Hydrangea varieties for garden planting and outdoor care

Even in a very large garden area, it is impossible not to notice a flower bed decorated with large and multi-colored hydrangea caps. This wonderful beautiful plant is so mesmerizing to the eye that you simply cannot pass by it. Hydrangeas have more than 35 species, among which there are varieties that grow well and winter in the Urals and Siberia. But in whatever latitude of our country your garden is, before buying a beauty, you need to study all the features of planting, caring for and growing it.

Garden hydrangea: photos, types, varieties

Most hydrangea species are shrubs, but there are vines and small trees. All of them have beautiful large or small leaves, and flowers collected in paniculate or corymbose inflorescences. All inflorescences are located at the tops of the shoots and have sterile or fertile flowers. Most often, their color can be white, pink or blue.

Among them, only tree hydrangea and paniculate hydrangea are grown as perennial plants in the gardens of central Russia.

Hydrangea tree - photo

The shrub, which grows up to one and a half meters in height, has large oval leaves, the length of which reaches 20 cm. Slightly pubescent leaf plates are distinguished by a heart-shaped notch at the base and jagged edges along the edges. From above they are green, and from below they have a bluish tint. Large sterile and small fertile flowers are collected in corymbose inflorescences, which bloom in the first half of July.

Most suitable for planting in the garden the following varieties of hydrangea tree-like:

1. Variety "White House" is a bush with a height of one to one and a half meters. At the ends of its shoots, large thyroid inflorescences are formed, consisting of snow-white sterile and creamy white fertile flowers.
2. InvincibellSpirit grows up to 0.9-1.2 m. Its large inflorescences consist of sterile flowers. At first, they have a bright pink color, and over time they fade to light pink.
3. Variety "Incrediboll" is a bush that reaches a height of 1.2-1.5 m, and has large spherical white inflorescences.
4. Heis Starburst is a short bush with slender shoots that can break under the weight of large inflorescences. The inflorescences consisting of double flowers reach 25 cm in diameter.
5. The Annabelle variety blooms with white sterile flowers, which form large inflorescences with a diameter of up to 25 cm.

Hydrangea paniculata - varieties, photo

Panicle hydrangea differs from tree hydrangea in inflorescences, which consist of large sterile and small fertile flowers, and grow up to 20-25 cm in length... During flowering, they can change color. For the first time days, the petals of flowers are white, after a while they acquire a pink tint, and by the end of flowering they turn green. Large leaves of paniculate species are distinguished by an ovoid or elliptical shape. They are heavily pubescent below, and slightly above.

Garden varieties bloom from June to July, and bloom for a long time. Among them are:

1. Variety "Vanilla Freise" grows up to two meters and is distinguished by a conical inflorescence, on which flowers of a strawberry-pink color are densely located.
2. The Phantom variety is a bush with a spreading crown, growing up to 2.5 m. Its pyramidal large inflorescences have a creamy white hue at the beginning of flowering, and turn pink by autumn.
3. Variety "Pinky-Winky" is a bush up to 1.8 m high, on the shoots of which openwork conical purple-pink inflorescences are formed.
4. The Limelight variety is distinguished by dense greenish inflorescences, which turn pink by the end of the season.
5. The variety "Grandiflora" has been known among gardeners for a long time for its dense inflorescences, which consist of sterile flowers.
6. The Vims Red variety is a beautifully shaped bush that reaches a height of 2 m. From the ground to the very top, it is covered with delicate inflorescences that bloom in June. At first they have a white color, then they become deep pink, and after a while - burgundy-red.
7. The variety "White Lady" is distinguished by white inflorescences, which consist of a few flowers with jagged edges. Grows up to two meters.
8. The Kiushu variety is a bush with delicate inflorescences and erect shoots up to 2.5 m high.
9. The "Great Star" variety is a plant up to two meters in height. Its shoots are strewn with inflorescences, which consist of white flowers with petals in the shape of a "propeller".
10. Earley Sensation is distinguished by its early flowering and dark purple shoots. On its openwork, wide-cone-shaped inflorescences, purple-pink flowers are formed.
11. The variety "Diamond Rouge" is a bush up to 1.8 m high. Its dense, large inflorescences very quickly acquire a red hue.
12. The Daruma variety is a low-growing shrub with reddish leaves and small openwork inflorescences. The dark pink flowers become reddish over time.

Features of growing garden hydrangea

Those who decide to grow a hydrangea on their garden plot need follow certain rules her planting, placement and care. It should be remembered that only treelike and panicle hydrangeas grow in Siberia.

Planting and leaving

The plant loves well-lit areas with little shade. In sunny areas, hydrangeas grow well and bloom quickly, but from excessive heat they suffer from drying out of the soil and lose their turgor. Small inflorescences are formed in full shade.

The soil for planting shrubs must have an acidic reaction. Alkaline soil plant will suffer from chlorosis and bloom poorly... Neutral soil for hydrangea is unacceptable.

Hydrangeas planted on nutritious loams will take root well and will grow. Therefore, it is recommended to add clay during planting at the bottom of the pit.

Hydrangea belongs to moisture-loving plants, however, it is not recommended to plant it in areas with a high groundwater level. In addition, the wintering of the shrub directly depends on the moisture intake of the plant roots. The less moisture they accumulate in the fall, the better the plant will overwinter. That is why in autumn the soil around the bushes must be partially covered from precipitation.

Planting garden hydrangeas is done in the spring in pits, approximate the dimensions of which should be 50x50x70 cm... The plant is planted after the last frost has passed.

Store-bought plants with a closed root system can be planted until the end of summer, preparing deeper and wider pits for them. After planting, the bushes are well watered, and the soil around them is 6 cm covered with sawdust or peat mulch.

The distance between plants should be from one to one and a half meters. If the group planting was conceived as a "hedge", then the bushes are planted more densely.

Watering and feeding

During the season in the open field, the bushes are watered once a week. In hot months, the frequency of watering increases up to 2 times a week.

