page_title: Hydrangea
section_title: Colours and soil acidity
hierarchical_section_title: Hydrangea / Colours and soil acidity
caption_attribution_description: English: Hydrangea flower color changes based on the pH in soil. As the graph depicts, soil with a pH of 5.5 or lower will sprout blue hydrangeas, a ph of 6.5 or higher will produce pink hydrangeas, and soil in between 5.5 and 6.5 will have purple hydrangeas. White hydrangeas can not be manipulated by soil pH, they will always be white because they do not contain pigment for color.
context_page_description: Hydrangea common names hydrangea or hortensia, is a genus of 70–75 species of flowering plants native to Asia and the Americas. By far the greatest species diversity is in eastern Asia, notably Korea, China, and Japan. Most are shrubs 1 to 3 meters tall, but some are small trees, and others lianas reaching up to 30 m by climbing up trees. They can be either deciduous or evergreen, though the widely cultivated temperate species are all deciduous.
  Hydrangea is derived from Greek and means ‘water vessel’, in reference to the shape of its seed capsules. The earlier name, Hortensia, is a Latinised version of the French given name Hortense, referring to the wife of Jean-André Lepaute.
context_section_description: In most species the flowers are white, but in some species (notably H. macrophylla), can be blue, red, pink, light purple, or dark purple. In these species, floral color change occurs due to the presence of aluminium ions which are available or tied up depending upon the soil pH.  For H. macrophylla and H. serrata cultivars, the flower color can be determined by the relative acidity of the soil: an acidic soil (pH below 7), will have available aluminium ions and typically produce flowers that are blue to purple, whereas an alkaline soil (pH above 7) will tie up aluminium ions and result in pink or red flowers.  This is caused by a color change of the flower pigments in the presence of aluminium ions which can be taken up into hyperaccumulating plants.  Lowering the pH of potting soils or mixes usually does not change the flower color to blue, because these soils have no aluminium ions. The ability to blue or pink a hydrangea is also influenced by the cultivar. Some plants are selected for their ability to be blued, while others are bred and selected to be red, pink or white. The flower color of most other Hydrangea species is not affected by aluminium and cannot be changed or shifted. Hydrangeas are also nicknamed 'Change Rose'.
caption: Hydrangea flower color changes based on the pH in soil. As the graph depicts, soil with a pH of 5.5 or lower will sprout blue hydrangeas, a ph of 6.5 or higher will produce pink hydrangeas, and soil in between 5.5 and 6.5 will have purple hydrangeas. White hydrangeas can not be manipulated by soil pH, they will always be white because they do not contain pigment for color.
exif: {}