Alan Titchmarsh has shared a simple, one-ingredient trick that he suggests can help your hydrangeas stand out this summer. The gardening expert offered the advice after saying a friend had 'bemoaned' how their attempts to grow the colourful blooms hadn't gone to plan, having planted them in free-draining, sandy soil.
The 'Hydra' Clue
Titchmarsh said the giveaway is in the 'hydra' part of the name, then recalled a method he used while working at Ilkley Council's Parks Department in the 1960s — something he suggests made a dramatic difference to the plants. He wrote in BBC Gardeners' World Magazine: 'A friend bemoaned recently that she had no success with hydrangeas on her free-draining, sandy soil. I pointed out (politely, of course) that the clue to their cultivation lies in their name, the first half of which - "hydra" - is derived from the Greek for "water".'
'One glance at the succulence of hydrangea foliage - as with that of the dahlia - serves as a reminder that they are thirsty plants and will not thrive where moisture is in short supply.'
Using Aluminium Sulphate
Titchmarsh continued: 'That said, a border of hydrangeas of any colour in a seaside garden in high summer always lifts my spirits. When we grew them in pots back in my parks department days, we watered them with Hydrangea Colourant, which was based, as I recall, on aluminium sulphate.' He said the pink blooms would shift to mauve, while the blue ones would turn to a 'summer sky' shade. He added that the same substance can still be bought today, sold as aluminium and iron salts.
According to Westland Horticulture, which produces the product, Hydrangea Colourant is a salt that acidifies the soil — turning pink hydrangeas blue and shifting darker pink varieties to a mauve shade.
Annuals for Gaps in Borders
The tip comes after Titchmarsh disclosed why he intentionally leaves spaces in his borders. Speaking on his YouTube channel Gardening With Alan Titchmarsh, he heaped praise on annuals and how they cost 'next to nothing'. He said: 'I was very grateful for annual flowers when I first got married because we hadn't got very much money.' Alan recalled buying packets of marigold seeds and sowing them into the soil. 'They came up and they cost me next to nothing', he added.
Further highlighting their financial position, Titchmarsh said: 'That was the time when we used to save 10p a week with the butcher to buy a Christmas joint. You get my feeling, right? Okay. And that means I've always had a great soft spot for them.' He went on to say: 'If you suddenly find yourself in June or July with a hole in a bed or border, go to annuals because they'll give you that instant hit.'
