Hydrangea colours.

http://www.vanmeuwen.com/flowers/fl...-plants/hydrangea-magical-collection/V57903VM
I bought these in December, got 6, 3 for my neighbour and 3 for me, We will be putting them in containers for my neighbour, I would like to plant mine in the ground, what is best as I was wondering about colour changes due to soil conditions, acid/alkaline.

 

I believe those ones wont change colour much depending on the soil as those are the colours they will flower with only slight difference in colour rather than being totally blue or totally pink based on the soil.

but here is the info on it anyway

One of the most interesting quirks of some hydrangeas is the ability of the flowers to change colour. This is not true of all hydrangeas, but most often seen in the mophead and lacecap cultivars ofHydrangea macrophylla. Colour changes can also be seen in flowers ofothers such as H. involucrata and H. serrata

This colour change is due to the soil pH which affects aluminium availability. Those with blue or pink flowers tend to be blue in acid soil conditions (high available aluminium levels), mauve in acid to neutral soil conditions, and pink in alkaline conditions. To get the best flower colour, choose cultivars that give the best colours for the pH in question.

White flowers, and also green-flowered cultivars, remain white or green regardless of soil pH.

Try to use rainwater to water hydrangeas, since mains hard water can affect the flower colour, turning blue flowers mauve or pink.

Cultivars with blue flowers can be kept blue by growing the plants in acidic soil (pH 4.5-5), or byacidifying soils. Where keeping hydrangeas are not reliably blue use 'hydrangea blueing compounds' according to the manufacturer’s instructions. These compounds contain aluminium sulphate and are available from most garden centres. If the soil is very alkaline, or if there is any obvious chalk in the soil, this treatment will not work, but can be very effective for container-grown plants.

If you wish to enhance red or pink flowers, apply a dressing of ground limestone or chalk at a rate of 75-100g per sq m (2-3oz sq yd) in winter.

 

Our "blue" lacecap is awesome! First year planted in our neutral soil it stayed blue, second year it was a dark purple, third year a lighter purple, fourth year lighter again (but still difinitely purple) last year it was possitively lilac! And a particularly lovely shade it was too looking forward to seeing what its like this year

 

My experience with hydrangeas is that they can be extremely temperamental, I too had a blue lacecap, I bought it from Crocus so I'm sure it wasn't labelled wrong or anything. I planted it in a large tub in ericaceous compost. First year it was a kind of bluey pink but not attractive, second year it was pink, I don't think ordinary ericaceous composts are acidic enough for these plants. I tried the blueing compounds and it still stayed pink, I never tried acidifying the compost so don't know if this would have worked.
Chap down the road has one, half the plant is an absolutely gorgeous deep blue, but the other half is pink!!!
I would like a white one, but God knows how you can keep it white!!
Good luck with yours Pam, I hope they don't disappoint.

 

Hi Pam
Have you tested your soil

 

As I have said above the one down the road to me is half and half colours so how would testing the soil ensure the results you wanted?

 

My blue one although growing slowly in my sandy soil which is acidic, will be given a dose of Hydrangea colorant every two weeks from now.

 

We all seem to want a blue one!