Garden center and nursery patrons are often drawn to displays of beautiful blue hydrangeas. However, the flower color of some hydrangea cultivars can shift between pink and blue depending on root zone conditions, making it a challenge to supply plants that consistently exhibit a striking blue color. Now, Everris® is helping growers solve that problem with a new product specifically designed for easier production of blue hydrangeas—Blue-Max™ Coated Aluminum Sulfate.
“Traditionally, growers have had to supply hydrangeas with regular drenches of soluble aluminum sulfate during flower development to ensure a deep blue color,” said Chris Buchheit, marketing manager for Everris’ ornamental horticulture products. “Blue-Max is a convenient and reliable alternative that delivers a sustained supply of coated aluminum sulfate to plants with just a single application.”
Blue-Max is 100-percent-coated using Everris’ proprietary E-Max Release Technology™. The polymer coating’s thin weight allows for a higher percentage of aluminum sulfate, often making it possible to reduce application rates and frequency, thus leading to fewer inputs as well as lower labor costs. Because Blue-Max’s coating is so consistent, plants are not exposed to overdoses of aluminum sulfate, minimizing the possibility of root burn as compared to drenching. Blue-Max is available in a 2- to 3-month longevity, allowing growers to provide hydrangeas with a consistent supply of soluble aluminum without the hassle of mixing and applying repeated drenches.
Growers simply need to uniformly surface apply Blue-Max, avoiding piling the product against leaves and stems, then water it in immediately. Blue-Max should be applied in the spring as soon as plants break dormancy or during any period of flower development—preferably three months before blooms reach full size.
For more information about new Blue-Max Coated Aluminum Sulfate and the many other Everris products for the ornamental horticulture industry, or to find an Everris Territory Manager near you, please visit www.everris.us.com.