Where to plant hydrangea
Hydrangea loves sun and warmth, so choose a place for planting in a calm, open space or in partial shade with diffused light. It is best to choose a cozy area near the fence or organize a stylish solitary planting in the middle of the lawn. Also, hydrangea will look great in the background of mixborders and alpine slides. It is not recommended to plant it under trees, because plants will compete for moisture.
Hydrangea is not very fond of aggressive neighbors, so do not plant it too close to spotted loosestrife, ostrich fern, ryegrass bulbous, etc. Good neighbors for hydrangea: mock orange (garden jasmine), spiraea, lilac. But the bush is best formed with a single planting.
Is it possible to plant a hydrangea near a country house? Quite, but keep in mind that an adult plant needs a lot of free space: at least 3 m in height and 1.5 m in width. Therefore, do not plant a bush near the porch or under the window, so as not to puzzle later on what to do with it after the growth
It is important for hydrangeas that the soil is light, nutritious, slightly acidified, and quickly absorbs water. If the soil on the site is not very suitable, fill the planting hole with a pre-prepared mixture of leaf or sod land, humus, high-moor red peat and sand (2: 2: 1: 1)
Add 1.5 tablespoons to it. urea, 4-5 tbsp. superphosphate and 2 tbsp. potassium sulfate. So the hydrangea will receive all the substances it needs and will begin to develop correctly.
On alkaline soil, hydrangea will suffer from chlorosis (yellowing of the leaves). And on neutral - slower to grow and bloom faded. Therefore, never add ash, lime or dolomite flour to the soil.
How to plant panicle hydrangea
When planting your bush, you also need to follow certain rules:
- be sure to trim the roots a little, removing the dried thin tips;
- in the same way, shorten the shoots of the hydrangea by a third, it will be easier for it to root. Do not worry, new shoots of paniculate hydrangea grow very quickly;
- place your seedling vertically so that the measles are on the nutrient mixture that has filled the hole, while the root collar should be almost level with the ground, it should not be buried;
- cover the roots with soil from above and compact it near the bush, simply stamping with your foot; on top, pour a little peat on the soil so that enough nutrition flows to the roots during watering and moisture remains;
- pour warm water over the hydrangea. You don't need to be too zealous, the ground in the hole is already wet, just moisten the soil well.
After that, it is advisable to shade the young hydrangea from the bright rays of the sun for some time, until it finally takes root and takes root in a new place - you can easily see this when you see that the plant has begun to release young shoots with bright leaves. Everything is all right - the hydrangea has started to grow.
Growing at home
To begin with, it is worth considering how hydrangeas are grown on the balcony. This plant has been used as an indoor culture since the 18th century. Growing on the balcony is facilitated by the formation of a compact bush. Its leaves are beautiful and large. With proper care, hydrangea can grow up to 1 m.
Each bush has 1-7 inflorescences. At the same time, the plant makes high demands on both growing conditions and care. The slightest deviation from the rules of care immediately creates many problems. The greatest difficulty, oddly enough, is the maintenance of a strict cyclical development of potted crops. You will have to carefully monitor the folding of the buds and what the wintering conditions are.
During the resting phase, the plant will shed its foliage. The illumination should be exactly the same as in the garden. It is better if the hydrangea is placed in a place protected from direct sunlight. At the same time, there should be a lot of light.
How to plant
It should be noted that the process of planting the shrub in question in open ground is quite simple and does not require special skills from the gardener. In order for the plant to feel as comfortable as possible, it is necessary to choose the right place for it. The ideal option for planting cuttings will be the sunny side, where prolonged shading will not be observed.
As for the disembarkation period, it is also of no small importance. So, this process is best done in warm spring or autumn months (May or September)
As for the process of immersing the cuttings rhizomes in the ground, for this you need to first dig a small hole, the depth and width of which will reach 50-60 cm.
At the bottom of the formed fossa, it is necessary to lay out a special mixture necessary to improve the process of plant growth, as well as fertilization (we will talk about what should be in the composition of these components later). After that, you need to immerse the cutting there. When planting a plant, it should be borne in mind that its root collar should be located at soil level.
At the final stage of planting, the shrub must be watered abundantly so that the roots are saturated with sufficient moisture. Only in this way will they take the necessary strength and rather quickly enter the phase of active growth and development after the initial leaving and planting.
