Alum can be found in the spice or baking aisle of most grocery stores. After cutting, simply dip a small section of the hydrangea stem into the alum powder before putting the flower in a vase. It is believed that this process will help the flowers with water uptake.
If they start to droop after a few days, cut the stem again and change the old water out to hot water once or twice a week. You can also mist the blooms daily – hydrangeas are one of the very few flowers that can actually drink water from their blooms!
Some gardeners report success in turning their hydrangeas blue by applying coffee grounds to the soil. The coffee grounds make the soil more acidic, allowing the hydrangea to more easily absorb aluminum. In addition, fruit peels, lawn clippings, peat moss and pine needles, are thought to have a similar effect.
A pH of 7 is neutral, and household vinegar has a pH of around 2.4 (which is quite acidic). The theory is, applying diluted vinegar to the soil will lower the pH enough to change the color of your hydrangea blooms. This strategy will make the soil more acidic, but not for long!
Put Hydrangeas In Water Immediately After Cutting
And adding a little bit of flower food to it would be a great idea too. Use a sharp knife or clippers to cut each stem on a diagonal and submerge! Cut hydrangeas in the morning and choose only the most mature blooms. They will look a little more papery than others.
You can use vinegar to lower the pH of your soil, but be aware that in order to achieve blue blooms, you will need both an acidic environment and aluminum ions. The acidic environment will also need to be a sustained over a period of time, which could be hard if rainwater is washing the vinegar away.
First, add a 1/4 cup of sugar to the room temperature water in the vase. The sugar helps feed the stems and increases the life of the cut flowers.
Hydrangeas can be grown in full sun but too much direct sunlight, especially during the afternoon hours when the sun is most intense, can cause wilt. When exposed to excessive sun, the plant's internal temperature increases, which causes the leaves to transpire and leads to moisture loss in the cells.
Homemade compost is a great source of slow release nutrients for hydrangeas. Either top dress the soil beneath your plants with your compost and water well or brew up a batch of compost tea and give your plants a deep drink of it. You can repeat your application of compost tea in 2 to 3 weeks.
If your hydrangeas do get infected, you have several easy, effective, and homemade options. You can dilute either hydrogen peroxide or garlic oil in a spray bottle and spray it directly on the affected leaves.
Pickle juice is mostly composed of vinegar, which can help to lower the pH of the soil and make it more acidic, which can be great for plants like Hydrangea, Gardenia, Camellia, Azalea, Begonia, Impatiens, Rhododendron, Blueberry, Potentilla, Heather, Vinca, Clematis, Fuchsia, and Astilbe.
According to Stembel, hydrangeas are one of the rare flowers that absorb a portion of their water intake through their petals. "This is why a tired-looking bloom can be revived with a quick dunk in warm water," she says.
It's when they consume most of their water, so they are most prone to wilting at night when they're not getting the water they're used to. You'll need to help your hydrangea blooms get the excess water that they need in a different way because they usually can't consume enough water from their stems alone.
You really want to make sure you are buying the freshest Hydrangeas available (1-3 days old) as they only tend to last 5-9 days depending on how you care for them.
Use vinegar diluted with water in a ratio of 20 parts water to one part apple cider vinegar. Water the plants along their base. Try not to get the vinegar-and-water solution onto the leaves, because it can burn the foliage.
Once you've established your vinegar solution, pour it around the base of your hydrangea, thoroughly soaking the soil while avoiding the stalk, stems, and leaves. Repeat these steps every two weeks, and within a few months, you should notice the blooms start to blue!
Hydrangeas produce a “sap” that clogs their stems and blocks water from traveling up it to those gorgeous blooms. The boiling water helps to do away with the sap.
A Little Goes a Long Way. Baking soda is the secret, but keep in mind that a little bit does go a long way. To apply it to your wilted hydrangeas, mix 1 tablespoon of baking soda into 2 quarts of water. Stir to be sure the baking soda thoroughly dissolves.
The Epsom Salt Council (www.epsomsaltcouncil.org) recommends one tablespoon per nine square feet, applied to the root zone of the shrubs at two- to four-week intervals.
Miracle-Gro Performance Organics Blooms Nutrition
This is an all-purpose blossom booster that's suitable for use on a wide variety of perennial and annual blooming plants, including hydrangeas. It provides various minerals, including copper, calcium, and iron, to supplement common nutrient deficiencies.