Best Pink Hydrangea Flowers – Tips to Turn Your Hydrangeas Pink

Hydrangea flowers are popular with gardeners who want perennials for shade color. One of the unique things about hydrangea blooms is their ability to change colors based on the pH level of the soil they are growing in. Some cultivars seem to turn pink more readily than others, but gardeners have a great deal of control over the color on hydrangea flowers by following these tips and tricks.

Turning Hydrangea Flowers Pink the Easy Way

The easiest way to make sure that your hydrangeas will bloom the most vibrant pink color possible is to grow hydrangea plants in containers. This is easier with dwarf hydrangeas, but even the full-sized landscaping shrubs can be grown in a large container. Gardeners can more easily control the pH of the soil when growing in a container, although it is possible to change the colors with consistent amendment in a garden space.

Pink hydrangea flowers are produced when the soil pH is between 6.0-6.2 (alkaline soil) so raising the pH level of the soil is the trick. Gardeners will want to add lime to the soil to increase the pH level and produce pink hydrangeas. In more alkaline soil, aluminum is not being absorbed by the plant in high quantities, changing the flowers from blue to pink!

Considerations When Coloring Hydrangea Flowers Pink

The older, classic hydrangea cultivars seem to respond better to soil alterations compared to the newer, more vibrantly colored cultivars that seem to hold their color better. With some of these hydrangea shrubs gardeners may only be able to achieve a purple colored bloom, instead of bright pink. White hydrangeas will not change colors to pink or blue at all, so gardeners need to make sure they are choosing hydrangea plants that can change colors if this is something they are trying to achieve.

Lime is a good way to raise the pH level of garden soil to turn hydrangea flowers pink, but there are other ways to amend the soil as well. Wood ash has an alkalizing effect, and adding rich, organic matter will bring acidic soil closer to neutral. If garden soil is extremely acidic it can take years to amend enough for pink hydrangea flowers, which is when a gardener may choose to grow hydrangeas in a container.

Pink Hydrangea Cultivars

Some hydrangea cultivars are being bred specifically for vibrant pink, almost red colored flower clusters. These are easier to maintain in alkaline soil than intense blue cultivars which may never fully bloom bright pink.

• ‘Merritt’s Supreme’ Pink Hydrangea – Blooms pink to bright red, muddy purple flowers in acidic soil, never turns fully blue.
• ‘Homigo’ Hydrangea – pink or blue hydrangea flowers turn green and then red as they age
• ‘Ami Pasquier’ – Even in acidic soil the hydrangea flowers never lose their pink undertones and in alkaline blooms are near crimson red.

Gardeners who want pink hydrangeas, flowers with pure rose tones, can amend their soil, grow in containers and select cultivars that tend towards the pink side of the spectrum to make it easier to achieve the hydrangea colors they want.