Question
QUESTION: My annabelle came out beautifully in the spring and had many white blooms....however, in July, none of the large blooms turned white and are all now green.  Can I assist the plant in any way to turn the blooms white?

ANSWER: Hi Shirley,
Thanx for your question.  You may need to amend your soil.  If it is to acidic, this could cause the flowers not to become fully white.  Annabelle starts out green, becomes fully white and then starts fading back to green.  Have your soil checked for acidity and adjust according to the soil test.  Your local county extension service can help you.  If you give me your general location, I can get you contact information.  I hope this helps.
Tom

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks, Tom.  I live in the Middle Tennessee area and all of my other hydrangeas are lovely and lush, with the exception of this one Annabelle.  It had a few white blooms but the majority have stayed green without turning.
Any further help would be appreciated.

Shirley Cherry

Answer
Hi Shirley,

Hi Shirley,
A little more research reveals that Annabelles start out green, turn white as they mature and then turn lime green.  Your soil conditions can have an effect on the whiteness of the flower too.  Here's a link to a Hydrangea website I have found helpful.

http://www.hydrangeashydrangeas.com/identify.html  see the section on Annabelles

Here is a link to the University of Tennessee Cooperative Extension Service.  Locate your local office on the map and contact them.  They may have some local information that you will find useful.

http://www.utextension.utk.edu/

The following came from the Garden Web's Hydrangea Forum and sounds reasonable to me:

The cells of the sepal's epidermis are colorless and it is the second layer of cells that contains pigments. This second layer is made of chemical indicators that react like litmus paper to the soil acidity (or lack thereof). The blooms absorb several minerals from the soil, including iron, sulphur, aluminum and others. The sepals change colors depending on the bloom maturity at first. If the blooms are immature, you get green at first but afterwards, you get the white, blue, purple or pink colors that mopheads are known for. If the blooms are not immature, you go directly to whites, blues, purples or pinks.
If your plant's roots get different types of soil acidity or if the roots are damaged (say, because of transplanting), you may observe a single colored shrub giving blooms of more than one color at a time.

After this phase, you get other colors due to plant variety & concentrations of and combinations of these minerals. Thus you could get a pink bloom changing to -what I call- a dirty white then green then brown (for example). With some varieties, you may also notice some sepals also turning upside down thereby displaying the down/back side.

I hope this helps.
Tom