Change the Color of Your Hydrangea Flowers
There are several factors that influence the color of a macrophylla hydrangea. My most commonly asked hydrangea question is “how do I get my flowers to be blue?” For some hydrangeas, that is an impossible task (you’re never going to have a blue limelight!). But if you have a macrophylla or serrata hydrangea, some color change is possible!
A simplified chart to help you remember relative pH for color selection.
In particular:
Endless Summer
Nikko Blue
Pop Star
Blue Enchantress
Big Daddy
Cityline® Mars
Cityline® Venice
Cityline® Rio
Let’s Dance® Starlight
Let’s Dance® Rave
Let’s Dance® Rhythmic Blue
Let’s Dance® Diva!
Let’s Dance® Blue Jangles®
Tuff Stuff
Tiny Tuff Stuff
Macrophylla hydrangeas with white blooms won’t turn blue, and some red varieties may only skew slightly more purple than deep red, but the above listed plants can have their color changed dramatically by soil conditions.
In addition to the pH requirements, your soil also needs to have aluminum in it if you want purple or blue flowers. Most soils have some aluminum, but there are areas of the US and rest of the world that do not. The relative pH of your soil affects the plant’s ability to absorb aluminum from the soil, which is why you can have red hydrangeas in soil full of aluminum.
Not sure what the pH of your soil is? Or if you have aluminum? Get a soil test! More about that here.
If you want to change the color of your hydrangeas to be purple or blue, and know that you need BOTH a lower pH and aluminum, try this. I’ve direct linked it to make it easy for you to purchase:
If you want to change the color of your hydrangeas to be pink or red, try one of these:
People like to use Hollytone or Epsoma Soil Acidifier for their hydrangeas, which will work if you already have aluminum present in your soil, as it is just a fertilizer with added sulfur to lower the pH.
*I may earn commission on the linked Amazon products.
