tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post851978035498224693..comments2024-03-27T21:23:40.339-04:00Comments on Chemjobber: #Chemsummer: The color of hydrangeasChemjobberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15932113680515602275noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-8912574437931516472013-08-08T04:56:42.739-04:002013-08-08T04:56:42.739-04:00@Milkshake: yes, they are, and so of course it can...@Milkshake: yes, they are, and so of course it cannot depend on protonation/deprotonation of anthocyanines.<br /><br />@cj: my mother has both multicoloured hydrangeas - just discovered the English name of "ortensie"! - AND a son who should be a coordination chemist with a bioinorganic dissertation, a well-known expert of colour causes and analysis, and so on. She also is puzzling about the utility of spending on education (not sure this includes the reason for the State to pay me any wage). <br /><br />Anyway, this degenerate son knows that also iron is turning blue the flowers, and so it is commonly added to the soil. Speciation between complexes of +2, +3 and less usual oxidation states in the flower is by far out of my limited mind.<br /><br />Soil chemistry is really strange, and more strange ar "soil chemists", as it is usual to hear about "calcium - iron complexes" to justify acidity changes... decades ago, I heard the same wonderful idea (from supposed expert chemists) as the reason to use Ca(OH)2 or CaCO3 to deacidify archive papers written with iron-gall inks...!!Sergio Palazzihttp://www.kemia.itnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-7762982391648340252013-08-01T20:41:47.730-04:002013-08-01T20:41:47.730-04:00Anthocyanines usually transition to purple in acid...Anthocyanines usually transition to purple in acidic environment and to blue in alkaline. (think of color of blueberries or red wine on your tongue when hit with a toothpaste containing baking soda). Are sure these flowers are more blue in more acidic soils? I would wager it is rather the other way around.milkshakehttp://orgprepdaily.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-83012072186396665842013-08-01T08:43:01.484-04:002013-08-01T08:43:01.484-04:00I transplanted one from my childhood home and the ...I transplanted one from my childhood home and the damn thing has NEVER flowered in 13 years.<br /><br />The Aqueous Layernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-68985338571193888332013-08-01T04:57:38.774-04:002013-08-01T04:57:38.774-04:00This was my understanding too - I have various fol...This was my understanding too - I have various folklore about hydrangea flowers. The most entertaining being that a friend's grandmother used to have two hydrangeas either side of to the table where she sat out to drink tea. She would always tip the tea dregs/leaves on the soil next to the hydrangea, but always on the same side. One bush had pink flowers, the other blue, because of the organic acids she kept 'feeding' it with.<br /><br />On a more serious note, the Royal Horticultural Society suggests that bioavailability of aluminium is the key factor. You can buy 'hydrangea bluing agents', which are essentially aluminium phosphate, but these only work if your soil is acidic enough. Of course, you can make the soil more acidic by adding acid-rich organic matter like manure (or tea...) http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/Profile.aspx?PID=122#section3<br /><br />White and green-flowered hydrangeas, however, will never turn blue, no matter how much aluminium you feed them.Philliphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11027906511764488130noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-19293482035834853252013-08-01T02:27:26.743-04:002013-08-01T02:27:26.743-04:00Wasn't that something to do with bioavailabili...Wasn't that something to do with bioavailability of aluminium? Al2O3 being insoluble, but hydrolized species at low pH and Al(OH)3 at high pH being soluble, and thus bioavailable?Celvinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09008794545802554071noreply@blogger.com