Hydrangea Flower – Half-pink, Half-blue

Q: Do you have an explanation of why our hydrangeas are split down the middle in color! We know that pH can change the color of the flower, but we’ve never had them split so nicely down the middle! There is another flower blooming as well and it is doing the same thing!

A: I’m guessing this might be a chimera. I’ve seen plant leaves and fruit divided down the middle with white on one side and dark on the other. A chimera is a genetic mistake caused by unknown environmental factors that results in something similar to what I see here.

On the other hand, noted Georgia naturalist David Funderburk remembers an old professor who would say, when asked for an explanation for something odd, would say, “Sometimes they just do that.”

photo courtesy of Peggy Sams