| Hydrangeas and More Mid to Late May |
Many people remember hydrangeas from their childhood (me too!). Today we are falling
in love with them all over again. Hydrangeas are fascinating in that, unlike most other
plants, the color of their flowers can change dramatically.
It would be nice if one could change the color of hydrangeas easily but for most of us, it
is NOT easy. The people who have the most control over the color of their hydrangeas are
those who grow them in containers. It is much easier to control or alter the pH of the soil
in a container than it is in the ground.
On the other hand, hydrangeas often change color on their own when they are planted or
transplanted. They are adjusting to the new environment. It is not unusual to see several
different colors on one shrub the next year after planting.
It is much easier to change a hydrangea from pink to blue than it is from blue to pink.
Changing a hydrangea from pink to blue entails adding aluminum to the soil. Changing
from blue to pink means subtracting aluminum from the soil or taking it out of reach of
the hydrangea.
(http://www.hydrangeashydrangeas.com/)
in love with them all over again. Hydrangeas are fascinating in that, unlike most other
plants, the color of their flowers can change dramatically.
It would be nice if one could change the color of hydrangeas easily but for most of us, it
is NOT easy. The people who have the most control over the color of their hydrangeas are
those who grow them in containers. It is much easier to control or alter the pH of the soil
in a container than it is in the ground.
On the other hand, hydrangeas often change color on their own when they are planted or
transplanted. They are adjusting to the new environment. It is not unusual to see several
different colors on one shrub the next year after planting.
It is much easier to change a hydrangea from pink to blue than it is from blue to pink.
Changing a hydrangea from pink to blue entails adding aluminum to the soil. Changing
from blue to pink means subtracting aluminum from the soil or taking it out of reach of
the hydrangea.
(http://www.hydrangeashydrangeas.com/)
| I bought these in two hydrangea plants in pots in the summer of 2009 and left them in the pots until late November, then planted them. They hadn't done well in the pots and I wasn't sure they would survive, but here they are in May 2010. The plant on the right (see picture on right and below) has light blue flowers while the one on the left below has a blue flower and the others have a pinkish lavender |
| I am just thrilled to recreate some of the memories I have of my mom's flowers from my childhood. She had two hydrangeas, one had pink flowers and the other had bluish purple flowers. I added alum hydrangea food to the soil in the fall of 2010, then in 2011 (right and below) the plants were larger and a more vibrant blue color. |
| Some of these flowers were left over from the fall of 2009. I had put the pot of dead flowers on the patio for the winter and was very surprised to see the red flowers (don't know what they are) and the mum plant growing this spring. I added the geranium and some pieces of a vine. The mum, red flowers, and vine continued to grow in 2011. |
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| Revised May 29, 2011 |
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| For Easter of 2010 I bought a potted Easter lily, kept it in the house for a week or so, then let it sit on the patio for the rest of the summer. I planted it in the yard in the fall. It came up and bloomed in May 2011. Here it is on May 27. |
| Here is the young fig tree I planted in the summer of 2010. It is doing quite well. See the little figs in the picture below. Picture taken May 27, 2011. |
| Raised tomato garden |