Hydrangea care includes mandatory feeding, which produced twice a year:

1. In May or June, during the budding period, the plant is fed with nitrogen fertilizers.
2. In summer, the bushes need potassium, which is added according to the instructions.

It is better not to apply ash under hydrangea bushes, since it reduces the acidity of the soil.

Pruning hydrangea

When caring for a hydrangea, you need to be especially careful about pruning a shrub. Pruning is done every spring. Some growers cut the bushes very short, as a result of which they are removed most flower buds... This cannot be done. It is recommended to approach each bush individually.

First of all, the frozen parts of the shoots are cut out from the plant. If after this there are enough powerful shoots, then last year's branches can be cut to the upper branch. With a small number of annual shoots, only inflorescences are removed from the faded branches.

Too old and thickening shoots are completely cut out. Annual shoots are not recommended to be cut out at all. It should be noted that inflorescences for bouquets can be cut during the entire period until autumn.

What to do to make the hydrangea change color?

Experienced flower growers know that by feeding bushes with pink inflorescences with certain fertilizers, as a result, you can get a plant, blooming with blue or blue flowers... To do this, starting in September, once every two weeks, the following is added to the soil:

• aluminum alum solution (2 pcs. for 1 liter of water);
• iron or aluminum sulfate (20-50 g).

If fertilizers are applied irregularly, then both blue and pink inflorescences will begin to form on the shrub.

Preparing hydrangeas for winter

Unfortunately, without shelter in the Urals and Siberia, hydrangea will not be able to overwinter. Therefore, caring for her in regions with cold winters includes preparing bushes for wintering.

Before sheltering the plants, it is necessary to feed with phosphorus-potassium fertilizers and remove all the leaves from them, leaving only the upper ones. This will help speed up the process of lignification of the shoots.

Paniculate and tree hydrangea grown in the southern regions can be simply huddle high or cover with peat... For regions with unpredictable and cold winters, you can choose one of the proposed methods:

1. Cover the trunk circle with spruce branches. Bend the shoots away from the center, secure with staples and cover with spruce branches. Cover the center of the bush with peat. Lutrasil is laid on top, which is pressed with bricks or boards.
2. Young small bushes are tied with a rope and carefully, without haste, are attracted and tied to boards lying on the ground, into which nails are driven. From above, the plants are thrown with sawdust or spruce branches, and covered with spunbond, lutrasil or a sheet of iron.
3. It will be difficult to pull powerful bushes to the ground, so a different method of shelter is used for them. The shoots are wrapped in lutrasil, fixed with tape or rope. A metal mesh is installed around the bush. Dry leaves are thrown inside the armament, and everything is covered with polyethylene or roofing felt from above. The frame should be 10-15 cm higher than the bushes.

When growing hydrangeas, you should know that every year it winter hardiness increases... Therefore, in some regions, over time, you can refuse to shelter bushes for the winter. But it is imperative to cover young plants.

Diseases and pests of garden hydrangea

The plant is resistant to diseases and pests, however, may be amazed:

1. Aphids, which can be driven away by infusion of garlic. To do this, 200 g of chopped garlic is infused in a bucket of water for two days. You can add 40 g of laundry soap to the solution, and spray the plant once every 5-7 days.
2. Powdery mildew infects hydrangeas with excess air humidity. When it appears, the plant is treated with a solution of copper sulfate with soap or special fungicidal agents.
3. Sharply clarified hydrangea leaves indicate plant chlorosis. The leaves can lose their natural color due to the excessive content of humus or lime in the soil. Chlorosis is eliminated by alternately watering the plant every three days with copper sulfate and potassium nitrate.

The most beautiful hydrangea plant is excellent suitable for single and group plantings, goes well with low conifers and looks great against the background of stones. With proper planting and caring for it, you can admire the magnificent flowering and be proud of your flower garden all summer until autumn.

Garden hydrangea

Hydrangea is one of the most luxurious perennial garden shrubs. Lush, large and bright flower inflorescences consist of large sterile flowers with four colored blende petals. On almost every site in our horticultural partnership, bushes of delicate flowers with huge heads grow, and we change varieties from time to time, since the price on the market is "biting", it is expensive to buy varietal seedlings.

Novice gardeners consider this beauty to be capricious, and do not risk cultivating it in the garden. Although the choice of soil and location, proper planting in open ground, and proper care will do the trick. And the bushes, hung with white, cream, pink, blue flowers, will delight you with a long and beautiful flowering.

Over the centuries, since the name of the flower in honor of Princess Hortense, more than 600 varieties have been bred, differing in shape, color of inflorescences and color of leaves.

A very interesting feature of this plant is the ability to change the shade of the inflorescences depending on the acidity of the soil. In this regard, an amusing incident comes to mind. The husband, having arrived after a long business trip, drove past the garden, because he did not recognize him, because the hedge had turned from a white bush into a pink one.

The content of the article

• Types and best varieties of garden hydrangea
• Outdoor cultivation and care
• When is it better to plant a hydrangea: spring or autumn?
• Top dressing - when, what and how much to fertilize the shrub
• Winter preparation, pruning and shelter
• Reproduction of a perennial flower by green cuttings
• Why doesn't hydrangia bloom in the garden and the leaves turn yellow?
• Plant pests and control

Types and best varieties of garden hydrangea

According to the latest information, 52 types of shrubs are known, of which flower growers of the Moscow region and the Urals distinguish the most common:

• large-leaved
• tree-like
• paniculate
• petiolate
• oak-leaved

Large-leaved hydrangea - shrub growing up to 4 meters, inflorescences up to 20 cm in diameter.In Russia, it grows in open ground only in the south, but recently, with the development of agricultural technology, it began to be cultivated in the middle lane, only with the introduction of plants for the winter indoors or with good shelter.

It grows well in light partial shade conditions. If there is not enough light, it will bloom, it will begin with a delay and with fewer inflorescences. It blooms in pink, red, white or blue flowers from July to September. The leaves are simple, bright green.

