, a/s should not be used near azaleas or rhododendron (it is toxic to them in large enough quantities). The others acidify the soil and will trigger blue blooms if there is enough naturally occuring aluminum already in your soil (only a soil test can tell you this).

[Ian Binnie]

All,

Many thanks for your helpful replies. I always thought that rusty nails (ferrous oxide) turned hydrangeas blue. I guess I was hoping that some green fingered expert had bred a truly red hydrangea but it seems the best I can hope for is pink.

Thank you all

Ian (Surrey, UK)

[luis_pr]

You are welcome. That is part of gardening folklore. The color of a non-white hydrangea is based on the soil's pH level and the amount of aluminum in the soilabsorbed by the roots.

Some compounds, such as ferrous oxide, iron sulfate and aluminum sulfate, will help lower the soil pH Level and allow the plant to absorb naturally occuring aluminum. And this aluminum uptake is what changes the color.

[E.L.F.]

https://foreverandeverplants.com/Plant.a ... =hydrangea

you might try this one.....