How To Change Hydrangea Color: Easy Tweaks To Get Pink, Blue & Purple Flowers
I’m sure you’ve seen beautiful hydrangeas of different colors. If you wish for a specific flower color on your hydrangeas, you may wonder: do you have to buy them that way, or can you change them yourself? I’ll share here how to change hydrangea colors: easy and so beautiful!!!
Hydrangeas are a very beautiful plant. One reason they are so popular in gardens is their unique ability to change colors. The color of the flowers that bloom on these bushy plants can take on many shades of red buds, blue blooms, pink flowers, purple flowers, white flowers, and more. Did you know that the soil’s pH level actually plays a role in determining these beautiful colors?
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Here are some of the hydrangea varieties that can change colors:
- Nikko Blue Hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Nikko Blue’)
- Endless summer hydrangeas
- Let’s Dance® Starlight Hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla LET’S DANCE Starlight ‘Lynn’)
If you want to change the colors of this beautiful, long-lasting flower in your garden, we’ll tell you exactly how to do it. It involves a bit of fun science and some careful planning. One of the unique things about hydrangeas is that they can change colors. They do it on their own in nature, but you can manipulate it once you understand how it works.
Here’s how to landscape with hydrangeas in front of the house; use the easy trick below ot tweak the color of your front yard hydrangea flowers.
How To Change Hydrangea Colors
First, it’s important to know that hydrangeas can change color on their own, based on the conditions and pH levels of the soil they are planted in. (learn more about how to care for hydrangea bushes here.) If you want to change the color of your hydrangeas, it’s actually possible. But there are some important things to know first to do it right. The pH of your soil is important, so you will need to create the best scenario for managing this.
If you really want to control the color of yours, you will do better if they are planted in pots. When you have container hydrangeas, you have much more control over the condition of the soil. This makes it easier to control the colors. It doesn’t mean you can’t change the color of hydrangeas that are planted in the ground: just that it can take more work.
When hydrangeas are planted or transplanted, they will often change colors on their own. This is because they are adjusting to their new environment. It can take some time to see what color they will settle in with and keep because it takes time for them to fully adjust to new soil. This is normal and to be expected, but what if you want to have control over what colors they are?
Before we talk more about how to change the colors of your hydrangeas, it’s important to become aware of the limitations. You can’t just make up any color under the sun and make your flowers change to it. There are scientific rules in place that will affect how you can do color changes. Let’s take a look.
Limitations on Color Changes
Some things to note when you are just getting started: while changing the colors of your hydrangeas is possible, you have to work with what nature has given you. This means that there are some limitations. If you want to change the color of the hydrangea blooms, you must first be familiar with these limitations.
- You cannot change white hydrangeas to pink or blue. Sometimes white can become pink or red as they age, but it’s not guaranteed, and there’s nothing you can do to really influence this.
- It’s difficult to change the intensity of a hydrangea bloom’s color. While you can get it to turn blue or pink, you can’t change the brightness or shades of pink and blue. You have to just let the blooms do this on their own and accept what nature gives you. There are several reasons for this, such as the plant’s heredity, weather conditions, and plant health.
- If you live in a very hot climate, you will likely never see deep shades of red. They just don’t do well in the very warm climates. You can get a dark pink, but people in the south usually don’t see a true red. You might be able to do so if you grow them in containers.
Now that you know the limitations of color changes, let’s examine how you can get your hydrangeas to change to some of the most popular colors. Learn about caring for hydrangea trees.
How to Make Hydrangeas Blue
Hydrangeas turn blue based on the pH of the soil they are in. A pH lower than 6.0 typically produces blue or lavender-hued flowers. When the pH is above 7.0 (alkaline), it produces pinks and reds. If you have a pink hydrangea and want it to be blue, you need to bring the soil’s pH levels down. You can do this by adding sulfur or aluminum sulfate to the soil itself.
If your blooms are pink, that means your soil is naturally alkaline. You can turn them blue by adjusting this and making the soil acidic. Using aluminum sulfate to keep them blue? Add about 4 tablespoons to a gallon of water and drench the base of the plant about every 2 to 4 weeks.
Love blue? Here’s my favorite collection of blue flowers.
How to Make Hydrangeas Pink
As we said above, the color is determined by the pH levels in the soil. If the flowers are pink, they take aluminum from the soil, but if they are blue, they do not.
If you want to make them pink, make sure they are getting aluminum from the soil.
