The Hydrangea, Usually called hydrangeas, they are a whole genus of plants highly valued in gardening for their large inflorescences with striking colors. They are native to Asia, and among their species can be found bushes, trees and even lianas.
Hydrangea flowers can be in various shades of pink, white and blue, although in this article we are going to focus only on how caring for blue hydrangeas, which are the most valued. Why is a blue hydrangea more valuable than a white or pink one? Blue is an extraordinarily difficult color to see in nature. There are hardly any animals or plants that show blue tones, compared to the great biodiversity that exists, and most of those that do, are actually violet or use tricks of perception in their structures. Hydrangeas are one of the few plants with the capacity to accumulate aluminum from acid soils, and this is what gives them that blue hue that makes them so desired.
learn all about the care and cultivation of blue hydrangeas with this practical guide from EcologíaVerde.
Blue Hydrangea Care
These are the main basic care for blue hydrangeas.
Soil to get blue hydrangeas
The color of the hydrangea flowers varies according to the degree of acidity or alkalinity of the soil, producing blue hydrangeas in soils with pH between 4.5 and 5roses with a pH between 6 and 6.5, and white with a pH around 8. Learn more about the varieties of hydrangeas in this other post.
Bearing this in mind, your main requirement to obtain a blue flower hydrangea will get a acid enough soil. Changing the pH of the soil is not easy or quick, and in addition to measuring it, you need specific equipment, a meter kit or taking soil samples to specialists. Pine needles or oak leaves can be used to naturally acidify the soil, although this method is quite time consuming.
The soil, in addition to being acidic, must have good drainage that prevents it from flooding and accumulations of water that would affect the health of the plant.
Fertilizer for blue hydrangeas
Coffee grounds can also help you as a fertilizer for blue hydrangeas, and if you decide on less organic but faster methods, aluminum sulfate, ammonium sulfate and elemental sulfur will be good options.
Location
The next most important thing is to find a spot in your garden or home with as stable a temperature as possible. The hydrangea needs both a good amount of natural light and shade, and it does not tolerate temperatures that are too high or too low, so you should find a cool, ventilated spot with good light in the mornings but shade in the afternoons.
Watering the blue hydrangeas
Irrigation must be carried out by spraying the water to keep it always moist, but never flooded. In the hottest months, especially in hot climates, it is also advisable to spray some water on the flowers and leaves of the hydrangea up to twice a day, to refresh it.
annual pruning
Finally, it is very important to prune the hydrangea once a year. Pruning helps the growth of the plant to be balanced and stimulates flowering, so it should be done once the flowers wither, between spring and summer.
In this other EcologíaVerde article we show you everything about how and when to prune hydrangeas.
How to grow blue hydrangeas
The easiest method to grow hydrangeas It is by cuttings. The ideal time to plant them is in spring or autumn, so that we avoid the harshest days of summer and the coldest months. Keep in mind all the points described above to choose a suitable location for the cutting, meeting its needs for light and shade. For make blue hydrangea cuttings follow these steps:
- Prepare the soil with suitable compost, well drained and with a suitable level of acidity, or the hydrangea will lose its blue color. Peat is a very good option to facilitate drainage.
- Dig a hole as deep as the root ball of hydrangea to be planted. Put the plant in it, and water it so that the roots and soil of the root ball are moist. Then plug the hole and water it again. A newly transplanted plant tends to need more moisture.
- Keep the soil moist for the first few days, but always avoiding waterlogging that would wither the plant.
Meaning of blue hydrangeas
Blue hydrangeas are traditionally given a host of meanings due to their unusual and striking color. On the one hand, they relate to beauty, grace and emotionswhile, on the other, there are those who associate them with negative emotions such as callousness, frigidity, or vanitybecause it is a plant that requires shade and humidity.
Also, give blue hydrangeas it can also be a way of apologizing to someone or even ending a relationship, a point that comes into direct conflict with the recent trend of including these plants in bridal bouquets, perhaps as a way to break with these old negative connotations of a such a pretty plant.
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