It serves as a decor in the design of gardens and parks, it is distinguished by abundant and long flowering, by pruning shoots, you can form any shape of a bush.

The real flowers of this beautiful plant are small and inconspicuous, hidden under bright inflorescences and can only be seen upon close examination.

The best varieties: Decanter Kosel, Schloss Wakebays, Pepermint, Hod Red, Appengluchen, Airlie Blue, Red Baron, Adriapink, Bouquet of Roses, Magic Amethyst.

Hydrangea — shrub 1 to 3 m in height, actively growing in height and width, with spherical inflorescences up to 15 cm in diameter. Often used to create hedges. It is unpretentious to watering, tolerates short-term drought. Loves shading. Blooms from July to October.

Flowers form on new buds. Young growth often does not ripen and freezes out, but after a strong spring pruning, the bush grows back well. In the inflorescences, fertile flowers predominate, and there are few sterile ones.

Simple varieties: Anabel, Sterilis, White House, Peppermint, Endless Summe

Hydrangea paniculata -shrub or tree, up to 10 m high. Inflorescences are pyramidal, with dense hairy panicles. Flowers of honey plants, small with white petals, later turn pink. It blooms from mid-June to October.

The bush is planted in semi-shady places, the flowers lose their decorative effect from direct sunlight.

The best varieties: Grandiflora, Diamant Rouge, Vanilla Fraz, Anabel, Phantom, Polar Beer, Pinky Winky, Limelight, Sterilis, White House, Pepermint, Silver Dolar, Little Lime, Magic, Diamantino.

Stalked hydrangea- in fact, it is curly liana, and is fundamentally different from tree and paniculate. This is the only unique species, it grows well and quickly, it can reach a length of up to 25 m, the annual growth is up to 1 m, it needs props.

Paniculate inflorescences are flat, with creamy white small flowers along the edge, pleasing to the eye in June - August. Blooms from June to August. Flowering is accompanied by a pleasant honey aroma that attracts butterflies and bees to the garden. Leaves are rich green, on long petioles, round, shiny, numerous. Shoots are copper-brown with peeling bark.

Saplings are used for landscaping small gardens, gazebos, walls and fences. The variety is shade-tolerant, frost-resistant. To preserve its decorative appearance and better growth, the bush is pruned annually. The first flowering begins four years after planting. The intensity of the color depends on the type of soil— the brightest flowers appear on plants planted in an acidic substrate.

The best varieties: Miranda, Cordifolia, Petiolaris

Hydrangea oakleaf — decorative flowering shrub. The plant reaches 1.5-2 m in height, and the diameter of its crown is about 2 m.

The shrub has strong and tough shoots covered with multi-lobed leaves. The leaf blades resemble oak leaves in shape and reach a length of 20 cm. The foliage has a dark green tint, by autumn it changes to bright red or purple. This species blooms from mid-June to mid-September. Small flowers are collected in large paniculate inflorescences, which in some varieties reach a length of 30 cm. Resistant to negative weather conditions.

The best varieties: Snow White Domes, Snow Queen, Harmony, Ruby Slipper, Harmony, Tennessee Clone, Burgundy.

Outdoor cultivation and care:

When is it better to plant a hydrangea: spring or autumn?

Gardeners in the middle lane of our country believe that it is possible to plant seedlings in the spring (early May), this will allow the young bush to grow, get stronger and easily endure the coming winter. And in the fall (end of September), so that before the onset of frost, the seedlings have time to take root.

Preparing the soil for planting. At the end of April, we dig up the soil, with the addition of 1 sq. m.— a bucket of peat, coniferous forest litter, humus, river sand, as well as organic fertilizers (1 tbsp. potassium sulfate and superphosphate, Agricola-7). We close up all the fertilizers introduced into the soil with a rake and leave it until planting.

Before planting, we make a depression of 40-50 cm and plant young plants. In this case, we leave the root collar at ground level. Seedlings with a closed root system, with a lump of earth, take root better. Therefore, try to purchase seedlings in containers or pots.

After planting, water the soil around the bush abundantly and mulch with peat or sawdust, at least 5 cm thick, this will preserve moisture. Hydrangea likes moist, compostable or leafy acidic soil, and it also doesn't like drafts, so choose a location that's sheltered from the winds.

I have one huge bush that grows in the sun, its leaves in sunny weather strongly evaporate water, and when there is a lack of water, they begin to fade. I water 3 buckets (30 liters) of water twice a week. Moreover, the water should all go to the root. It is better to water with settled and heated water during the day.

Correct and timely watering will increase the flowering time.

 During the growing season, garden care for hydrangeas consists of:

1. in regular loosening of the soil around the bushes;
2. weeding;
3. mulching the soil;
4. repeated feeding;
5. correct watering;
6. protection from diseases and pests;
7. in preparation for winter, pruning and shelter.

Top dressing - when, what and how much to fertilize the shrub

During the spring-autumn period, we feed the bushes 3-4 times.

Plants are responsive to organic and mineral fertilizers. Contraindicated - chalk, lime, dolomite flour, ash.

First feeding— in the spring, for good growth: 1 tbsp. l. urea and potassium sulfate per 10 liters of water. This solution is enough for us for 2 bushes.

Foliar dressing - before budding and during the blooming of 1-2 inflorescence flowers, we spray the plant itself with the "Bud" preparation: 10 g per 10 l of water (1 l of solution per 8 sq. M.)

Second feeding- in June, when buds appear: 1 tbsp. l. nitrophosphate and "Agricola for flowering plants" for 10 liters of water.

Third feeding - for long flowering, when up to 5 flowers open on the inflorescence: 1 tbsp. l. organic fertilizer "Flower" and granular fertilizer "Agricola - Rose" for 10 liters of water. We spend it on 2 bushes.

