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Nanny BeachNanny Beach Posts: 8,719
in The potting shed
Last year a friend gave us a Hydranga Black Diamonds Shining Angel Blue (Who thought of that, what a mouthful) it was a gorgeous shade of purple really dark.  Its just flowered this year, bright pink.  Our soil is fairly acidic, we grow rhododendrons,azaleas.  We planted it with a large amount of erric.compost, have seen you can buy "stuff" T & M sell it to change the colour, does this work, would it only work in a pot?

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  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    All mine are blue/purple, except the white ones, that’s what acid/ ericaceous soil does. 
    They don’t like being kept in pots, they’re huge plants and like to spread their feet. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • Nanny BeachNanny Beach Posts: 8,719
    Its in acid type soil and we added a lot of ericaceas compost when we planted it, I want to get it back to the purple.  I do have white ones the lace cap type.  I wondered whether this stuff does actually work, would it work in a "open" border, or only in the confines of a pot.  You can grow them in pots, you can grow pretty much anything in a pot, my granny said there was no such thing as can't haha.  If I had know it was going to change colour I would have left it in pot. 
  • Fran IOMFran IOM Posts: 2,872
    I am totally confused with the pink and blue hydrangea syndrome. I have two hydrangeas in the same bed and one is that lovely dark blue purple mophead and the other is a pink lace cap. Does a lace cap species not affect the blue colour of the mophead? Also in another bed I have lovely bright pink hydrangeas with a fairly new blue hydrangea. Will that one turn pink maybe next year? I have no idea on the type of soil I have. Is there a type of soil where they can both flower together in their natural colours? 
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    It'll be neutral soil. People still hang onto this idea that they must have acid soil if they have rhodos etc, but they all grow perfectly happily in neutral soil. 
    White ones are less fussy, and will stay white in pretty much any soil.

    We have pinks and blues everywhere round here. Despite most folk assuming that Scotland has acidic soil everywhere, we don't. Large areas here are neutral  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Fran IOMFran IOM Posts: 2,872
    @Fairygirl Many thanks for that simple explanation. It all makes sense now. I shall look forward to having my pinks and blues together and now know I have neutral soil!  :)
  • Nanny BeachNanny Beach Posts: 8,719
    Hi Fairygirl, we tested the soil, added ericaceas compost, and if some folk can grow both (colour)in the same bed that doesnt make sense.  Basically, I wanted to know whether its worth forking out for the granules. Lady at Garden Centre recons they probably "do" something to plant to make it look pretty so people will buy it, but tis is a particular ine, and all the photoes have been that colour.  I ddnt get a "generic" blue one.
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    Nobody grows them much around here. The pink and blues turn to a sludgy lilac.
    In London. Keen but lazy.
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