Planting garden hydrangea and caring for it
Hydrangea loved by many gardeners. It is a beautiful flowering shrub that can overwinter in open ground. Flowering begins in mid-summer and continues until autumn. Let's look at the features of planting and care.
Content:
- Planting and care
- Watering
- Top dressing
- Preparing for winter
- Effect of soil acidity on color
- Reproduction
- Trimming
- Landscape design
Planting and care
Hydrangea planting and care behind it have their own characteristics. Unlike most plants, hydrangea loves shade and partial shade; it suffers from direct sunlight, slows down growth and development, and its inflorescences become small. It should be planted in the spring, when the soil has warmed up and the night frosts have passed. When planting, organic and mineral fertilizers are applied. The soil should be loose.
Hydrangea also loves moisture very much, so after watering it is better to mulch the soil, so the soil will remain moist longer. You can use sawdust, pine needles, or peat as mulch.
Watering
For watering, soft water is needed, preferably rainwater, since the plant does not tolerate lime. Tap water needs to be settled, but even this does not always prevent leaf chlorosis. Each bush should receive at least two buckets of water per week. Usually watering is carried out in the morning or evening, when there is no hot sun.
Top dressing
Hydrangea needs to be fed twice a month. Ash cannot be used. Fertilizers are suitable for rhododendrons, heathers, and azaleas.
You should be very careful with nitrogen fertilizing. Overfeeding with nitrogen can lead to poor winter hardiness of hydrangea and also cause plant diseases, as the turgor of the stems is weakened.
Preparing for winter
For the winter, they make a shelter for the hydrangea by covering it with spruce branches and dry leaves, and placing a box or box on top. Many varieties do not require shelters. The only thing is to watch the snow melt off the roofs - hydrangea shoots are very fragile.
Effect of soil acidity on color
When planting and caring for hydrangeas is discussed, one cannot fail to mention the plant’s ability to change the color of its flowers depending on the acidity of the soil. If you want to get blue or blue flowers, add iron salts and alum to the soil twice a month. And if you add them only on one side, you can get a plant with blue and pink flowers at the same time.
Reproduction
Amateur gardeners often propagate hydrangea by dividing the bush and cuttings. If the bush is large enough, then dig around the bush 15 cm from the stems. It is advisable to dig in wet soil with a pitchfork. Then the bush is carefully tilted and, without removing it from the planting hole, cut with a sharp knife or shovel.
Cuttings are prepared in the first half of the season. It is good to take those shoots that are cut out during thinning.
The bottom two leaves are torn off, then coarse sand is added to the soil, and the cuttings are stuck at a slight angle into the soil. To avoid active evaporation, the top leaves are cut off by 2/3.
For rooting, the cuttings are covered with the top of a plastic jar or bottle, or a glass jar. Rooting is carried out in the shade, constantly monitoring the humidity. Young hydrangeas are transplanted to a permanent place in the third year.When planting, the holes are prepared as described. Here.
Trimming
Hydrangea responds well to pruning. Faded inflorescences are removed as they dry out during the summer, closer to autumn. Thinning pruning is done in the spring, after the buds awaken. Remove weak and frozen shoots, as well as old branches.
Landscape design
Hydrangeas are good for single plantings and in groups. If your entrance is located on the north side, then you can safely plant it at the entrance, in the front garden. But remember that over time she needs a fairly large space - about one and a half meters.
For mixborders, you need to select plants with similar environmental requirements (moisture, light and acidity). Hostas, astilbes, black cohosh, and cuffs are well suited for combination. A composition of hydrangea and giant hosta (Andorian, Candy Dish, Impress Wu), which will descend in tiers as it approaches the observer with other medium-sized plants, will look impressive.
For large areas, compositions for a mixborder, where three or more hydrangea bushes are included in the border, will be successful. With their natural spreading shape, they create a unique wave-like accent in the garden landscape, beautifully emphasizing the scope of the site. Their presence in the mixborder will be a good find when there is a natural limitation of the garden area from the recreation area. They have just such a height that does not interfere with extending the visual projection deeper into the site. But nevertheless, the zoning effect remains.
Hydrangeas – very expressive plants that bring joy with their appearance for many years. They are perfect for a variety of garden design styles.Caring for hydrangeas does not require much effort; if you choose the right place and provide moisture, they are very unpretentious. Plant this wonderful shrub in your garden and you will be captivated by its beauty.
