How to Grow Lacecap Hydrangea

Lacecap hydrangeas are a gorgeous cousin of the more popular mophead hydrangeas. Lacecaps don’t have the familiar ball-shaped flowerhead, but have a lacy-looking, flatter flowerhead. The perimeter of the flower head has open flowers, while the center has small buds. Flowers can come in blue, pink, or white, and blue- or pink-flowered lacecaps change colors depending on the acid level of the soil. The leaves are heart shaped and somewhat thick. Caring for them needn’t be difficult, as long as you understand their basic needs.

Shovel
Fertilizer (differs depending on pink or blue flowers)
Pruners
Dolomite lime or ammonium sulfate
Insecticidal soap
Dishwashing detergent or horticultural oil

Instructions

- 1
  Prepare a planter or hole. The hole or planter should be about 4 feet wide by about 3 feet deep to accommodate the mature size of the plant. Remove the pot from the plant, and break up the roots a little by raking the soil with a small hand tool or loosening the roots by hand. Only go about an inch into the root ball; do not break it. Place the plant into the hole or container and backfill with soil, taking care not plant any deeper than the soil level was when the plant was in the pot. Water immediately. The best time to plant is in the early fall.
- 2
  Water your hydrangea often. Lacecaps need a lot of water, so be prepared to give them supplemental water throughout the year the first year it’s planted, and afterwards provide additional water during times of drought.
- 3
  Prune your hydrangea sparingly. Lacecaps don’t often have to be pruned; just remove dead flowers and dead stems. However, most hydrangeas will develop flowers for the following year on the stems it grows in the current year. If pruned later than August, flowers will not develop for the following year. Those hydrangeas that are remontant, meaning they set bloom on both old growth and new growth, can be pruned at any time.
- 4
  Spray for insects and diseases. Insects are rarely a problem on hydrangeas, but occasionally they will get spider mites or aphids. Both of these are controlled with insecticidal soap. More common are diseases like powdery mildew. A mild solution of dishwashing detergent or horticultural oil controls it.
- 5
  
  Blue hydrangeas access more aluminum.
  
  Apply aluminum sulfate for blue flowers. Color, not intensity of color, can be changed. To manipulate colors, manipulate the levels of aluminum. A slightly acid soil will allow the aluminum to be more available to the plant. Soils should be at about 5.2 to 5.5 in pH. Water the hydrangea in advance and add aluminum sulfate to the soil according to the directions on the label. When fertilizing, use fertilizers low in phosphorus and high in potassium.
- 6
  
  Pink hydrangeas can't access aluminum.
  
  Apply lime for pink flowers. A slightly alkaline soil will cause aluminum to be less available. Soils need to be between about 6.0 and 6.2 pH for pink flowers. To change pH, apply dolomite lime to soils, and use fertilizers with high phosphorus levels.

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