Hydrangeas

[Tina]

They are a wonderful addition to any landscape and add a stunning color in the mid summer. Most people refer to a Hydrangea as a "Snowball Bush", becasue the way the flower heads are shaped like snow balls. They are avaible in three different colors such as Pink, Blue, and White.
They usually bloom from July to as late as October depending on how quickly the fall goes cold. They grow as a shurb that can get any where from 3 to 6 feet around. Hydrangeas do not demand a lot of special fertilizing. A good balanced fertilizer can be applied in the late winter or early spring. Mulching of your Hydrangeas is a good practice as it helps hold in water around the roots of the plant. The decaying of organic mulch will also add nutrients to the soil.
Once you have selected your Hydrangea, growing it is relatively easy. Most Hydrangeas are natural woodland plants and like some shade. Morning or late afternoon sun is OK, but the flowers can burn if exposed to mid-day sun. If a Hydrangea has been planted in a poor location is usually easy to move; it has a relatively small compact root ball. Hydrangeas will grow in almost any soil, but will do better if the soil retains moisture. They should be watered frequently enough that the soil does not completely dry out.
To change the color of the hydrangea you have to change the acidicity of the soil around the shrub. Acid soils produce blues and alkaline soils produce pinks. If you want to encourage one color, add lime to soil to make the soil more alkaline or iron sulfate to make it more acid.
Hydrangeas do not require pruning except to remove dead wood. If you want to prune to encourage a particular shape, time the pruning based upon whether the Hydrangea blooms on the current or previous year's growth. If it blooms on the previous year's growth, prune right after it blooms. If it blooms on the current year's growth, prune in late winter or early spring, while it is dormant.

[Tina]

Pink


White


Blue