Fourth feeding- at the end of flowering, for the formation of new buds next year: 1 tbsp. l. potassium sulfate and superphosphate, per 10 liters of water. We spend 7 liters of solution per bush.

It should be remembered that excess fertilizer increases the mass of the leaves and reduces the number of inflorescences.

Winter preparation, pruning and shelter

We prepare different types of shrubs in different ways for wintering.

Treelike and panicle hydrangea, does not require reinforced shelter for the winter. It is enough to mulch them well and preserve the root system. They can easily tolerate low temperatures (down to -30 degrees), but they need protection from cold winds. The peculiarity of these varieties is that they have flower ovaries formed on one-year-old sprouts that appear in spring, so their flowering does not depend on wintering. In the fall, we do a strong pruning of shoots.

Large-leaved hydrangeas do not need pruning in the fall. We cut off only weak shoots and all faded inflorescences. If the shoots freeze in winter, then it will no longer bloom. Therefore, she needs good insulation, the same as for roses. The best time for shelter is the end of October. There are no exact dates, it all depends on the weather, the main thing is to be in time before stable frosts.

At the end of summer, we stop watering the bush, thereby giving the green shoots the opportunity to grow stiff faster.

After trying many ways of hiding, I stopped there. Quickly, accurately, with a minimum of available material. After harvesting the fallen leaves, we do not bend the branches to the ground, but tie them into a bunch.

To protect the roots of plants from freezing, we spud the soil with peat or sawdust at the base of the bush. We cover the tied bundle with a thick layer of dried plants, spruce branches, straw, or brushwood.

From above we wrap the bush in several layers with a covering material: plastic wrap, burlap, roofing felt, a dense spunbond cover (60 g / sq. M.)

It protects well from frost and rodents. Air permeable, does not damp, dries quickly, does not rot. Prevents waterlogging.

In the spring, in this species, we leave the strongest shoots, and cut them so that 5-7 buds remain.

Reproduction of a perennial flower by green cuttings

The hydrangea variety you like is most often propagated by green cuttings. We harvest them during the flowering period of the plant, cutting off the tops of the shoots of the current year. This is the most efficient and convenient way. It can also be propagated by layering, offspring, dividing the bush and very rarely do it by seeds.

Why doesn't hydrangia bloom in the garden and the leaves turn yellow?

Not all gardeners, it turns out, achieve lush flowering. The main reasons why the bush gives leaves, but does not bloom:

• improperly chosen planting site (near large trees; where there is no wind protection);
• insufficient watering;
• incorrectly done trimming;
• freezing of shoots;
• underdeveloped root system;
• some varieties do not have time to bloom in the short summer season;
• on alkaline soil.

The main reasons why the leaves of the garden hydrangea dry and turn yellow:

• excessive watering;
• lack or excess of lighting;
• lack of fertilizers;
• highly acidic or vice versa alkaline soil pH;
• sudden changes in temperature, drafts;
• various pests and diseases.

At the first signs of a change in the color of the leaves, we urgently take measures to eliminate unfavorable causes.

Plant pests and control

To preserve the beauty of your garden, you need to learn, in a timely manner, to take measures to combat pests and plant diseases.

1. Often the hydrangea is damaged by aphids: we dilute 1 tablet of the Iskra preparation per 10 liters of water, the consumption of 1 liter of solution per 10 square meters. m. You can also fight with Fitoverm or Actellik.
2. The spider mite infects the leaves from the underside, covering them with violent cobwebs, causing them to turn yellow and marbled, then dry out and fall off. Spraying the leaves with thiophos 6 g per 10 liters of water helps.
3. Against powdery mildew we spray with the preparation "Topas" (4 ml) or "Skor", 2 ml per 10 liters of water. We consume 1 liter of solution per 10 sq. m. You can also use a solution of Bordeaux liquid.
4. With very alkaline soil, hydrangea suffers from chlorosis (the leaves turn light green, spots appear on them, and they begin to fall off, and the flower ovaries become smaller). The flower should be fed with iron vitriol, iron chelate or iron sulfate.

That's all for now, my dear flower growers. In this article, I have tried to give practical tips and tricks, tested on my own experience. Share your wishes in the comments, your opinion is very important!

Source

Do you want to decorate your garden with an unusual shrub? Try planting a hydrangea flower, planting and caring for which in the open field is simple, reproduction and growing of hydrangea is possible even for novice gardeners. You can find a fantastically beautiful flower by reading the description of the variety and considering its combination with other plants in landscape design. In the photo, the hydrangea looks like the queen of the garden.

Varieties and varieties of hydrangea

Hydrangea is an undoubted favorite among flowers in summer cottages.A long flowering period, a variety of shapes and tones attract special attention to it from gardeners and designers; more and more often, various varieties of this perennial are used in landscape design.

Blue hydrangea

Hydrangeas can be spherical, racemose, and white, lilac, red, two-colored in color. The most common in our latitudes is the tree hydrangea. Unpretentious, fairly easy to care for and grow, the plant is recommended for novice gardeners. Several varieties of shrubs have been bred by breeders:

• Bella Anna - a new variety of tree hydrangea, has rather large spherical inflorescences, the crown grows up to three meters in diameter, the color of the petals is from pale pink to purple-pink, blooms throughout the summer season and September;

Bella Anna variety

• "Anabel" - a lush blooming, spreading shrub about 1.5 m high, inflorescences in the form of a ball of snow-white color, blooms in early July and retains its color throughout the summer season until September. After the end of flowering, the leaves of the plant remain bright green throughout the fall. Variety "Anabel" is adapted for wintering, does not require special shelter for the winter, frost-resistant;

"Anabel"

• "Grandiflora" - differs in large crystal-white inflorescences, blooms for 4 months;

"Grandiflora"

• "Invincibel Spirit" - a new variety of hydrangea with pink petals;

"Invisibel Spirit"

• "Sterilis" - a variety with hemispherical, dense, heavy inflorescences, during the flowering period - from July to October - the petals radically change color: from pale green to crystal white.

