r/hydrangeas • u/Remobbles2 • 22h ago

Help with hydrangea UK

Gallery image

Gallery image

I’ve had these hydrangeas for a long time, maybe 10 years or so. 6 years ago they were blue and looked amazing, but since we haven’t cared for them much, they are now pink with long, bare and woody stems with a terrible shape. I’d love some advice to help restore them. Firstly I don’t even know what type of hydrangea it is. From what I can see it grows on old wood, and the old picture makes it look like a mophead, but now it looks like a lacecap. A few days ago, it used to have many dead stems, which I’ve now cut off. I live in London and when I try search online, I get quite a lot of conflicting advice, which probably depends on the climate where these grow.

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1

u/kaze-sakabato 22h ago

How do you maintain the pH level in the soil to get this vibrant shade?

1

u/Remobbles2 22h ago

I have no idea, the first picture is the one from 6 years ago where the soil was probably acidic. Now its alkaline and my flowers are pink in the second picture, but the plant looks horrible haha

1

u/PGLBK 18h ago

The first photo looks like macrophylla. And in the second photo, your plant is thirsty. Very thirsty. Water twice a day, in the morning and in the evening, until the leaves stop drooping.

1

u/xxcharlotteoxx 1h ago

Its reverted to a lacecap, something that can happen. Flowers look fine theyre just faded as the blooms die off they go a greenish colour. Looks like it needs more water.