To check the pH levels of the soil, get a testing kit. You can also take a soil sample to a county extension office for testing. Most people prefer to get kits and do it at home, so they have more control over testing and working with the colors.
You can raise the pH levels by adding lime to your soil. If you want to try it, just follow the instructions on the product you buy. When you’re done, use your testing kit to check the level of the soil again.
You may have to do this several times to get the level range you want, and it might still take several months for the flowers to change to the colors you want. This will require patience.
The plants have to adjust to their new soil conditions, so this takes place over time. If it happened rapidly, they’d probably just die.
How to Make Hydrangeas Purple
If you keep these plants, you may already know they can also turn purple. Or maybe you’ve seen them in a beautiful purple color and want to know how to achieve that for yourself.
Well, in strongly acidic soil (pH below 6), flowers turn blue. Flowers turn pink or red in alkaline soil (pH above 7). In slightly acidic or neutral soil (pH 6 to 7), you may get a purple color, or you could get blue and pink in the same bloom.
If you want to try this, you’ll need to shoot for very neutral soil, and sometimes, finding that perfect balance can take some time.
Keep testing your soil until you achieve that neutral range of pH 6 to 7. You may need to add more of one ingredient or the other until you get consistent results that are right where you want them.
Then, just give your blooms time to adjust to the changes, and you should start seeing their colors change accordingly.
Now that you have these tips, you can more easily determine how to change the color of your hydrangeas.
Give it a try for yourself!
If you love your hydrangeas but want to change their color, you now have the info you need to do it. Now that you know how to change hydrangea colors, you’ll be the envy of your neighborhood. Plant a few more hydrangea plants and enjoy the beautiful color show!
Hi, I had hydrangea flowers bought in a pot, one flower was pink one was blue/purple. They have turned green. Still pretty, but not what I wanted. Can I change them back?
It’s normal for some to turn green as they age.
I have a beautiful yard stick wide plant..which has Never had a bud..it was from my mothers yard 16 years ago..healthy lush but won’t bud..any ideas.
Jane, do you prune your hydrangea? If so, it could be that you pruned it too much. It may also be the kind that blooms on new wood, so if you prune the new growth every year, it’ll never bloom. If pruning is not the case, it could be that it needs some fertilizing: try adding some bone meal or phosphorus. You can also read this post and see if it gives you any other ideas: https://www.backyardgardenlover.com/how-to-care-for-hydrangea-bushes/
If they are not getting enough sun, the plant will be green and lush with no flowers. Learned that…..had to move one to a few different places to get it right. Read the tag on the plant when you buy it and plant it according to the directions.
could be that it is a non hardy hydrangea and the winter is too cold for it to keep blooms in the summer. You can try covering it for the winter with a burlap sack. This may do the trick.
Probably a greenhouse trick of putting a divider in the pot and doing each side in different treatment’s
I have 125 hydrangeas in my garden. I wish I could add photos. In the fall I throw a large handful of lime in the dirt at the base of EVERY OTHER plant then again in early spring. THIs way I’m sure the lime will get watered in before first sign of growth in the spring. As a result my pinks turn to fuchsia and my blues turn to purple and every color in between on the whole bush. There are sometimes two colors on one cluster of flowers. Gorgeous. So go to Lowe’s and buy a very inexpensive bag of lime in the garden center. I’ve been using it for thirty years and never had a problem with it. Best of luck. Be well everyone! Linda
Thanks for sharing Linda. I’d LOVE to see your hydrangea pictures.
I changed a white hyd to light blue using Starbucks coffee grounds.
i add coffee grounds to the soil of each plant. They are gorgeous colors.
Can’t get them to bloom…do I need to plant in partial sun..direct sun…
Hydrangeas prefer morning sun with some afternoon shade. And they don’t like wind, so plant them where they are protected from strong winds.
Mine has black spots on the leafs, how do I treat them?
Spray it with a multipurpose fungicide ASAP.
What is the best way to split a big bush?
It’s pretty easy. Dig it out and split the root ball in two using a shovel.
A friend I knew ate a banana every day. Chopped up the peeling and put it at the bottom of every other hydrangea by the root everyday. Every other one was blue! One pink one blue 8 in row
I found this advice most helpful I love hydrangea and are about to plant a dozen of these. I want to plant different colours.
When I bought my home, it had an established hydrangea bush that blocks the outside facuet. It is huge about 3 to 4 feet across. Can I seprated the bush? If so how and when?