"Sterilis"

Also, a fairly common perennial variety - Panicle hydrangea, planting and caring for which is quite simple. This flower is attractive with inflorescences of an unusual - paniculate - shape, frost-resistant, characterized by rapid recovery even in unfavorable climatic conditions. An interesting feature of this hydrangea variety is the particularly long flowering period, during which the inflorescence changes its color. Does not need mulching for the winter. The most common varieties of panicle hydrangea are:

• Vanilla Freise - variety with pale white and pink petals;

Vanilla Fries

• "Limelight" - the plant blooms in autumn, differs in large inflorescences of a pale lemon shade;

"Limelight"

• "Pinky Winky" - hydrangea with soft red petals.

"Pinky Winky"

How to plant correctly

Growing hydrangeas in the open field is possible even for novice gardeners. If a hydrangea is chosen for a flower garden, planting and caring for it will never be a burden, they will become favorite activities. The correct location should be chosen for planting the shrub. Hydrangea does not tolerate long shading, the best place to plant it is on the sunny side. Hydrangea propagation is carried out by separate bushes or cuttings. It is recommended to plant a flower in spring (in May) or in autumn (in warm September).

Even a novice gardener can plant a hydrangea.

To plant a hydrangea with a bush in the open ground, it is necessary to dig a planting hole about 60 cm deep, about half a meter wide and long. The distance between the bushes is at least 1.5 meters. The flower, growing with proper care, will occupy a much larger area than when planted. The pits should be filled with a special mixture, including peat, sand, soil, humus (1: 1: 2: 2) and fertilizers (landscape design experts recommend combining 20 g of urea, potassium sulphide each, add about 60 g of superphosphate in granules and 10 kg of humus ).

Attention: do not add lime to the soil mixture for hydrangea - it is detrimental to this plant.

When planting, it should be borne in mind that the root collar of the plant should be at ground level. After planting the hydrangea in open ground, it must be watered abundantly.

Tip: For the first two flowering seasons, it is recommended to pick off the inflorescences.The root system of the plant will get stronger and grow, which will subsequently give the bush strength and splendor.

Suitable care

Hydrangea care consists in weeding and loosening the soil around it, organizing a timely and correct irrigation regime. In addition, to prevent rapid evaporation of moisture, it is recommended to mulch the bush in early summer with peat or sawdust.

Fading flowers must be cut off so that they do not pull strength from the plant.

A perennial needs proper pruning. The plant should be pruned in the spring before the beginning of the growing season, removing old shoots and leaving young and strong ones, shortening them by 3-5 buds. Faded and dried bush inflorescences must be removed. Old perennial bushes must be cut almost at the root, leaving only low stumps, from which young shoots will develop.

Fertilizing and fertilizing hydrangeas

The hydrangea planted in prepared and fertilized soil for the first two years can not be fertilized or fed.
Then the order of feeding the hydrangea is as follows:

• in the spring, it is necessary to apply a complex fertilizer containing micro- and macroelements (phosphorus, potassium, nitrogen) under each bush;
• for the second time in a season, top dressing (potassium sulfate together with superphosphate) is applied during the period when buds appear on the bush;
• a couple of times it is advisable to feed the perennial with diluted chicken droppings or cow dung.

Hydrangea responds very well to feeding

Caution: Excessive fertilization of nitrogen can lead to greening of hydrangea petals and problems with wintering of the plant.

It should also be borne in mind that hydrangea responds well to lactic acid, therefore it is important when growing it to periodically water the bush with soaked sour bread, milk whey, sour milk, kefir.

Reproduction of hydrangea

Like other perennial shrubs, hydrangea can be propagated vegetatively (by cuttings, dividing the bush, layering) and seeds.

To grow shrubs from cuttings, it is necessary to cut the tops of young, non-lignified shoots in mid-July and root them in specially prepared soil, consisting of coarse sand and peat. Experts recommend taking measures to increase soil moisture under the cuttings. For this, sphagnum moss is added to it. Cuttings are planted in such soil a little at an angle, at a small (up to 5 cm) distance and provide them with a temperature regime in the range of 16-20 ° C. For rooting, 4-5 weeks are enough. After that, the hydrangea is planted in a permanent growing place and provided with proper care.

Propagation of hydrangea by cuttings

When the hydrangea propagates by dividing the bush, part of it is separated, while it is important that there are 2-3 buds on the young shoots, they are dug up and transplanted to a new place.

For the propagation of hydrangeas by layering, it is necessary to bend one of the young shoots of the growing bush to the ground and dig it into a previously dug hole (up to 15-20 cm deep). To prevent the shoot from straightening, it can be fixed with staples. Experienced gardeners recommend making an incision on the part of the shoot that will be in the ground to speed up the rooting process. It is necessary to regularly water the branch, it can also be mulched. After the formation of its own root system at the branch, it is separated from the mother bush and planted in a new place.

Propagation of hydrangea by layering

Diseases and pests

As a rule, hydrangea is quite resistant to all sorts of pests and diseases. However, it can also become infected with chlorosis, downy mildew, spider mites, and green leaf aphids can appear on it.

Chlorosis is expressed in a sharp lightening of the leaves of the plant, the loss of their natural color. The reason for its development is the excess content of lime or humus in the soil. To eliminate chlorosis, it is enough to water the plant with solutions of nitric acid potassium and copper sulfate in turn with an interval of three days.

Hydrangea disease - chlorosis

The cause of hydrangea disease with downy mildew is excess air humidity. For treatment, it is recommended to treat the hardwood surface with a solution of copper sulfate with the addition of soap.

Garlic infusion will help drive aphids from the plant. It is necessary to prepare a garlic infusion (200 g of chopped garlic in a bucket of water, let it brew for 2 days), add laundry soap (40 g) and irrigate the perennial with this infusion every 5-7 days until the aphids are destroyed.