Garden hydrangea has some requirements for its placement in the soil. In order for the plant to feel comfortable, during planting it is necessary to leave a certain distance between the bushes - about 1.5 meters. So, they will be able to grow correctly, without interfering with each other, and will also look quite impressive and bright, delighting the guests of the garden with their powerful and abundant flowering.
Description of the flower of garden hydrangeas
The Latin name for the flower is "hydrangeam", derived from the fusion of two Greek roots "hydor" (water) and "angeion" (vessel). Therefore, hydrangea is called an aquatic shrub. The plant is very fond of abundant moisture. The Japanese affectionately call her "adzisai", that is, "a flower - a violet sun."
The type of hydrangea has from 30 to 80 species. In the wild, this plant is found in South and East Asia, in the North of America and the Far East. It grows in small trees, woven by colorful vines and bushes. Despite the species diversity, a small-sized room is grown at home. hydrangea - garden or large-leaved... Cold-resistant varieties are bred in garden or backyard plots.
Garden or large-leaved hydrangea has a rich color range
What does a shrub of white globular hydrangea look like?
One of the most popular varieties among gardeners is "Annabelle". This tree-like shrub grows up to 1.5 m in height. During the flowering period, from late June to September, its branches are luxuriantly decorated with snow-white balls of flowers. Inflorescences consist of white flowers 2 cm in size. The crown of shrubs is formed from oval leaves, reaching 20 cm in length. Hydrangea bushes are spherical, spreading, sometimes reaching up to 3 meters in diameter. After the color falls, the leaf cover retains a bright green color until the end of autumn.
A characteristic feature of the variety is frost resistance. This allows you to safely plant a spherical hydrangea shrub (hydrangea arborescens) in the harsh conditions of the Moscow region, the Urals and Siberia.
Interesting fact. The hydrangea variety Annabelle can change the color of flowers by absorbing dyes from the soil. If there is aluminum in the soil, the white flowers will turn blue. This ability of the species also depends on the alkaline balance of the substrate.
This variety has two subspecies. Shrub "Strong Annabel" is distinguished by the large number and size of inflorescences. There are so many of them that sometimes the greenery is not visible behind the flowers. Treelike hydrangea bushes "Pink Annabelle" is distinguished by a pink shade of buds and growth (no higher than 1 m).
The main advantage of all Annabelle varieties is their simplicity in care. Another feature of the flower is that it, while living up to 50 years old, does not require transplantation, while retaining its decorative appearance.
Variety "Annabelle" - the most adapted of the bush hydrangeas to the harsh conditions of the middle lane
Preparing for winter
It should be noted that throughout the summer, the hydrangea looks like a real queen of the garden, decorating the entire territory with its abundant flowering. However, after summer, there comes a period when it is necessary to properly prepare the shrub for wintering. Consider further the main features of care in the fall.
Garden hydrangea in the autumn period requires compliance with special irrigation conditions, which provide for the maintenance of a normal level of soil moisture under it. The volume of water must be drastically reduced when the average daytime temperature begins to fall below +7 degrees, and at a time when the thermometer is in the region of 0, soil moistening must be stopped altogether
When preparing a garden hydrangea for winter, you should also pay attention to the weather: if it is rainy, then there should be no intentional additional moisture in the soil.
In the autumn season, the root system needs special nutrition. At this time, phosphorus-potassium fertilizers should be applied to the soil. This is the main feature of care in the fall.
Outdoor garden hydrangea needs periodic cosmetic pruning. In autumn, the gardener must very carefully remove dried shoots, as well as the remnants of inflorescences, without touching the main parts of healthy stems. Pruning garden hydrangeas during this period should be especially gentle. It should be carried out with the most well-sharpened tool.
2 Fertilizer
The types of colors depend on the pH level, flowers with a blue color grow on acidic soil, because it contains aluminum, which the plant absorbs, on alkaline soil - pink or lilac, and in neutral soil - white or cream. Therefore, if you need to create multi-colored flower beds, you just need to change the acidity of the soil under each individual bush.
In order for the plant to bloom in full force and continue flowering all summer, you need to apply a complex of fertilizers, this can be done almost at any time of the year or 2 times a year - during the flowering period and after it. At the very beginning of spring, the plant is fed with a solution of 20 grams of urea per bucket, 3 such buckets are needed for an adult bush.
