Alan Titchmarsh shows off his hydrangeas
Hydrangeas typically change their colour depending on the level of soil acidity they experience.
In alkaline soil, hydrangea flowers turn start to turn pink, while in acidic soil, they turn blue.
If the soil is not naturally alkaline or acidic, gardeners can amend it in order to change the flower colour of their hydrangea.
However, not all hydrangea varieties can change their flower colour from pink to blue and vice versa.
Unhappy with the shade of their hydrangea, one gardener took to the Gardening UK Facebook page to ask for some advice.
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Rae Skinner wrote: “Hi, can anyone give me some advice on my hydrangea, please? My pretty pink hydrangea has turned into a faded blue colour.
“Is there any way of getting it back to its original colour? It looks dark and drab now.”
Group members took to the comments section to give their thoughts – most of them recommended using eggshells.
Charlotte Walters said: “When my hydrangeas start to change a different colour, I always pop some crushed-up eggshells in the soil around my hydrangeas and they turn pink.”
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Anne Tilbury commented: “If you want to turn your hydrangeas blue use coffee grounds, but if you want to change them back to pink, eggshells are amazing – and it happens pretty fast.”
Bridget Stevens wrote: “Eggshells work for turning hydrangeas pink and even if you just want to make pink hydrangeas vibrant.”
Katie Grimsby said: “I use eggshells. I crush them up into a fine powder so that it decomposes into the soil faster to change the colour of the hydrangea.”
Caitlin Holt replied: “Eggshells have turned my blue hydrangeas pink, but sometimes I’ve found that it has also turned them purple.”
Eggshells are good for hydrangeas because they contain calcium, making the plant stronger and improving growth.
However, this only works if the shell is ground into powder form or small pieces. Big pieces of eggshells can retain their shape and not decompose.
Eggs are a staple in most households, so once they’ve been used, keep the eggshells to use for hydrangeas.
Eggs retail for £1.99 in Asda and Tesco for a pack of 15. This works out as just 13p per egg.
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