July marks a critical feeding time in zone 6 gardens – the moment when proper nutrition can mean the difference between a single spectacular flush of blooms and continuous color through fall. After experiencing one of the most glorious first flushes of roses we've ever seen, it's time to fuel our plants for their next performance while tackling the fascinating challenge of turning pink hydrangeas blue.

The Post-Flush Rose Strategy: Why Timing Matters

When roses finish their first major bloom cycle, they're at a crossroads. Without intervention, many will rest for weeks before producing another round of flowers. But with strategic deadheading and feeding, you can encourage continuous blooming throughout the summer.

The Art of Rose Deadheading

Proper deadheading goes beyond simply removing spent flowers. When working with David Austin shrub roses like our Lady of Shalott collection, the technique becomes crucial for both plant health and future bloom production.

The key principles:

• Find the five-leaf rule: Cut just above a set of five or more leaves
• Consider growth direction: The direction the leaf faces is where new growth emerges
• Think about plant shape: Use this opportunity to guide overall form
• Remove entire stems back to strong growth: Don't just snip flower heads

Our Lady of Shalott roses, now in their third full season, demonstrate the "sleep, creep, leap" principle perfectly. This year they've truly leaped, covering the wall with fragrant blooms that cascaded over the terrace edge. But to maintain this performance, aggressive deadheading is essential.

The Magic Fertilizer Formula: Two Ingredients, Maximum Impact

After years of experimentation, we've settled on a surprisingly simple yet effective feeding strategy that works for nearly all our flowering plants.

The Base Blend

Our secret weapon combines:

• Coast of Maine Roses and Flowers blend: A compost-based foundation specially formulated for flowering plants
• Stonington Blend Organic Plant Food (5-2-4): Provides the NPK balance roses crave, enhanced with lobster, kelp, and worm castings

The ratio is beautifully simple: one 2-cubic-foot bag of the Coast of Maine blend mixed with one bag of the Stonington fertilizer. This creates enough amendment to feed approximately 100 roses – or in our case, every rose in the garden.

Why This Combination Works

The genius lies in the complementary nature of these products:

• Slow-release nutrition: The organic components break down gradually, providing sustained feeding
• Soil improvement: The compost base continues building soil structure in our sandy, construction-backfill soil
• Balanced nutrition: The 5-2-4 NPK ratio provides adequate nitrogen for foliage without excessive soft growth
• Marine-derived minerals: Kelp and lobster shells add trace elements often missing in inland soils

Application Technique: Less Science, More Art

The beauty of this feeding program lies in its simplicity. We literally toss handfuls of the mixed fertilizer around the base of each rose, aiming for about one generous scoop per plant.

Key application tips:

• Spread around the drip line: Don't pile it against the stem
• Water in if dry: Though rain typically handles this for us
• Don't worry about precision: Roses are remarkably forgiving about feeding rates
• Apply to mulched beds: The fertilizer blends seamlessly with our compost mulch

The Hydrangea Color Challenge: Understanding the Science

Turning pink hydrangeas blue involves more than wishful thinking – it requires understanding soil chemistry and plant physiology. Our recent soil test revealed a pH of 7.5, which explains why our hydrangeas naturally trend pink and why achieving blue requires aggressive intervention.

The Two-Step Blue Process

Creating blue hydrangeas in alkaline soil requires addressing two separate challenges:

Step 1: Soil AcidificationIn soils above neutral pH, aluminum becomes unavailable to plants even when present. Soil acidifier helps lower pH to the range where aluminum uptake becomes possible.

Step 2: Aluminum AvailabilityAluminum sulfate provides the specific element that creates blue pigmentation in hydrangea flowers. Without adequate aluminum uptake, flowers remain pink regardless of pH.

Which Hydrangeas Can Change Color

This is crucial: only two hydrangea families can change color based on soil conditions:

• Macrophylla (Big Leaf): The classic mophead and lacecap varieties
• Serrata (Mountain): Typically more cold-hardy with excellent re-blooming traits

Panicle, arborescence, and oakleaf hydrangeas maintain their genetically determined colors regardless of soil amendments.