After the hydrangea has faded, mineral fertilizers are added
The whole summer the bushes are fertilized with slurry from manure, but it is important not to overdo it, if you overfeed the flower, then large inflorescences will break the fragile branches of the plant with their weight
If fertilizers were added to the hole when planting the plant, then the first two years the hydrangea can not be fed. Until July, it is necessary to introduce solutions acidifying the soil, these include potassium and ammonium sulfates, and from the beginning of July to the end of October - superphosphates and bone meal.
The high need for nutrients in hydrangea is due to the fact that it is required for the flowering of chic inflorescence caps and high growth. Mineral fertilizers are well diluted with organic fertilizers, such as manure or cow dung, at a rate of one to one. You need to feed one more time after 12-16 days. At the time when the hydrangea is blooming, you also need to repeat the feeding, this is done in order to prolong the process itself, and this also ensures the laying of new buds in the plant.
It is not recommended to use wood ash for feeding the bushes. Fertilizers are suitable for other plants, such as heather rhododendrons. You should not allow an excess of nitrogen, it leads to a decrease in the winter hardiness of the plant, the development of rot and a deterioration in flowering
It is very important to know that if you overdo it on fertilizers, especially droppings and mullein, which are considered organic, there may be more harm than a lack of them.
How to take care of it properly?
Watering
Although hydrangea has to be watered quite actively, it is sometimes a real revelation for beginners that excess water can harm the culture. Under normal conditions, about 10-15 liters of water is spent on each bush. You need to irrigate the hydrangea once a week. The frequency of watering is increased if drought occurs. The agricultural technology of this plant provides for the use of only soft, previously settled or collected rainwater.
Around the hydrangea, the earth is necessarily loosened to a depth of 0.07-0.1 m. But the culture can be watered not only with clean water, but also with solutions of useful substances. Once every 10-15 days, citric acid is added to the liquid in order to maintain the required level of acid-base balance.
Often used for leaving and potassium permanganate to:
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maintain pH with minimal effort;
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suppress the development of pathological fungi;
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increase the strength of the shoots;
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activate the bookmark of flower stalks and grow more buds.
The concentration of potassium permanganate should not be excessively high. When the mixture is colored to a bright crimson hue, instead of staining the petals, it will burn parts of the plant. It is imperative to check whether the crystals are completely dissolved. One undissolved particle is enough for a serious chemical burn of the culture.
Top dressing
When the time for hydrangea budding is approaching, feeding is carried out with potassium sulfate mixed with superphosphate. They are taken 0.03 and 0.05 kg per 10 liters of water, respectively. An alternative is to use complex mineral mixtures. They are used in strict accordance with the manufacturer's instructions. In summer, panicle hydrangea is fed with ash or bone meal.
Pruning
It is impossible to grow this crop without cosmetic and health-improving pruning. The crown is formed by shortening the shoots by 1 strong bud. The roots must be covered with mulch. In the first third of autumn, unnecessarily weak branches are cut off. This allows the rest of the plant to gain strength for the start of the new season.
If, after the end of the cold weather, freezing of the branches is detected, they must be cut off before the juices begin to move. Remove all parts except healthy wood. In the middle of summer, developed branches are cut off, leaving only the lower growth. Later, you will have to quickly get rid of dried up and degraded shoots. If the variety blooms on last year's branches, in July it is necessary to cut out the shoots with 4 leaves that have ceased to bloom - then you can expect new flower buds to appear in August.
Mulching
You only need to take carefully processed mulch for hydrangea. Best of all is the one that is made with your own hands. From factory formulations, it is better to use crushed bark mulch. On the packaging, you should look for references to composting or sterilization. Sour mulch will give your plants a pink color, and alkaline mulch will give your plants a blue color.
A good sour mulch is coffee grounds. An alkaline option is considered to be finely chopped or otherwise chopped bark. But the efficiency of leaching the land with such an additive is low. You will definitely have to use special fertilizers.
There are a few more subtleties:
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to improve the appearance of mulch flooring helps to cover it with organic matter (for example, sawdust);
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inorganic mulch is better for decorating a garden;
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it is recommended to mulch in the spring;
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mulching in winter is impractical;
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before laying the mulch, the hydrangea must be weeded and watered well;
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every year you need to use a new batch of mulch.