Yes, you can divide your hydrangea bush. The bets time to do it is in late fall after all leaves fall off and the plant is ready to go dormant for the winter, or in early spring before it starts coming back to life.
U can also put a rusty nails in the soil by the plant it changes colors
Ours hasn’t bloomed in 2 years we need help please
You might need to move them, or use a different kind of soil. Take a look at this post on how to care for them, and see if you can spot something you’re doing differently: https://www.backyardgardenlover.com/how-to-care-for-hydrangea-bushes/
My plants are huge but now only get 1or 2 flowers a year. After the greenery dies I get wood stalks that I cut down close to the grown in the late fall. Am I doing something wrong?
You might. Some hydrangeas bloom on old wood and some on new growth, so depending on your type of hydrangea, you might need to let the new growth for next year’s blooms.
@Toni, old post but try this: next year only cut 1/2 down.. those shorter stalks won’t bloom the coming year.. next year the ones you DIDN”T cut should bloom.. WHen mine finish blooming and get ugly looking I cut the bloom stems quite low to the ground.. DON NOT CUT the ones without blooms— you are cutting of next years blooms.. then the next year do the same,,,, don’t cut the non blooming stems,, only the ones with blooms..think of it as an even odd (year) cycle.. If you want it larger don’t cut back as low,, easy to control the size by this method also,,
Hi I live in condominium and they prune the hydrangeas every year, when I moved to the condo the hydrangeas had many flowers, but every year the hydrangeas is decreasing, this year in front of my house there was only one flower, I’m sad I would like Help to have the flowers back 🙂
Marluce, depending on what type of hydrangea you have, pruning might not be the right thing to do. Some hydrangeas bloom on old wood, and some on new wood.
I love gardening
I love hidrageneas but I live in a extremely hot. Climate how can I grow them indoors I have some in pots they stay green very healthy but they don’t seem to bloom
Tonnie
Are white hydrageans all Annabel’s?
No, there are many types of white hydrangeas: oakleaf, panicle, bigleaf, etc.
@ILoveGardening, I found one I LOVE…! opens at a hint light lime green, fades slight blush shortly after then PURE WHITE HUGE BLOOMS.. Its called: ——– BRIDE.. Can’t think of the full name,, Blushing bride, June bride, etc.. something related to getting married.. Blooms on my plant were 12-14 inches across first year,, can’t wait until this year..
Probably the blushing bride bigleaf hydrangea: it’s gorgeous!
I love Hydrangeas and have learnt so much off here today I am lucky enough to live in an area Northland N.Z. where I can just stick a cutting in the ground and it takes I have had so much fun changing the colours thank you everyone for all the tips
I have a rhododendron bush that hasn’t bloomed in 10 years. any ideas? The bush is healthy.
I don’t know too much about rhododendrons, but did a little search and this site has a good article about why they don’t bloom: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/shrubs/rhododendron/rhododendron-not-blooming.htm
Thank you for the lesson on how to make blue go to purple, I have learned more from you and this article than I did from the book I bought on the subject well written and easy to understand.! We just moved to NC from Florida and we have divided all the hydrangeas to go across the entire backyard, I cannot wait until spring 2019. THANK YOU.
Thank you for the kind words. I’m glad this helped.
I have had one for about 5 yrs and it gets beautiful green in the spring but the deer and rabbits chew it all off, I have tried everything on and around it to keep them away but nothing works so I guess I just have food for them.
You might want to try a solar powered deterrent like these from Amazon: https://amzn.to/2tMJrNk
I bought a healthy blue and slightly pink hydrangea from the store and planted it in my yard using miracle grow soil. The leaves are nice and green, but the flowers are starting to turn a lifeless grey.
What’s going on?
Is it possible that you watered them too much?
I love flowers, hydrangeas have really swept me off the ground. A friend of mine brought me one tiny plant of the same. I have cared for it like a baby. It is now showing signs of flowering. I am so anxious to propagate it it o that I have atleast two. What is your advice? Should I go ahead and propagate it before flowering?
I’d wait till middle of June or a bit after.
I live in London and I have several different types of Hydrangeas on my terrace..They’re alI in pots, I never ever cut them down and every so often I buy Hydrangea colouring powder, although some years I just let them be the original pale blue or pink..as opposed to deep purple and dark blue, colours that the powder gives me..I water everyday as they’re water loving plants..And I chuck on whatever plant food I’m using at the time. They all (at the moment) have over a 100 flowers on each one.. The one piece of advice I would give is look out for Hydrangea scale this a nightmare, and also the dreaded Vine weevils..
