Origin
South America
Light
Full sun
Watering
Weekly
Care
Easy
Flowering
Flowering
Outdoor
Hortensia
Blue in acid soil, pink in chalk: it is the soil pH, not the variety, that decides the flower colour.
Care Profile
A guide to ensuring your botanical companion thrives.
Origin
Japan
Light
Dappled shade
Watering
Twice a week
Maintenance
Moderate
The flower that reads the soil
Native to Japan's coasts, its scientific name comes from the Greek for water vessel: its flowers collapse in an afternoon if the rootball dries.
The blue depends not on the variety but on soil aluminium, available only in acid ground; on chalk, the same flowers come out pink.
"Its colour is a soil test."
01
Styling Tip 01
Part shade, out of the wind
Morning sun only: afternoon sun scorches the flowers and the leaf margins.
02
Styling Tip 02
Generous, lime-free watering
Keep the soil cool with a thick mulch, and water with rainwater to hold the blue.
03
Styling Tip 03
Light pruning in late winter
Next summer's flowers are already formed: remove only dead wood and the dried heads.
Similar plants
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Origin
South America
Light
Full sun
Watering
Rarely
Care
Easy
Flowering
Flowering