One gardener has shared a simple hack she claims can make them “bloom better” and change colour.
This hack will transform your flowers(Image: Photos from Japan, Asia and othe of the world via Getty Images)
Hydrangeas are a firm favourite amongst UK gardeners, coming in a wonderful array of colours. With the right care, they can flower for several months each year.
According to one gardener, you can readily encourage hydrangeas to “bloom better” and even alter their colour simply by adding a common kitchen scrap to the soil.
Taking to TikTok to share her gardening tip, Brittany, who goes by the username allegedlybrittany, posted a video of her hydrangeas to her 28,000 followers. In the eye-opening clip, she showed her flowers side by side — some had been fed with kitchen scraps, while others had not — and the results were truly remarkable.
The caption of the video said: “This is the difference between using coffee grounds and not. The deepest blue I’ve ever seen.”
Brittany began by showing the hydrangeas that hadn’t been treated with coffee grounds. While they were undeniably attractive, they were noticeably smaller and lacking in blooms, reports the Express.
The video then panned across to the other side, revealing the hydrangeas that had been fed with coffee grounds. These were a stunning shade of blue, ranging from lighter hues to deeper, richer tones.
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They were considerably larger too, boasting an abundance of blooms throughout her front garden.
Coffee grounds encourage hydrangeas to turn blue by raising the acidity of the soil, which in turn enables the plant to absorb aluminium more effectively.
When soil is acidic and has a low pH level, the flowers are able to draw up aluminium from the ground with ease, triggering the chemical reaction responsible for turning the petals blue.
It’s crucial to understand that this method only works on certain varieties, such as lacecap, bigleaf and mophead.
Varieties like oakleaf or smooth hydrangeas, such as Annabelle, will never turn blue.
Hydrangeas will turn the ‘deepest blue’ and ‘bloom better’ when fed 1 natural kitchen scrap(Image: Getty)
The video, which garnered more than 145,000 likes, prompted a considerable response from fellow gardeners, who were impressed by the results.
User Strawberri95 said: “I’ve not heard of this. How does it work? Do you sprinkle the grounds on the soil at the bottom of the plant? Or mix it with the soil?”
Beth Dunn replied: “Sprinkle and water would work. You can also pour old coffee on the roots. The acidity changes the bloom colour and makes them bloom better.”
Alice Benson added: “It adjusts the level of the soil’s pH. Acidic soil promotes blue or lavender blue blooms, while alkaline soil encourages pink or red.”
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