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Saturday, July 3, 2010

Hydrangeas in Port Washington

This is what a Hydrangea bush looks like to a 4 year old. My son took this photo and I think he did a great job!

We were walking past this lovely corner garden filled with blooming Hydrangeas. Upon closer inspection, I realized the color shift in the blooms. Have a look:

The flowers on the far side of the photo are deep blue and the ones closer to me are more lavender color (the true purple flowers are a separate plant and cultivar altogether). To get blue Hydrangeas to turn pink, one can amend the soil with lime to make it more alkaline. So it would seem that the soil pH changes right under these bushes!

This photo shows that even the flower head itself is two different colors:

4 comments:

  1. Hydrangeas are my favorite flower :) Had some beautiful green ones in my wedding, but have never seen them in nature. What are the "lacy" looking hydrangeas called. The Weintraubs have them in their front yard! Love your blog :)

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  2. Hi Tara! The lacy looking Hydrangeas are actually called "Lacecap Hydrangeas" (Hydrangea macrophylla normalis). Lace Cap Hydrangeas are large leafed varieties with flat flowers. The flowers are small in the middle and around the outside they have larger, ¾ of an inch size flowers with four petals. They prefer morning sun and afternoon shade, but will tolerate full sun or as little as 3-4 hours of sun.
    As for the green hydrangeas - there are a few new varieties that will give a green color, but often, these are just the young blooms on a white hydrangea bush.

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  3. Kate we have a pale pink lace cap Hydranga that was in afternoon sun. It did well but we moved to a shady area in the back yard near the trains. After first season the leaves started turning black and the underside developed white puffy 1/4" irregular sacks. Should we move to a brighter spot? We now see the puffy white things on a maple tree and other hydrangas. Any ideas on treating? Georgie

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  4. Without seeing the leaves, it's hard to make a diagnosis. However, it sounds like it might be infected with a fungus. Hydrangeas can also get powdery mildew or can show negative signs if they are watered too much. Best thing to do is take a sample of the leave and/or a photo to your garden center and find the appropriate way to treat it. Good luck!

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