How to care for a blue hydrangea. There are several ways to propagate a garden hydrangea.

Hydrangea is one of the most beautiful flowering shrubs... Lush spherical inflorescences, behind which the foliage is almost invisible, cannot but attract admiring glances. And thanks to the relative non-capriciousness of hydrangeas, they will decorate even an unkempt garden.

By the color of hydrangea inflorescences, you can determine the acid-base reaction of the soil on which it grows. On soils with a slightly alkaline and neutral reaction, plants will bloom with pink flowers, on acidic soils - blue and even blue. And if you take care in advance to prepare the appropriate substrate and choose the right place for planting the shrub, you can get the desired color of flowers. But in fact, the color of hydrangea flowers depends not only on the variety and pH of the soil. These plants require aluminum to produce blue pigment. So the key factor in the discoloration of the inflorescences is the presence of aluminum in the substrate. Most garden soils have a sufficient amount of aluminum, but it will not be available to plants if the soil pH is high (above 5.5). Aluminum compounds present in the soil in an acidic medium are converted into soluble and plant-accessible forms. The aluminum is absorbed by the shrub, resulting in a blue flower. In neutral or alkaline soil, aluminum remains bound to form insoluble compounds that are not available to plants. The result is natural pink flowers. Thus, to obtain hydrangea with blue inflorescences, two of the most important factors are necessary - an acidic substrate and aluminum salts (usually aluminum sulfate).

There is one more nuance - phosphorus easily binds aluminum into difficultly soluble compounds that are inaccessible to hydrangeas. In order to provide enough free aluminum for flowers, phosphorus levels should be kept to a minimum.

To get a rich blue hue, you need to do the following:

Measure the pH of the soil, it should be in the range of 5.0 - 5.5. Only with such indicators will aluminum salts become available to hydrangeas. Higher pH values will result in magenta-tinged transition colors. If the soil in the garden is neutral or alkaline, it is necessary to artificially acidify it in the root zone to a depth of 20-30 cm or replace the soil in the planting pit with a previously prepared acidic soil. You can acidify non-carbonate soil to pH 5.0-5.5 with high-moor peat or agricultural elemental sulfur before planting hydrangeas. Subsequently, a low pH is maintained by regularly watering the plant with a solution (15 g / l) of aluminum sulfate during the entire growing season. Do not water dry soil, pre-moisten it well with clean water.

Purchase aluminum sulfate or potassium alum.It is recommended to add dry aluminum sulfate to following proportions: for 1 m² up to 0.5 kg of dry aluminum sulfate. Or dissolve alum or aluminum sulfate in water and water the bushes every one to two weeks, but not less often. In this case, observe the proportions: 30-40 g of sulfate or alum should be taken in a bucket of water. The norm for one adult bush is two or three buckets. Otherwise, the color will change partially.

To increase the acidity, mulch the soil near the hydrangea with acidic materials - peat, coniferous bark. Do not use marble chips, expanded clay. You can bring diluted apple cider vinegar, sawdust, chopped grass under the bush.

The applied fertilizer also affects the color change. Feed with acidic complex fertilizers with a low phosphorus content, a high potassium content and an average nitrogen level, the N: P: K ratio is close to 10: 5: 20. Avoid using superphosphate and bone meal, which are sometimes used for lush blooms.

It is important to know that too much alum added can cause root death, so do not strive for a quick effect and observe the norms when diluting the solution.

The pink color of hydrangea appears with a decrease in soil acidity.

Hydrangea will have pink flowers if it cannot form the blue pigment that requires aluminum. This means that the aluminum in the soil must be converted to a form inaccessible to plants. For this, the pH of the soil must be higher than 6.0. If the indicator is higher than 6.5, the plant may suffer due to a lack of nutrients... You do not need to strive for the soil to be truly alkaline, this is harmful to the plant itself. In alkaline soils, hydrangeas will be deficient in iron and magnesium, without which the formation of chlorophyll in the leaves is impossible. This manifests itself as interveinal chlorosis.

Add dolomite flour, chalk, fluff lime, or ground limestone to raise the soil pH to 6.0-6.5. If the acidity is too high, they need to be applied several times a year.