Strategic Hydrangea Selection for Color Change

Our hydrangea collection includes several varieties specifically chosen for their color-changing potential and re-blooming characteristics:

Let's Dance Series: The Breakthrough Hybrids

These revolutionary hydrangeas combine the best traits of macrophylla and serrata families:

• Can Do: Blooms at every node from base to tip, extreme remontancy
• Sky View: Proven cold-hardy with reliable re-blooming
• Rhythmic Blue: Classic mophead form with excellent blue potential
• Ariba: Newer variety with promising color-change characteristics

Tough Stuff Collection: Mountain Hydrangea Excellence

The Tough Stuff series offers superior cold hardiness:

• Aha: Features enormous individual florets with semi-double characteristics
• Top Fun: Compact growth with three distinct bloom cycles per season

Timing the Blue Transformation

Understanding when hydrangeas form next year's buds is critical for color-changing success. Since most color-changing varieties bloom on old wood, the buds forming now in July will determine next year's flower color.

This means:

• Current blooms cannot be changed: They were determined by last year's soil conditions
• New growth buds are our target: These will respond to current soil amendments
• Consistent treatment is essential: One application won't create lasting change

The Feeding Schedule Reality

While magazines might suggest monthly applications, our realistic approach focuses on two key feeding times:

• Spring application: As buds break and active growth begins
• Mid-summer boost: After first flush, as next year's buds form

This schedule balances effectiveness with practical garden management, acknowledging that consistent twice-yearly applications work better than ambitious monthly schedules that get forgotten.

New Plant Considerations: First-Year Care

Newly planted hydrangeas require special attention, particularly those that arrived from nurseries already in bloom. The stress of transplanting combined with summer heat often causes flower browning that has nothing to do with plant health or watering practices.

The Stress-Relief Strategy

For first-year hydrangeas showing heat stress:

• Deadhead stressed blooms: Remove the burden of supporting damaged flowers
• Feed closer to the base: Root systems haven't expanded to fill their eventual space
• Expect slower establishment: Full performance typically comes in year two or three

Application Tools: Making the Job Manageable

Managing large-scale feeding operations requires the right equipment:

The Chapin Wet/Dry Sprayer

This inexpensive tool revolutionizes both dry and liquid fertilizer application:

• Consistent mixing ratios: Eliminates guesswork in dilution rates
• Quick Connect compatibility: Integrates seamlessly with quality hose systems
• Versatile applications: Handles both granular and water-soluble fertilizers

Specialized Products: The Jack's Classic Experiment

We're experimenting with Jack's Classic Hydrangea Blue, a water-soluble fertilizer containing both soil acidifier and aluminum sulfate. While new to our routine, it offers potential advantages:

• Pre-mixed ratios: Eliminates measuring multiple components
• Water-soluble delivery: May provide faster soil penetration
• Convenience factor: Simplifies the application process

The Protection Strategy: Learning from Winter Damage

Our roses and hydrangeas face significant winter challenges in zone 6, requiring protective strategies that extend beyond feeding:

Rose Protection Evolution

After learning hard lessons from rabbit damage, we now protect our roses with black vinyl-coated chicken wire that virtually disappears once plants leaf out. This protection allows us to see what our roses can truly achieve when not cut to the ground each winter.

Hydrangea Winter Care

Cold-sensitive hydrangeas receive protective coverings, though we're still refining our technique. The key insight: even when top growth dies back, well-fed plants recover more quickly and completely.

The Broader Garden Philosophy

Our feeding program reflects a larger philosophy about garden management:

• Soil improvement over quick fixes: Building long-term soil health rather than relying solely on synthetic inputs
• Realistic maintenance schedules: Designing care routines that fit actual gardening time, not idealized schedules
• Experimentation within limits: Trying new products while maintaining proven base strategies
• Seasonal responsiveness: Adjusting care based on what plants actually need when they need it

Measuring Success: What to Expect

The true test of any feeding program lies in plant performance over time:

• Roses: Look for quicker re-flush after deadheading, more abundant second and third bloom cycles
• Hydrangeas: Color changes may take a full season to appear, but improved vigor should be visible within weeks
• Overall garden health: Better drought tolerance, improved disease resistance, more robust growth

The Long Game: Building Garden Resilience

While the immediate goal is continuous blooms and blue hydrangeas, the larger objective is creating a garden ecosystem that performs reliably year after year. This means:

• Consistent soil building: Every amendment contributes to long-term soil health
• Plant selection wisdom: Choosing varieties that work with your conditions rather than against them
• Sustainable practices: Developing routines that you can maintain long-term

Remember that successful garden feeding is less about perfect timing and measurements and more about consistent attention to your plants' needs. Start with proven basics, experiment carefully with new techniques, and always consider your local growing conditions when adapting any feeding program.

Thanks for growing with us!