Hydrangeas in the Neighborhood

Lovely hydrangeas blooming in the neighborhood.

Hydrangeas are at their peak in our neighborhood now, but for some reason our blue hydrangeas haven't bloomed this year.  Perhaps I pruned them last year too late after they had already set flower buds.  But our lacecap hydrangea is lovely. There are two flower arrangements in hydrangeas.  Lacecap flowers bear round, flat flowerheads with a center core of  small, fertile flowers surrounded by an outer ring of showy, sterile flowers.

Lacecap flower arrangement.

Our lacecap hydrangea is full of flowers.

 By contrast, mophead flowers are large round flowerheads resembling pom-poms.

Mophead or pom-pom arrangement of flowers.

For blue hydrangeas, aluminum must be present in the soil.  You can add aluminum sulfate to the soil to increase the intensity of the blue color.  Pink hydrangeas must be prevented from absorbing the aluminum in the soil.  If you add lime to the soil the pH will be increased and it is more difficult for the plant to absorb aluminum and thus it remains pink.

Blue hydrangeas provide a beautiful accent in our neighbor's landscaping.