Gardening and Horticulture - Bland hydrangeas

I have 5 hydrangeas in my back yard which are very healthy with huge blooms every year. My problem is the blooms start out in early summer pink or blue but by the middle of summer fade to whitish green. New blooms that appear mid summer are also colorless. I've fertilized, mulched, watered,etc. but nothing seems to make a difference. I've used Miracle grow and Osmocote. Any suggestions? I'm looking for the beautiful blue blooms they had originally. Thanks

Most hydrangeas have the odd habit of turning pink in alkaline soil and blue in acid soil - just like litmus paper. Add lime if you like pink hydrangea blossoms. To get the blue blossoms you like add aluminum sulfate or peat moss. Peat moss is acidic and tips soil to the acid side of the scale. If you choose the aluminum sulfate it is available at your garden center. Just follow directions on the package for application instructions and amount to use per plant or per 100sq. ft. however they have it listed on the package you get.

To give you an idea of how much you will be using if you were to grow hydrangeas in a pot (the plant you would get from a nursery) you would water in one teaspoon of aluminum sulfate to each 6" pot every two weeks in early growth time (greenhouse January and February).

That will do it. Best - Ladybug