Hydrangea is a lush, flowering plant that has a strong interest in home and garden cultivation. It belongs to the family of perennial shrubs of medium height, it has large oval leaves and many small flowers, shaped like a big ball. It originates from Japan and China in its traditional form but has subsequently created many hybrids and mini hydrangeas that are present in the interior. Gardeners never miss the opportunity to include hydrangea in their outdoor decor due to their natural beauty, long-lasting blooms and atypical forms. The varieties are dairy white, light pink, sky blue, red and others. Bending on the top of the impressive flower, they contribute to the fresh look of the yard from spring to autumn.
Interesting facts about the colour of Hydrangea
While in most types of vegetation you buy seeds or grow seedlings with a clear idea of a specific colour, with Hydrangeas things are a bit different. Its colour depends on the acidity of the soil. The Queen of Shadow is an interesting phenomenon – at low pH levels are blue and in neutral soil – pink. For more accurate data, for soils with a pH of less than 5.5, it produces blue flowers with a pH greater than 5.5 pinks, and white is not affected by pH.
It would be best to wait for Hydrangea to “celebrate your 2nd year” to get rooted and go through the stress of the original planting. Then you can go quite smoothly to the desired correction. Keep in mind that it takes a period of several weeks to several months. Also, a transformation from blue to pink shade is easier than reversed. Still, if you choose to try – add to the water for pudding the pink hydrangea 1 tablespoon. ammonia without a peak. Then you have to wait for the new blue dyes.
Hydrangea – a way of planting, growing and breeding
Each plant has different preferences to develop normally under optimal conditions. Although inanimate, they resemble a person’s “whims.” Some love the sun and others do not withstand the heat, so is it with vegetation. They must be given comfort in terms of soil and location (more sun or shade), be familiar with the aftercare they need, and others. The good news, in this case, is that the hydrangea is not a pretentious plant, but at the same time, it is donated with many long-lasting and varied colours.
Planting
Wondering what plant to sow on sunspots or in the shade? You may find it difficult to choose from the abundance that is available on the market. You want to “insert” almost all kinds of vegetation, but most require sunshine and your area is not that big. Well, it’s time to meet the Shadow Queen – Hydrangea. The best time to do it is in the spring – early morning or late afternoon. This helps prevent the initial heat stress to which heat can bring. Spring, on the other hand, is the best time to create a healthy root system before the flowering.
Location
Prefers shady places. Put the hydrangea in that part where you worry that the warmer plants will not grow. It is ideal for sowing around the fence in the inner courtyard, and why not in front of your home if the inside area is too small. She loves protected places because the strong wind damages her colours. Also, do not sow in too close to trees. Both types of vegetation would be in a fight for nutrients and water
Light
Loves the morning sunshine and shade for the rest of the day. In the morning she gets the right amount of light, but she does not suffer from heat in the later hours. Position the beds so that they have the right view. This will contribute to the blooming bloom and the long-lasting colour
Soil
The most preferred acidity is in the pH range of 6.5 – 4.5. Hydrangea keeps well-drained, loose, moderately moist, well-drained and rich soil. Greater loosening can be achieved by digging immediately before planting. Improving soil quality can be achieved through an abundance of organic and mineral fertilisers. Drainage is also extremely important because poorly drained soil will cause rotting roots. Use compost before planting.
Steps for proper planting
- Step 1: Prepare the soil to “lay the foundation”. Without soil improvement, your success may be zero. Adhere to the above requirements for the living conditions of vegetation
- Step 2: Dig the appropriate number of holes to a minimum of half a meter. The depth you should sow is about 60 cm in diameter and about 50 cm in length
- Step 3: Put peat on each excavated site. It is necessary ⅓ bucket for each hole. Get the quantity you need in advance, considering the number of hydrangeas you will sow
- Step 4: The root is placed on a level with the soil. This helps for easier drainage of water from the base of the plant
- Step 5: After the planting, plenty of watering is required. The best effect on plant development is rainwater. You can place cans outdoors to fill with rainfall. This will save you additional watering costs, and the vegetation will be healthier.
Care
Taking care is inevitable if you want to get beautiful vegetation. Generally speaking, this is the sum of water activities, soil nutrition, removal of fallen leaves and pruning. Be careful and do everything you can to keep yourself away from gardening. You could do it perfectly if you take the time and do all that the flower needs.
Irrigation
Watering is extremely important for hydrangeas. Immediate planting requires extensive irrigation. It is too demanding not only for humidity but also for the type of water. It benefits the most from rainwater because it is softer. If you can not afford it, you will probably resort to a tap. The problem with it is that it has been treated with chlorine. Before spraying the plant, let it stand in an open vessel to extinguish the harmful particles. Water them in the morning or in the evening – when it is not too hot. On the warmest days, it is recommended to spray the leaves more often as they tend to dry and fall
fertilisation
Soil fertilisation is done with different fertilisers, which will contribute to more abundant flowering in the spring. You can use a combined fertiliser with a phosphorus content of 15, 30, 15 – every spring. In the rest of the time, suitable fertilisers are for azaleas and rhododendrons. However, you must adhere to reasonable limits, because excessive nutrition worsens the condition of the plant and will be almost detrimental to it in the winter. Take care with the use of nitrogen fertilisers
Removing dried leaves and colours
Autumn is the period when the colours die and the leaves fall. As much as you have enjoyed them so far. However, this does not mean you will not have any fewer obligations. Remove all fallen leaves around the root of the stems, as well as the blossoming colours
Prism
You need to be careful when pruning, so you do not remove stems that have life. There will be a lot of dead leaves before the run. Then you will clearly see what exactly needs to be removed. Cutting in different types requires different knowledge. The way in the large hydrangea is one, while the woody and the petty, for example, slightly different, large-scale cropping should be done in autumn or spring, and in the other two – each year with the spring coming. The main thing to do with the large hydrangea is to remove the dried stems and dried flowers.
Pruning is mandatory, but not low below, because it will break the flowering during the year. In the woody and fluffy hydrangeas, the pruning of the dried colours is made further down. Here pruning is also advisable if you do not want the flowering quality to get worse. It is important for these species to keep last year’s cuts, this year around you have to do around them.
Propagation
Hydrangea has two ways of breeding – by dividing the bush or by rooting the stem cuttings. In the second option, for better development, the cuttings are placed in a glass of water and a little bit of ash is added. They are picked up in the summer season by the tops of the non-colourful shoots. They should be trimmed precisely – 1 mm below the nodes in a few fully developed leaves.
Winemaking and wintering
One of the things to which the hydrangea is not claimed to do is to get drunk. Of course, it would always be useful for the plant to be protected from strong collapse. If you’ve decided to provide shelter, use pine twigs and dry leaves. Boring will be effective if you turn it with the needles down. Then cover with a crate or a big box, the first option is highly recommended. Mulching is an extremely useful method for maintaining the higher temperature in the soil during the coldest days and helping to develop additional roots in the mulch.
Hydrangea passes through the cold front, stripping its leaves. They must be removed because it is quite possible to cause diseases to be transmitted to new healthy plants. The recommended temperature is about 4-8 degrees, whether light or dark. In winter it is rarely watered, but it is still necessary. It should not be enough for the tufa to dry there. With the warmer days coming – in the spring, it is necessarily made to light and transplanted.
