Hydrangeas

Q. I love Hydrangeas but I live on the West coast of Florida near the Tampa area. Can you tell me if the conditions here are all right for them to grow? Also how about Lilacs...??? Appreciate any help...

A. Hydrangeas are well-suited for parts of Florida. They like moist tropical zones and many originate from South America. But if growing in a hot location they must be shaded so that they are cool and moist. The soil must be rich in humus too and well-drained. Do not allow to sit in the hot dry sun or they will scorch.

Pruning is best done right after flowering with vegetative cuttings used for propagation. Watch for powdery mildew aphids red spider mite and scale.

If you want your hydrangea flowers to be more blue  incorporate enough ammonium sulfate into the soil to reach a pH of 5.0.  And if you would like a pink color add lime to the soil to raise the pH above 7.0.

Unfortunately I cannot recommend lilacs to you. They need the cold winter temperatures to bloom properly [at least two good frosts] so you would be wasting your time since if you did get any flowers they would be sporadic at best.

Q. I am growing a hydrangea that was blue but is now pink! Can I grow plants here in Southern California which come from the North?

A. Yes you can but first about the hydrangeas. The flowers start out greenish white and then develop according to the pH of the soil in which they are growing. If you have acidic soil [low pH] then you will see more blue flowers. Pink flowers are found in soils more toward the alkaline above 7 on the pH scale of 14 [7 is called neutral]. You can buy a soil testing kit and measure your soil regulate with additives to get the color you wish.

You can grow many plants from various climates being in So Cal. We up here can too. What we have to be aware of are two main ideas:

Some of the tropical plants thrive but if we have a weird cold snap they can be hit by frost and either damaged or killed. We lost 1000s of palm trees up here about 10 years ago during such a spell. So protect the tender plants in the winter when the reporters warn of low night temps.

Secondly we can grow so many plants from the northern regions. But some of them do require a cold winter to continue to perform well. The spring bulbs need cold to initiate flowers for the next season. That is why we must replant the bulbs each fall or cold treat in a refrigerator over the winter.