Newbie to hydrangeas...zone 7. What is a good blue if you don't have acidic soil? Is there one that is more tolerant and produces a pretty blue color? I'm starting out with baby plants of Lady In Red, Limelight, Taube, and Blue Deckle. I feel another plant addiction coming on so naturally want more! I'm ordering from Vintage but they seem to be out of a lot of varieties like...Blaumeise, Belgian Lace. Is there another source with reasonable prices or a fall sale?
Also want a golden foliaged variety. Any recommendations? TIA.
Bluest Hydrangea? Newbie Needs Advice.
Unfortunately if you don't have acid soil they won't be blue. If you really want blue and don't want to spend a lot of time amending your soil every year, you could always try growing one in a container, much easier to keep the pH down that way. Limelight is a H. paniculata species and will never be blue no matter what so I wouldn't try with that one, but your others you could try that way. As far as sources, many places are going to be out of a lot of things this time of year, but I'd try Hydrangeas Plus, they've got a huge selection so chances are you can find something you'd like. Joy Creek also has a decent selection.
An outstanding golden foliage variety with white flowers is an Oak Leaf Hydrangea called Hydrangea Quercifolia 'Little Honey'. It's smaller than the usual Oak Leaf, topping out at about 4 X 4.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/59722/
It's a slow grower, a little pricey and I consider it a "Must Have".
A container is a great idea, Ecrane3. Will try that along with some in the ground...need to test the PH. Do you buy strips at the garden store to do this? I got Limelight as I love green flowers..especially with a little pink in them. I am so excited about these hydrangeas....and love the different foliage. Are there just certain types that have the reddish colorful foliage in the fall?
Snapple...love that Little Honey. Would it be better to wait until spring to order? Yes, I agree...a must have.
In zone 7b fall planting now would be just fine. Be sure to give all your new fall plantings a good mulch.
Thanks, Snapple. I'm sure I will enjoy the hydrangeas....love the different kinds of foliage.
rosethyme---I have collected hydrangeas for years and have about 120-----from the 4 major groups of hydrangeas. The macrophyllas root quite easily as do the paniculatas. The paniculatas are really my favorites as they begin to bloom in July when most of the others are faded------they have no pests---and require no special care except for wanting sun. I think the most outstanding bloom that I have is on the quercifolia (oakleaf) Harmony. It can be found at Wilkerson Mill Nursery in Georgia. But, it is a little pricey.
Shirleyd
Zone 7b
Rosethyme: here is a photo of my Blaumeise to give you an idea of the color.
I can save you time, rhosetyme. Our soil is not acidic enough for blue colored hydrangeas unless you ammend. You would have to look east towards Tyler (East Texas) in order to find places where you could get some blues or purples. Amending the soil or growing in containers are the only practical solutions. Garden sulphur or aluminum sulphate are the most common amendments used when trying to change the color. Since the soil here already has naturally occuring aluminum, I amend with Sulphur instead of a/s. It has the added advantage that I can spread it on other plants as well, whereas a/s cannot be used near azaleas, rhododendrons and other sensitive plants. In our alkaline soil, you will have to amend anyways even if you were only going for pink colors in the blooms.
Good idea, Luis....will get some sulphur. And I agree, our soil is more alkaline. I want to try some in containers.
Hemophobic, your Blaumeise is gorgeous! It looks so blue!
Thanks for all the advice. Shirleyd, I found the quercifolia (oakleaf) Harmony...so pretty, it is a must have.
Thank you, Rosethyme. It was a rescued sale plant from Lowe's, $5!
For containers you may need to add some aluminum to get the blue--in the garden there's typically enough aluminum floating around that all you have to do is drop your pH to get blue flowers, but I read somewhere that container mixes often don't have aluminum present, so you may need to add a pinch of aluminum sulfate. Hopefully someone else will know for sure whether that's the case or not--I can't remember where I read about the potting mix not having aluminum so I don't know if it was a reliable source or not.
Yes, that is correct. Most potting soil mixtures do not have the necessary amounts of aluminum so you do have to amend with a/s when growing hydrangeas in containers.
Rosethyme, Chances are that you have the same soil makeup as me. Almost all of Dallas,Denton and surrounding areas have alkaline clay soil. My soil tests at a p.H. of 8.3 which is very high. Yours is probably similar. Our municipal water is also in that range. You can go on line and see what yours is. I am pretty confident that it also will be high. But after all that I have gotten hydrangeas to bloom very blue. I start with a soil mix of Canadian peat and pine bark mulch. Which is very acidic. A premade Azalea mix should do fine. I fertilize with Azalea food, but not too much. And I add Aluminum sulfate. Although much more than a pinch.