By Jerryallen
United Kingdom
I was given a bucket full of bluebells by a local groundsman after he dug up a patch of all blue bluebells. I planted some on one side of my garden and some on the other side. All from the same bucket. The bluebells one side are ALL white and those on the other side are ALL blue. Can you tell me why? The soil on the white side is rather clay, but the soil on the blue side used to be a vegetable garden and is better. Could this be the reason. I have 2 photos but I am having difficulty posting them.
- 17 May, 2018
Answers
as bamboo says they are not pH sensitive for flower colour. Is one side shaded and the other in full sun? bleaching in strong sun may make blue fade and appear almost white.
welcome to GoY too :o)
18 May, 2018
Thanks for the replies. However, the blue ones are on the side that is probably sunnier. And the fact that ALL are Blue on one side and ALL are white on the other means that it would need to be a very big fluke. The soil is slightly different - clay on the white side and better soil on the blue. Could there be another reason related to the soil besides the ph? I am sorry to be so ignorant. But it would be good to know if there is a difference in what other plants I can grow. Thanks.
19 May, 2018
Well, other than doing soil sample testing, there's no way to know unforunately. Soil acidity or alkalinity (ph) does make a difference to some plants, but bluebells aren't one of them.
19 May, 2018
Previous question
You've probably been given spanish bluebells rather than English ones - these do come in pink, white or blue, and often will produce offset bulbs which may not be the same colour as the parent plant. It is odd that all the white ones are in one border and the blue in the other, but they are not sensitive to soil ph in terms of flower colour, so it could just be fluke that this has happened. I can't think of another explanation.
17 May, 2018