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Health & Fitness

Hydrangeas are 'Bloomin' in the Patch' — Bigger and Better than Ever!

One of the best years ever for masses of hydrangea!

The climate here in New Jersey is especailly suited to Hydrangea; and I have many varieties growing in every shaded spot in my garden.

Hydrangeas are found growing world-wide, but the greatest species diversity is in eastern Asia, notably China, Japan and Korea. They were also introduced to the Azores Islands of Portugal, where they are so common now that Faial Island is known as the “Blue Island” due to the vast numbers found there.

There are basically two flower arrangements, the “mophead” flowers with large round flower heads resembling pom-poms, and the “lacecap” hydrangeas with the flat flower heads that have a center core of subdued, fertile flowers surrounded by outer rings of showy, sterile flowers. Pink hydrangeas have many different meanings, but for Asians, giving them generally means, "You are the beat of my heart."

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When you buy hydrangeas, you will get a choice of white, pink or blue. You can change a color from blue to pink or the reverse, but a white hydrangea will remain white.

The color of the flower depends on the acidity or alkalinity of the soil. If you want blue, a fertilizer that is low in Phosphorus and high in potassium, such as “Hollytone,” plus an addition of aluminum sulfate to the soil, will lower the pH, causing the blue color to turn more intense. If it is a color of pink you prefer, then fertilizing with high level of phosphorus (and bone-meal) will work. Also, if you plant near a concrete foundation, lime can leach out of the concrete making the blue color difficult to obtain, but adding organic matter such as clippings, coffee grounds and vegetable peelings will help.

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You do not need to prune hydrangeas. You can cut out old gray branches, and really skinny weak ones basically at any time, and I do cut mine down to a tolerable level (3-4 pairs of buds) each autumn, and again in the spring to just above the largest pair of buds. I don't cut back the smaller plants at all. I do, however, cut a lot of flower heads for my continued enjoyment. I bring a vase out to the garden, cut the branches, remove the leaves and place the stem in.  Back in the house, I boil a small amount of water, stand the stem in the water for 30 seconds and then back in the vase.

You can also dip it in “Alum” and use the “plant food” preservative supplied by most florists to prolong the bloom of the flower. If you have a gas stove, you can hold the base of the stem over the flame to lightly singe instead of the boiling water. If the flower head wilts, try one of these methods and give it a couple of hours. It just might come back for you.

Propagating hydrangeas is fun and as easy as staking down a low lying branch on the soil and letting it send out roots. The following year, you can cut the portion of the branch connecting the new plant to the main one and transplant your new “baby”. It will take about two years to bloom, as with all young hydrangea plants, including those that were in bloom when you bought them.

I love to buy the smaller plants now at Lowes or Home Depot, looking for the ever-blooming blue and pink, but if you want unusual varieties, try Sickles Market in Little Silver, especially during their "Blues Festival" coming up next weekend.

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