Hydrangeas are prized for their vibrant blooms. Greens for the compost pile. How to Change Hydrangea Color: Unlike most flowers, lacecap and mophead hydrangeas ( H. macrophyllas ) can change colors. Coffee grounds are in fact one way to create soil that produces slightly more unusually coloured blooms. Hydrangeas (Hydrangea spp.) If the soil is high in aluminum and has a low pH, the hydrangea flower will be blue. Not all hydrangeas produce the same type of flower, and some varieties will only produce one color – for example, Annabelle hydrangeas will only bloom white or cream flowers. The effect is pretty blue clusters of flowers. And before you get too excited, you cannot change the intensity of the color; that is more dependent on the environment or weather. You want a specific flower color on your hydrangeas. If you have pink hydrangeas, you can add aluminum salts to the soil, along with coffee grounds. Coffee grounds add extra acidity to the soil around hydrangeas. Hydrangeas are a very beautiful plant and one reason they are so popular in gardens is that they have the unique ability to change a variety of colors. You can achieve this by adding amendments to you your soil like pine needles, compost, coffee grounds, and aluminum sulfate that help make the soil acidic over time. Usually, people throw their coffee grounds in the soil next to a hydrangea plant to increase the acidity and get it to turn blue. That said, if you want to see your hydrangeas change color right before your eyes, make sure that you’re working with hydrangea macrophylla. Do you have to buy them that way, or can you change them yourself? It isn't easy and it doesn't happen overnight, but if the beautiful pink or blue hydrangea you brought home from the nursery has started to look a little muddy and pale, you can restore its color (or change it) by adjusting the pH of your soil. Coffee grounds are one way to create soil that supports the … They’re generally beloved by all thanks to their limited scent and their versatility. If the soil naturally contains aluminum and is acid (low pH) the color of the hydrangea will automatically tend toward shades of blue and/or purple. Hydrangeas can bloom in many different colors ranging from bright blue to bright pink. If you have lovely white hydrangeas, you cannot change their color. How to Change the Color of Hydrangeas. Not all hydrangeas produce the same type of flower, and some varieties will only produce one color – for example, Annabelle hydrangeas will only bloom white or cream flowers. Change the pH, change the color! Change the pH, change the color! Using coffee grounds as compost or mulch may benefit these perennial flowering shrubs. A cheap and easy way to change your hydrangea to blue is fertilizing the soil with used coffee grounds. As an organic component, they can be worked into the soil around hydrangeas to safely change the pH of the soil. Yep, you sure can. Which Hydrangeas Change Color? While adding coffee grounds may reduce soil pH, making it more acidic, the effect is temporary. [The change in color with acidity] is caused by a color change of the flower pigments in the presence of aluminium ions which can be taken up into hyperaccumulating plants. This will create a nice amber-colored liquid that you can use to feed house plants as needed. The color of some Bigleaf hydrangeas (H. macrophylla)—especially Mophead and Lacecap types—and H. serrata cultivars change color based on the pH of your soil.Blues are best grown in … But you can change the color of hydrangeas that are pink or blue. To make pink hydrangeas turn blue (or to keep your blue ones from turning pink), increase the acidity of soil. If your hydrangeas are pink (because your soil is alkaline) and you want them to be blue, you need to make the soil acidic by increasing the presence of aluminum. Did you know you can change the color your hydrangea flowers bloom. You may have noticed that they have changed “on their own” over the years, but actually the soil has changed, causing the color to shift. That said, if you want to see your hydrangeas change color right before your eyes, make sure that you’re working with hydrangea macrophylla. As discussed above, coffee grounds will not change the soil pH, so they will not change the color of hydrangea flowers. One of the most interesting aspects of growing Bigleaf hydrangeas is the ability to change their color. Most striking is their large mophead flowers that can be light to dark pink, blue to purple, or white in color. How to Change the Color of Hydrangeas. Soil pH 6.0 to 6.5 = Pink/purple. The change in pH will allow the plant to take in the aluminum and turn the flowers blue. Hydrangeas are prized for their vibrant blooms. So mix those coffee grounds in with some lime or wood ash and then into lots of shredded leaves; you'll make a fine, high-quality compost. Eighteenth-century gardeners were the first to notice this, and experimented by burying rusty nails, pouring tea or even chanting spells around their plants. Flowers do not typically change colors by themselves. Although I must say that changing hydrangea bloom color so drastically is pretty darn exciting! But before you head out to get your favourite coffee grounds, it’s important to understand how the process works.