To maintain an intense pink color, feed the bushes with fertilizers that are high enough in nitrogen and phosphorus, but low level potassium. Phosphorus forms insoluble chemical compounds, and the metal is not assimilated by the plant. Select a fertilizer type with an N: P: K ratio close to 25:10:10. Ammonium monophosphate can be used (11:53:00).

In some cases, the soil throughout the entire area is very acidic, then it is more convenient to grow pink hydrangea in separate pots or containers, pouring landless substrates into them, for example, peat. There are practically no aluminum compounds in peat. In such containers, it is much easier to maintain the regime necessary for the plant.

Plants that require acidic soil (rhododendrons, azaleas) should not be grown next to pink hydrangea.

When your hydrangeas turn blue or pink, adding additional soil additives will not help enhance the color depth. Color may vary from season to season due to weather conditions, plant stress, and environment... For example, plants planted near a concrete foundation or a concrete walkway may never turn blue due to lime leaching from the concrete.

It should be borne in mind that the color change of hydrangea occurs as the plant develops and matures, therefore, by planting, for example, a pink hydrangea in acidic soil, you will be able to see blue inflorescences only after a few years.

Hydrangea is a wonderful plant that surprises with the variety of its colors. The flowering period begins in spring and ends before frost, and the flowers themselves are spherical and hairy. They consist of two types - small fertile (most often located inside the inflorescence) and large sterile (bloom at the edges). Most hydrangeas have white flowers, but species such as the large-leaved hydrangea may have red flowers. blue , pink and lilac inflorescences.

Their color depends on the pH level in the soil. Grow hydrangea on neutral soil with beige or cream flowers, on alkaline soil with pink or lilac flowers, on acidic soil with blue, due to aluminum, which absorbs the plant very well.

Blue hydrangea: care and growing at home

The color of hydrangea inflorescences depends on the pH of the soil in which it grows.

Therefore, to create multi-colored bushes, you just need to change the acidity in the soil under each of them. To keep the hydrangea blue or blue, the enrichment of the earth with sulfur and iron will also help. If the application is uneven, the flower can acquire two colors at once. Another tried and true method for getting the shade you want is to bury rusty nails or other metal objects in the soil.

The plant loves moisture very much, therefore, it needs frequent watering. They should be abundant, about 40 liters each. warm water under each adult bush, twice a week. Watering should be done especially abundantly in hot weather. To avoid frequent watering, you can cover the ground with peat, as it long time remains wet.

Planting hydrangeas

The best time to plant hydrangeas is in spring - the time of flowering.

In a pot planting holes should be deeper and twice as large as the roots themselves. If the soil is infertile, the pit should be even deeper and it should be filled with humus and peat with the addition of mineral fertilizers to the large quantities.

They dig up a blue hydrangea with a breast of earth, so as not to damage the roots, and cut off the broken branches. First, soil is poured into the pot, the plant is placed in it, while directing the roots to different sides, and then cover it with earth until the "neck" deepens by no more than 3 cm. The earth around the bush must be compacted, which will help to avoid the appearance of excess air in the root system. This, in turn, can lead to drying out of the roots, and with too much moisture - to rotting. Next, the bush must be thoroughly watered.

Plant care

For the development and lush flowering, it is recommended to feed the hydrangea with organic and mineral fertilizers. Fertilizers are well suited for the plant, which include iron and magnesium, or you can buy special fertilizers for hydrangeas in the store. Most of all, feeding is needed during flowering or intensive growth. A good organic fertilizer can be chicken droppings in a ratio of 1:10. This will be useful for the first feeding in April. Other complex mineral fertilizers will not interfere. In summer, it is best to "feed" the flowers every two weeks.

Cropping is an important part leaving for a hydrangea. Thanks to the annual procedure, the height, density, number and size of the inflorescences can be adjusted. For everything to be done correctly, old inflorescences should be removed before new and strong buds appear. Pruning sturdy and fast growing shoots encourages strong branching of the plant. It is best to prune them in early spring, as future inflorescences are laid on the shoots in last year's buds. You also need to cut off frozen, weak and dry shoots.