Hydrangea: combination with other plants

In a flower garden or garden, hydrangea is quite effective both by itself and in combination with other flowers. For example, panicle hydrangea looks great next to clumps of purple-leaved barberries, viburnum vesicle. The beauty of the tree-like hydrangea is emphasized by daylilies, sheared barberry, undersized juniper.

Hydrangea in the design of the flower bed

Hydrangea in landscape design

Hydrangea is a fantastically beautiful flower that inspires beautiful compositions in landscaping. Taking into account the climatic conditions, in our latitudes it is recommended to plant a tree-like, paniculate and petiolate hydrangea. Hydrangea looks magical in the photo in large compositions when it grows in the squares, surprising everyone with the size and beauty of its inflorescences. To emphasize the beauty of hydrangeas, you can surround it with borders of spirits, cotoneaster, and other shrubs. The hydrangea should be planted in a flower garden in the background so that it does not obscure other plants.

Hydrangea in landscape design

It is not recommended to combine hydrangea with yellow, red, orange flowers. Plants with bluish flowers, needles or leaves can successfully shade a shrub - for example, clematis, cereals, hosts, low-growing junipers.
The combination of hydrangea with pink phlox with a round shape of inflorescences, thujas, microbiota is considered a classic of landscape design. Also hydrangea is used in mixborders to create compositions along garden paths, can be grown as a hedge.

Hydrangea is the foundation of a beautiful garden. With proper care, it will delight you for years to come. Experiment with different varieties of this shrub, try to decorate your gazebo with a climbing hydrangea, plant a tree-like one along the paths, create a living fence using a paniculata.

Garden hydrangea care: video

Garden hydrangea: photo

Garden hydrangea is not a frequent visitor to our household plots. And it is completely in vain, because hydrangea flowers have a wide color palette, are unusual in their shape and can become a real decoration of a personal plot.

In this article, we will take a short excursion into the past to acquaint you with the history of the hydrangea flower, tell you about the types and varieties of hydrangeas, give some recommendations on planting and caring for a garden hydrangea, and, of course, provide an opportunity to enjoy the flowers of a garden hydrangea on Photo.

Hydrangea flowers in the garden

The nature of central Russia is not rich in flowering shrubs. This gap is filled with winter-hardy plants introduced from other places. Some of them (like lilacs, wrinkled roses) are so fond of and widespread in Russian gardens that one gets the feeling that they are our “native” plants. Others are undeservedly overlooked and are still quite rare guests in the gardens. These include the flowers of the garden hydrangea, although it is difficult to find a shrub that would differ in such a duration of flowering in the second half of summer.

In addition, among the garden hydrangeas there are species that perfectly tolerate a temperate climate and are distinguished by their unpretentiousness in culture. Therefore, it is difficult to explain our “disfavor”. But the active selection of this culture, which gives us more and more diverse varieties, contributes to the fact that various types and varieties of hydrangeas in the gardens of the middle lane appear more and more often.

Garden hydrangea flowers: historical background

The Europeans got acquainted with the hydrangea at the end of the 18th century, when the participants of the first French round-the-world expedition brought the large-leaved hydrangea from the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. It got its name in honor of the beautiful princess Hortense, sister of Prince K.G. Nassau-Siegen, a member of the expedition. There is also a more romantic version that she was named by the French physician and naturalist F. Commerson in honor of the charming lover Hortense. However, there is also a completely prosaic explanation that the name comes from the Latin word hortensis, which means "from the garden", since the shrub was found in the garden of the governor of the island of Mauritius.

Later, botanists, referring the hydrangea to the genus Hydrangea, gave it the name Hydrangia, however, the old name was preserved in another name for this species - hydrangea. The plant received a new name for its moisture-loving nature. In Greek hydor is "water", angeion is "vessel", which gave Hydrangea.

Some authors associate the appearance of the word "vessel" in the title with the fact that the seed pods of the plant resemble a jug, others with the need to always have a vessel with water for abundant watering.

Types and varieties of hydrangeas in the photo

The genus of hydrangeas contains several dozen species (botanists still have no consensus on the number of species) and belongs to the family of the same name Hydrangeaceae.

Most species are shrubs with large leaves, less often they are small trees or vines.

As you can see in the photo, all types of hydrangea have flowers collected in large corymbose or paniculate inflorescences and are usually located at the ends of the shoots.

In most types of hydrangeas, the inflorescences contain two types of flowers: small, fertile (fertile) flowers and large sterile (sterile) flowers, which are usually located at the edge of the inflorescences. Most species are white or pink in color.

Description of panicle hydrangea and its photo

For gardening in central Russia, panicle and tree hydrangeas are of greatest interest. These hydrangeas are most often found in old gardens.

In recent years, the selection of panicle hydrangea (H. paniculata) has been quite actively carried out, and almost every year new varieties appear on the market. In the gardens of the Moscow region, its growth does not exceed 3-3.5 m. The description of the panicle hydrangea is similar to the description of the tree hydrangea, the main difference is in the shape of the inflorescences.

Wide-pyramidal paniculate inflorescences of hydrangea up to 20-25 cm long consist of small fertile flowers and large sterile ones.

Look above at the photo of panicle hydrangea - the color of the petals is white at first, then they turn pink, and by the end of flowering, greenish tones appear in their range. This sign of color change is more or less characteristic of all varieties. Large elliptical or ovoid leaves, slightly pubescent above and noticeably stronger below.

The species and varieties are distinguished by very long flowering. Early varieties bloom in June, most bloom in July.

But the most late-flowering hydrangea variety "Tardiva" ("Tardiva") should not be started, because it blooms in October, and simply does not have time to prove itself. It is worth noting that often under this name the variety "Floribunda", which is very widespread in the West, is on sale.

Hydrangea paniculata "Grandiflora"

Most often, the old hydrangea variety "Gmndiflom" ("Grandiflora"), or, as it is also called in the West, "Pee Gee" (from the abbreviation of the name Paniculata Grandiflora) is grown in the gardens. Hydrangea paniculata "Grandiflora" has large, dense inflorescences, consisting of sterile flowers.