I live in Stirling Scotland and I broke bits off my hyderangea and now they are huge
I don’t prune till I see new flowers are coming.
I have one over 6 feet wide and 6 feet high it has about 150 flowers and it is planted in a spot at the back of our garage it’s 6 inch wide sand.
I don’t feed any off them and they are all different colours .
Never had problems with weevils or black spot. Touch wood
For the lady with black spots in the leaves of her Hydrangeas……buy Daconil ….apply
2 Tablespoons per gallon of water. Apply in Spring and again in the Fall…..no more brown spots! Be careful…..do not give “too much” Daconil…. i almost killed 4 beautiful plants before I learned this.
2 Tablespoons per gallon of water is plenty to eliminate brown spots.
hello, i have a rose bush that you literally can’t kill, its about 20 yrs old, but very healthy…it used to have pretty fragrant pink roses, but the last 8 yrs or so, its only had a couple rose buds and blooms…hasn’t bloomed for years. what can i do differently?
My hydrangea is a large happy plant but 5e crown of the plant fails to bloom, original blooms were full flower
I have a bush that was magenta when planted, turned big and bushy and purple and was gorgeous for years. I usually pruned it to the ground in the winter so I did not have bare sticks in front of the door. This year the leaves were all at the top, few flowers. I was injured and could not prune it this year Big dissapointment this year. If I prune it to the ground again this year, will it recover it’s greatness? Should I fertilize? Here in valley in Oregon we have acidic soil –I think that may be why it went from magenta to purple.
Yes, give it a fertilizer application in March, and then again July and it should do well for you again.
I have many hydrangeas but got my first two shooting stars this year. I love the different blooms
My hydrangea was dark purple when I bought it, I put it in the ground and it turned green, I have moved it to a pot due to moles. How can I get back that deep purple color ? Help?
The hydrangea flowers tend to turn green-ish as they age. The color will come back when they bloom again the next year.
I would like a tall hydrangea 4-5 feet tall. Which variety will give me this height?
Hydrangea paniculata (alsocalled peegee hydrangea) grows to 20 feet tall. You can keep it to your desired height by pruning.
Thank you for this article, it was very informative. We have a hydrangea that was a Mother’s Day gift 5 or 6 years ago. It finally had lots of blooms on it this year, but it’s small. Maybe 24″ in diameter & 20″ tall. After reading all the posts, I think I have it a bad area. It gets very little morning Sun & lots of afternoon Sun. One of the reasons I think it so many blooms this year is the fact that I cut down two trees that had been shading it & the two year old horse manure that is mixed with top soil I put around it. I’m going to try & split it this year & make two plants & play with the colors now that fall is upon us. I’m just East of Atlanta, GA, so we get a fair amount of Sun & heat. Wish me luck….
I have some friends that were having the same issues with their garden. A friend of theirs who owns a tree farm told them to use a soap cage. It’s a small pole with a small cage that holds a bar of soap. I think it’s, Irish Spring. Apparently they don’t like the smell. They have used it for over a month now.. No more issues!
My hydrangeas have not bloomed for two years. No flowers have appeared. Any idea why?
Is there a way to keep them white?
It depends on which variety of hydrangeas you have.
Hi,
I was wondering if you can grow hydrangeas outside in south Texas?
Meg, I don’t have personal experience with growing them in that area, but found this that might help: https://www.scentandviolet.com/info/blog/how-grow-hydrangea-south-texas/
This may sound odd but we always dumped the cat box on the hydrangeas and they stayed a deep blue to purple color all the time. At the beach we planted the hydrangeas by the drain pipe for the clothes washer and that bush stayed a lovely pink. These systems cut out the work of measuring and timing soil additives and made it automatic. We like doing things the easy way
My Hydrangeas blooms are shriveling, or reduce the fullness of their bloom, in the sun, please advise why ???
Make sure your planted are well watered. Not sure how hot has been in your area, but we had some really hot days. Hydrangeas need moist soil.
I AM A NEWBIE AND I WANT MY GARDEN FULL OF HYDRANGEAS, ROSES AND JUST BEAUTIFUL COLORS. IS THERE A BOOK I CAN GET.
There are lots of books you can try, but I suggest buying a couple of plants in the spring to start with. your local nursery might have some. And if not, Walmart, Home Depot, and Lowers all have hydrangeas in the spring.