Hydrangeas do some heavy lifting in the garden.
They've got big flowers, and they grow quickly.
So here's a few tricks to help you keep them in top shape.
To get them planted, you'll need some compost, sheep pellets,
seaweed tonic, a bit of mulch, fertilizer
and your hydrangeas, which will be either old fashioned
or modern hybrids.
For old fashioned types, you also
need a pH tester, and either aluminum sulfate or dolemite
lime.
The cool thing is that the old ones we can change the colour
depending on the pH level in the soil.
Now pH occurs on a scale.
Low pH means acidic soil, and high pH means alkaline.
Blues like acid, and your pinks like alkaline.
So add aluminum sulfate to increase acidity and deepen
blues, or dolemite lime for brighter pinks, which
is what I'll be doing today.
If you're planting modern hybrids,
soil acidity makes no difference to the colour.
First of all, we're going to do a pH test on our soil just
to check the acid levels.
You just stab it on the ground, roughly where
you're going to plant.
That showing an alkaline soil, which
is perfect for the pink hydrangea macrophylla.
And then we're into it.
With our hole here, I was able to get that a little bit wider,
and a little bit deeper than the pot
that our plant's sitting in.
Just so we've got a little bit of room
to put some other organic material in with it.
All right, first of all, get some compost in the hole.
Just a little base layer.
Make sure you always wear a mask when you do this.
And mix in some sheep pellets as well.
Now, these are both really good organic materials
to put into a hole before planting anything.
Add your lime.
A sprinkle of this.
And then we just kind of backfill the original soil,
mix in with that compost so they don't burn the roots.
Happy with that.
Before we plant our hydrangeas, we're
going to give them a quick soak in some seaweed tonic,
and this just helps prevent against transplant shock.
Make sure it's submerged.
You see the little air bubbles coming up.
Just wait till they're finished.
Pull it back out.
Give it a little squeeze.
This feels like it's going to come out pretty easily.
Let's pop it in the hole, and we're just
going to backfill with a bit of a mix of the original soil,
a little bit more compost and a few more sheep pellets.
And finally, I'll add a layer of mulch
to help retain moisture and keep weeds away.
Ready for some water.
There are three different hydrangea flower
forms to choose from.
Mopheads, Lacecaps or Paniculata.
All doing well in pretty similar conditions.
It's really important to give your hydrangeas a hard prune
during winter.
Roughly 50% off is a good rule of thumb.
This will help them be a healthier bush,
and prepares for the next season's growth.
Start by taking off any dead wood, like this.
It's good to aim for about a 45 degree angle,
sloping away from the bud, and it's
going to help the water run off and not invite disease.
Also a good idea, when they are flowering, to actually chop off
any deadheads and this will help promote more flowers.
You can plant hydrangeas from August all
the way through to Christmas.
They do best in part shade or dappled light.
They can be quite sensitive.
Poor flowering could be down to too much shade or volatile
weather.
Water often and deeply when flowering, and from the base
to avoid disease.
Fertilize in spring and again during flowering.
Keep an eye out for powdery mildew,
especially in humid weather, and spray with fungicide
or remove affected leaves.
Mix and match your hydrangeas to make the most out
of the different flowers.
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