Hydrangea paniculata "Limelight"

Hydrangea "Limelight" - the first variety with dense inflorescences of sterile flowers with a distinct greenish tint, turning pink by the end of the season.

Hydrangea paniculata "Limelight" reaches a height of 1.6-2 m. A reduced copy - "Little Lime" ("Little Lime") up to 1 m high.

Hydrangea paniculata "Pinky Vinky"

Hydrangea "Pinky Winky", syn."DVPinky" ("Pinky-Winky"), has conical openwork inflorescences with a large number of sterile flowers that acquire a purple-pink color. Hydrangea paniculata "Pinky Vinki" reaches a height of 1.5-1.8 m.

Hydrangea paniculata "Phantom"

Hydrangea "Phantom" ("Phantom") is a large shrub up to 2.5 m high with a spreading crown and very large pyramidal creamy white inflorescences. By autumn, the inflorescences of hydrangea paniculata "Phantom" evenly turn pink.

Panicle hydrangea "Vanilla freise"

Variety "Vanille Fraise" ("Vanilla Fraz") has a very dense, large conical inflorescence, quickly acquiring a pleasant strawberry-pink color. A real vanilla strawberry dessert. The bush is up to 2 m high. A reduced copy of the Vanilla Fraise panicle hydrangea variety is the Sundae Fraise variety, reaching a height of 1-1.2 meters.

Varieties of hydrangea paniculata

Now the market offers a large number of varieties of panicle hydrangea, differing in the density and color of the inflorescences, the height of the bushes, and the flowering period.

"Dharuma" ("Daruma") is probably the shortest variety. Small creamy openwork spherical-flattened inflorescences turn dark pink over time. The leaves also take on a reddish tone, complementing the red color of the shoots.

Hydrangea "Diamant Rouge" (Diamond Rouge) is distinguished by large dense inflorescences and very quickly emerging juicy red color. The plant is 1.5-1.8 m high.

Variety "Early Sensation", syn. "Bulk" ("Earley Sensation"), blooms very early in wide-cone-shaped openwork inflorescences. Fertile flowers quickly turn purple-pink, harmoniously complementing the dark purple shoots. By the fall, the leaves also take on a purple hue.

Great Star, syn. "Le Vasterival" ("Great Star") - a variety with very large white sterile flowers with elongated petals in the shape of a "propeller", soaring above the bulk of small fertile flowers. The height of the bush is up to 2 m.

"Kiyushu" ("Kiushu") is an old variety up to 2.5 m high, characterized by erect shoots and delicate inflorescences. It was not necessary to catch the described smell.

Hydrangea "White Lady" ("The White Lady"). Long openwork inflorescences adorn a few large flowers with jagged edges of the petals. The flowers retain their white color for a long time. The height of the bush is up to 2 m.

The variety "Wim" s Red " ("Weems Red") - a beautifully shaped bush up to 2 m high with large openwork inflorescences covering it from the top to the ground. Blooms in June with white flowers, which then become deep pink and, finally, burgundy red.

Hydrangea tree and her photo

Another beauty, firmly enduring our climate, H. arborescens. This is a short shrub up to 1.5 m high with a neat rounded crown and slightly pubescent shoots. Hydrangea leaves are tree-like, large, ovoid or elliptical, serrated along the edge, with a heart-shaped notch at the base. The leaf is green above, bluish below.

As you can see in the photo, the hydrangea treelike has a corymbose inflorescence, consisting of small white fertile flowers and relatively large sterile ones. Blooms for a long time from the first half of July. In very harsh winters, it can freeze slightly.

Treelike hydrangea varieties: photos and descriptions

As in the case of Paniculata, in the gardens usually there is not a natural species, but a variety of hydrangea tree-like "Annabelle" ("Annabelle"), blooming with large (up to 25 cm in diameter) inflorescences of white sterile flowers.

The forms of this hydrangeas "Gmndiflom" ("Grandiflora") and "Sterilis" ("Sterilis") with similar dense hemispherical inflorescences of sterile flowers.

Hayes Starburst, syn. "Double Annabelle" (Hayes Starburst) - the first variety of hydrangea tree-like with double flowers filling rounded inflorescences up to 25 cm in diameter. The flowers are greenish at first, then turn white. The bushes are low, thin shoots often do not withstand the severity of the inflorescences.The height of the bush is 0.8-1.2 m.

Incrediball, syn. Abetwo " ("Incrediboll"), - a variety that strikes the size of globular white inflorescences. The height of the bush is 1.2-1.5 m.

Sort "InvincibelleSpirit", syn. "Invincibelle" (InvincibelSpirit "), conquers with large pure pink inflorescences of sterile flowers. Over time, the flowers fade to a light pink color. The bush is 0.9-1.2 m high.

Variety "White Dome", syn. "Dardom" ("White House"), differs in large corymbose inflorescences with creamy white fertile middle and snow-white sterile marginal flowers. The plant is 1-1.4 m high.

In addition to these two species, other hydrangeas can also find a place in our gardens.

First of all, this is the city of Bretschneider (N. bretschneideri). Some botanists do not distinguish it as a separate species, but consider it a variety of ground cover (H. heteromalla). It is not as decorative as the species described above, but it has high winter hardiness. Reaches a height of 2.5-3 m and forms a lush dense bush with a wide-rounded crown with large dark green leaves. It blooms profusely from the end of July in wide umbellate inflorescences, consisting of small fertile flowers, which are adorned with white large sterile flowers along the edge, acquiring a purple-pink color by the end of flowering. Thanks to the juicy beautiful foliage and delicate dull inflorescences, the shrub is good for creating a background and in informal living hedges.

