Hi

I have a Hydrangea which still has dead heads on it should I remove them now
the buds are coming through?

Also I believe to make them flower blue they need certain soil conditions,
is there
anything I can do to help this?

Thanks Ian

I cut mine back last year to near floor level.It had new growth buds at the
time and it soon grew back with abundance. The pink and blue are to do with
how acidic the soil is I believe but I might be wrong. Im in the leeds area
and my Hydangea is pink.
GaryB
"Ian Butler" wrote in message
...
Hi

I have a Hydrangea which still has dead heads on it should I remove them
now
the buds are coming through?

Also I believe to make them flower blue they need certain soil conditions,
is there
anything I can do to help this?

Thanks Ian

I have a Hydrangea which still has dead heads on it should I remove them
now
the buds are coming through?

Also I believe to make them flower blue they need certain soil
conditions,
is there
anything I can do to help this?

Thanks Ian
I have been told to leave the old flowers until the spring, apparently the
offer the new growth a certain amount of protection from the elements,
B

"Ian Butler" wrote in message
...
Hi

I have a Hydrangea which still has dead heads on it should I remove them
now
the buds are coming through?
Cut back to a bud but not too far. If there is a late frost this bud will
possibly get killed so you can then cut back further to another bud.

Also I believe to make them flower blue they need certain soil
conditions,
is there
anything I can do to help this?
Don't know what it's called but you can get something to water on them. I
think it's just the pH that causes the colour.

Martin

"Ian Butler" wrote in message
...
Hi

I have a Hydrangea which still has dead heads on it should I remove
them now
the buds are coming through?

Also I believe to make them flower blue they need certain soil
conditions,
is there
anything I can do to help this?

Thanks Ian


Ian,

I never touch them until early to mid-March as the heads are a
protection against frost. Also I follow Geoff Hamilton's advice
that hydrangeas prune themselves in that you only cut back to the
first bud. I do take out any dead wood though. We have huge
hydrangeas here and, following this advice, they are always smothered
in blooms. Our soil is acid and this is what makes them so blue.
We have all shades of blue going to almost a navy.

Regards
Iris McCanna

In article , Barry & Iris
McCanna writes
Our soil is acid and this is what makes them so blue.
We have all shades of blue going to almost a navy.

Hello Iris, my soil is not acidic so what can I do to make them turn a
brilliant blue? I do feed with Miracid but it doesn't make them turn
colour.
--
Judith Lea

On Sun, 9 Feb 2003 11:07:25 +0000, Judith Lea
wrote:


Hello Iris, my soil is not acidic so what can I do to make them turn a
brilliant blue? I do feed with Miracid but it doesn't make them turn
colour.

There are one or two proprietry products that will do it, sorry, I
can't remember any names, but sequestered iron will do it as well. I
use a trade product called Ironite, but since it comes in 25Kg bags
it's probably a bit overkill for most people;-) Go for the cheapest
option you can find, all you need is something to acidify the soil a
bit.
--
Pete The Gardener
A room without books is like a body without a soul.

"Judith Lea" wrote in message
...
In article , Barry & Iris
McCanna writes
Our soil is acid and this is what makes them so blue.
We have all shades of blue going to almost a navy.

Hello Iris, my soil is not acidic so what can I do to make them turn
a
brilliant blue? I do feed with Miracid but it doesn't make them
turn
colour.
--
Judith Lea

Hello Judith,

There is a product in England, but I can't remember its name. All
garden centres should have it. My Mum used to say that if you put
old nails or iron filings, etc. around the root system that would do
it! Haven't tried so don't know if it works.

We have the opposite problem in that we can't keep a pink hydrangea!
Any pink slowly turns blue. A friend bought me a beautiful lavender
one too and that turned blue. But I love them and they are in all
different shades. One in particular, a very rich dark blue. White
stays white and "Annabel", the huge-headed white/green stays perfect
into late autumn.

Regards
Iris

On Sun, 9 Feb 2003 15:53:13 +0100, "Barry & Iris McCanna"
wrote:


We have the opposite problem in that we can't keep a pink hydrangea!
Any pink slowly turns blue. A friend bought me a beautiful lavender
one too and that turned blue. But I love them and they are in all
different shades. One in particular, a very rich dark blue. White
stays white and "Annabel", the huge-headed white/green stays perfect
into late autumn.


Try putting some lime round the pink ones. If you're on very acidic
soil you may well have to repeat every year, but it should sort it out
for you.

--
Pete The Gardener
A room without books is like a body without a soul.

We have the opposite problem in that we can't keep a pink hydrangea!
Any pink slowly turns blue. A friend bought me a beautiful lavender one too
and that turned blue

I would look for calcified Sea Weed and give a dressing of this working it
into the top couple of inches of the soil if you can,
failing this ground Limestone, something that will give you slow release of
lime.

--
David Hill
Abacus Nurseries
www.abacus-nurseries.co.uk

"david" wrote in message
...

snip

I would look for calcified Sea Weed and give a dressing of this
working it
into the top couple of inches of the soil if you can,
failing this ground Limestone, something that will give you slow
release of
lime.

--
David Hill

David and Pete,

Thanks very much for this tip. I will definitely try it.

Regards
Iris

In article , Barry & Iris
McCanna writes
David and Pete,

Thanks very much for this tip. I will definitely try it.

Thank you all, I am going to put in a load of old nails, feed with a
seaweed mixture and a double strength of miracid and see what happens.
--
Judith Lea

"Barry & Iris McCanna" wrote in message
...

"Ian Butler" wrote in message
...
Hi

I have a Hydrangea which still has dead heads on it should I remove
them now
the buds are coming through?

Also I believe to make them flower blue they need certain soil
conditions,
is there
anything I can do to help this?

Thanks Ian


Ian,

I never touch them until early to mid-March as the heads are a
protection against frost. Also I follow Geoff Hamilton's advice
that hydrangeas prune themselves in that you only cut back to the
first bud. I do take out any dead wood though. We have huge
hydrangeas here and, following this advice, they are always smothered
in blooms. Our soil is acid and this is what makes them so blue.
We have all shades of blue going to almost a navy.

Regards
Iris McCanna


My hydrangea produces both pink and blue flowers on the same plant.
Unfortunately, it now seems to be approaching the end of its life - last
year there were just a handful of flowering stems. I tried taking cuttings
and one appeared to take root but did not survive more than a few months.
If there is any growth this year, has anyone suggestions about how to be
more successful in taking cuttings that will thrive, please ?

Bevan

On Sun, 9 Feb 2003 16:37:53 +0000, Judith Lea
wrote:


Thank you all, I am going to put in a load of old nails, feed with a
seaweed mixture and a double strength of miracid and see what happens.

I'd leave out the seaweed if you want to turn pink ones blue since I
believe it's fairly high in calcium, which would possibly reverse the
effects of the other treatments.

--
Pete The Gardener
A room without books is like a body without a soul.

On Sun, 9 Feb 2003 19:29:11 -0000, "Bevan Price"
wrote:



Unfortunately, it now seems to be approaching the end of its life - last
year there were just a handful of flowering stems. I tried taking cuttings
and one appeared to take root but did not survive more than a few months.
If there is any growth this year, has anyone suggestions about how to be
more successful in taking cuttings that will thrive, please ?


If you're having trouble with cuttings you could always try a layer or
two, I find hydrangeas layer remarkably easily, even when I don't
particularly want them to. Just pull a non flowering stem down to the
soil level, peg it there, cover with a little soil, and Bob's your
uncle, in a few monthe you've got a new plant :-)

--
Pete The Gardener
A room without books is like a body without a soul.