Do hydrangeas like coffee grounds?

It's great to sit in your backyard and look at your beautiful hydrangeas as you sip on a hot cup of coffee. Since you're reading this, I guess you're wondering if the coffee grounds you have in your kitchen will be beneficial to your hydrangeas.

Hydrangeas do like coffee grounds. They can help them in two ways. Coffee grounds can add important nutrients to the soil. Coffee grounds can also help you change the color of your hydrangeas.

It is important that you learn when to use coffee grounds, what kind of coffee grounds to use, the benefits, potential problems, and how they will affect the color of your hydrangeas.

When to use coffee grounds on your hydrangeas

Because there are two components to applying coffee grounds to hydrangeas, nutrients and color, you have to thing about coffee grounds in multiple ways. First, you need to understand what is in coffee grounds that will help your hydrangeas and how it affects your soil.

Hydrangeas like both acidic soil and neutral soil. It really depends on what color you want your hydrangeas to be, pink or blue. Acidic soil, somewhere between a pH of 4.5 to 5.5 will produce blue flowers. Slightly acidic to neutral soil will produce pink flowers.

Unused coffee grounds are acidic. They can lower you soils pH to make it more acidic. This will help your hydrangeas to grow blue flowers. Used coffee grounds are neutral to slightly alkaline. They will not help you grow blue flowers. They can help to raise the pH so that you produce vibrant pink flowers.

How hydrangeas benefit from coffee grounds

Coffee grounds are a fertilizer for hydrangeas. Used and unused coffee grounds both contain nitrogen. Your hydrangeas love nitrogen. It helps them absorb water and aids in the photosynthesis process.

Coffee grounds also have other nutrients like calcium and phosphorus. These nutrients give your hydrangeas the support they need to grow strong.

Again, the acidity of new coffee grounds will help your hydrangeas grow blue flowers.

Also, coffee grounds attract worms. Worms are good for your hydrangeas' soil.

How much coffee grounds should you use on your hydrangeas

Many plants can be temperamental to changes in the pH levels of the soil. The great thing about hydrangeas, they thrive in a large range of soils. This means you don't have to be as careful with your application of coffee grounds as you would be with other plants. If there are other plants nearby, you may want to consider how your application of coffee grounds will affect them.

Even though hydrangeas are tolerant of soil changes, you still should test the pH level of your soil before and after applying the coffee grounds. This will help you understand your plants and there needs.

Coffee grounds affect more than just the nutrients in the soil. They are course and tend to clump together. This can be both good and bad for your soil. If used correctly, they can help your soil drain well. If there are big clumps of coffee grounds in your soil, you could end up with poor water drainage.

How to use coffee grounds with your hydrangeas

How you use the coffee grounds with your hydrangeas really depends on what you are trying to accomplish.

If you just want the coffee grounds to add nutrients to your soil, you should add a little used coffee grounds. Because they have a close to neutral pH, a small amount shouldn't affect your soil's pH. It will give it much needed nitrogen and other essential minerals.

To raise the pH of your soil, you should add a larger amount of coffee grounds to your soil. When adding a larger amount to your soil, you may not want to add them all at one time. You can add some every month or so. This will allow the previous batch to decompose some before a new batch is added.

To lower you soils pH and produce blue flowers, you should add fresh coffee grounds or use brewed coffee. Fresh grounds and brewed coffee are acidic. The fresh grounds will have a slower release than the liquid coffee. If you decide to use brewed coffee, let it cool down before adding it to the soil. Also, don't pour it directly on your plant. The acid from coffee grounds and liquid coffee could burn your plants.

Problems

There are two problems that could occur when applying coffee grounds to your hydrangeas soil. First, you could burn the plants if you put coffee directly on the plant or its roots. Second, you could cause poor water drainage if you allow the grounds to clump up.

Will coffee ground make hydrangeas bloom?

Coffee grounds, while beneficial to hydrangeas, will not make them bloom. Coffee doesn't have any affect on whether hydrangeas bloom or not.

Does coffee grounds affect the color of hydrangeas?

Yes, coffee grounds can affect the color of hydrangeas. Fresh coffee and coffee grounds can make your soil acidic. Acidic soil produces blue hydrangeas. The color of the flowers of Mountain hydrangeas and Bigleaf hydrangeas will be affected by coffee.

Will coffee grounds affect the color of Oakleaf hydrangeas?

No, Oakleaf hydrangeas don't change colors based on the soil pH. So coffee grounds won't affect their color.

Will coffee grounds affect the color of Limelight hydrangeas?

No, Limelight hydrangeas' color won't be affected by coffee grounds.

Conclusion

Coffee can be a great way to fertilize your hydrangeas. It can also be a good way to change their color. Determine your specific needs and decide whether you want to add used coffee ground, unused coffee grounds, or fresh brewed coffee to your soil to help your hydrangeas.