Hydrangea leaves and their photos

Hydrangea attracts not only with flowers, but also with beautiful juicy foliage. At the same time, there are plants that have especially decorative leaves. In g. Radiant (N. radiate) - sometimes it is described as a type of tree hydrangea - large foliage, dark green above and white-tomentose-pubescent below. If the plant is planted in a windy place, then it will be possible to observe the "overflow" of foliage colors. Blossoms from July with corymbose inflorescences with numerous white marginal sterile flowers. Hardy enough, but the root system should be covered, and the shoots should be bent to the ground. Then, in the event of freezing of the shoots, the plant will quickly recover. The variety "Samantha" ("Samantha") was bred with large leaves and a contrasting silvery reverse side.

Pay special attention to the photo of the leaves of the oak-leaved hydrangea (N. quercifolia). Unlike other species, its leaves are not whole, but lobed, resembling oak leaves, for which it received its specific name. In autumn, they take on a very beautiful reddish-purple color, adding to the charm of the bush. In addition, this species blooms with large beautiful paniculate inflorescences. Many decorative and flowering varieties of this hydrangea have been obtained, but it is not winter-hardy enough in our climate, and it is easier to get by with varieties of paniculata. But the species itself and especially varieties with decorative foliage can be used as decorative deciduous plants, growing them as perennials. In this case, it is enough to cover the root system before winter, and in the spring new shoots with beautiful foliage will grow.

Hydrangea variety "Burgundy" ("Burgundy") is distinguished by a particularly bright purple autumn color of the leaves, while "Little Honey" ("Little Honey") it attracts with golden yellow tones.

Stalked hydrangea and her photo

Having seen petiolate hydrangea, or g. Climbing (H. petiolaris = H. scandens) in the Baltic States, some gardeners try to grow it here too, forgetting that winters are milder in the Baltic States. In our climate, this species can be used either as a ground cover plant, or by removing it from supports before winter. Additional shelter will not hurt either, since in winters with little snow, shoots may suffer.

Look at the photo of petiolate hydrangea - this plant has large, corymbose, loose inflorescences, consisting of fertile flowers with marginal sterile flowers. A mass of aerial roots and suckers is formed on the shoots, with the help of which this hydrangea is able to climb up to 25 m in the south.Due to its large, heart-shaped, dark green leaves, when grown as a ground cover, it forms a dense green “blanket”.

Large-leaved hydrangea and her photo

Of course, the most beautiful and desirable is the large-leaved hydrangea, with which the story began. Unlike other ratenias, it amazes with a variety of colors, and not only different colors: white, pink, red, purple, blue, purple, but also their combinations.

As you can see in the photo of large-leaved hydrangea, this variety of colors is added to the variety of flower and inflorescence shapes.

However, its winter hardiness does not correspond to our frosts, and choosing a reliable shelter option is not an easy task. If the shoots are not covered well enough, then they will freeze, if they are covered tightly, but it will be wet, the shoots will trample. Covering too late or opening too early in spring will kill the flower buds. The most reliable option is when the hydrangea is grown in a greenhouse, then planted in open ground, transferred again to the greenhouse in the fall, and removed to the basement for the winter.

In recent years, new "winter-hardy" varieties have appeared, distinguished by remontant flowering.

These are the popular Endless Summer series, abbr. ES (Endless Samme), and Forever & Ever, abbr. FE (Foreve Eve). Sellers made them “hibernating without shelter”, since flower buds do not withstand frost, and shoots often freeze out. The main difference from the old varieties is that they can bloom again on the shoots of the current year. But this is for the 7-8th climatic zone.

If you want to have flowering on the shoots of last year, then the bush must be covered for the winter, and everything that was described above remains true for these varieties. If you still managed to save the shoots, and your hydrangea bloomed, then this does not mean that it will flourish a second time. In our zone, the season is shorter and the sum of positive temperatures is lower, so the plant may not have time to bloom a second time. For this to happen, it is necessary to create a greenhouse over the bush in the spring, so that the plant begins to vegetate earlier; cut off flowering shoots as early as possible; the bush should be planted in a sunny place and watered abundantly; carry out regular feeding and have a "warm" microclimate on your site. In this case, you may be able to achieve re-flowering.

Planting and caring for garden hydrangea

Plants are unpretentious, but it is better to choose open places or partial shade for planting garden hydrangeas (for colored varieties, a little shading is desirable at midday). The place should be well-drained, especially for insufficiently winter-hardy species.

When planting and caring for garden hydrangea, you do not have to worry about the special saturation of the soil with minerals, this plant is not demanding. However, it grows and blooms better on loose fertile moisture-absorbing soil with an acid reaction (pH about 5-6). Therefore, peat is necessarily introduced into the substrate.

Hydrangeas are calcephobes, which should be considered when choosing partner plants and using fertilizers. When the soil is alkalized or lime gets in, chlorosis develops in plants. As the name of the genus suggests, hydrangeas are demanding on soil moisture and prefer abundant watering, especially on hot sunny days.

When caring for garden hydrangea, the soil must be mulched to retain moisture. Planting is mulched before winter to cover the root system. To ensure the lush flowering of hydrangeas in the open field, regular feeding is necessary. In the spring, after pruning, nitrogen fertilizers are applied, later (in May-June) they are fed with a complex fertilizer that does not contain calcium and chlorine, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers are introduced into the budding phase, and at the end of August - potassium sulfate. It is good to use manure infusions with superphosphate as top dressing.

Growing hydrangeas requires pruning in the spring (April-May).The height of the bush can be adjusted to a certain extent by the degree of pruning. Without pruning, the bushes thicken, which is reflected in the abundance of flowering and the size of the inflorescences.

Insufficiently winter-hardy species need winter shelter. The most reliable is pot culture, when the plants are harvested in the greenhouse in the fall and then transferred to the basement.

Today, a sufficient number of varieties have been bred so that you can choose a plant for your garden. Hydrangeas are grown not only singly or in groups, but also together with other plants. Due to its late flowering, it is indispensable for creating flower beds that delight us at the end of the season.