In order for the inflorescences not to freeze in winter, the plant should be protected from frost and insulated.

This can be achieved with root mulching with leaves, straw, sawdust and a small layer of soil. It is better to do this immediately after frost - in dry weather. For more thermophilic species with more flexible shoots, you can use another method: gently bend the shoots to the ground, attach with hooks and cover with branches or fallen leaves.

Reproduction blue hydrangea

There are several different ways breeding hydrangea:

The easiest way to reproduce is by cuttings. Hydrangea with a shank blooms in the second year of life. For propagation by cuttings, fresh planting material... V to a greater extent use young shoots, which are planted directly in a very moist and loose substrate. When cutting a plant into cuttings, it is necessary that each cut is 4 mm under the knot or bud.
Another topical method is dividing the bush. Young plants obtained by dividing most often bloom in the first year of life. With this method of propagation, you can rejuvenate plants and support their intensive development. When dividing a bush, each part of it must have ground shoots and roots.

To prepare a bush, you must:

dig up a plant;
shake off the earth from the roots, wash the remnants of the earth in water;
cut off the shoots, leaving the plant up to 10 cm from the root;
woody stems must be cut off completely.

One of the oldest methods is layering. This method is very often used by gardeners, and the essence of it is to stimulate the growth of the root on the stem before separating from mother plant part of the stem. The greatest disadvantage of reproduction by layering is considered to be a rather lengthy process. But there is also a significant advantage - you do not need to constantly monitor environmental conditions in order to ensure root formation.
Another way is seed reproduction. This method consists in obtaining a new plant, which has arisen due to pollination. The new plant begins to develop with all the reincarnations and changes that took place in the previous plants.

Among indoor plants there are a lot of beautiful, beautiful and delicate flowers, but blue hydrangea will not leave indifferent any grower. and garden. Garden varieties can grow up to 2 meters in height, and indoor specimens are more modest in size.

Botanical description

Blue hydrangea indoor belongs to perennial shrubs. It has large inflorescences, consisting of many small flowers. Each inflorescence can grow up to 35 cm in diameter. Plant varieties differ in the type of inflorescences - they can be racemose, umbellate or corymbose. Flowers bloom in the center of the inflorescence, from which fruits are then formed, and the flowers located at the edges of the inflorescence do not form fruits. In addition to the blue hydrangea beautiful flowers still very spectacular decorative foliage. The leaf blades are large and ovoid; they are opposite on the stems. The hydrangea fruit is a polyspermous capsule. With good care, indoor specimens can grow up to 1 meter in height. A feature of this plant is the dependence of the color of flowers on the type of soil. So, for example, a blue tint of flowers appears when hydrangea grows on soil with acidic pH, and cream and pink tones... It is believed that growing hydrangeas at home is difficult, but it is not. The key to the successful growth and flowering of hydrangea is to follow certain rules for growing and caring for it.

Growing blue hydrangea

It is not at all difficult to care for a hydrangea, although this plant requires certain conditions, a slight deviation from them, as a rule, does not cause major disturbances in the vegetation. Hydrangea belongs to moisture-loving plants, but tolerates short drought well. Caring for a blue hydrangea in general comes down to the following rules.

Illumination requirements

In the summer, it is better to place the hydrangea away from bright sunlight and place it in partial shade.

It should not be placed on windowsills facing south, but windows with access to the east and west sides are well suited. And after the end of the dormant period, when the buds begin to form, it must be placed in the brightest place, but avoiding direct sunlight.

Microclimate

The plant does not tolerate high temperatures. The optimum temperature for growing indoors is considered to be 18-23 degrees Celsius. With the onset of summer, it is better to take out the pot with the plant to fresh air and find a cool shady place for the flower. When the temperature is too high for the plant, it begins to shed its leaves. In winter, since the flower loses its leaves, it can be placed in a dark room, such as a basement. A temperature of about 8 degrees Celsius is considered suitable for keeping a flower in winter. Despite the fact that the plant loves coolness, it does not tolerate drafts in the room and a sharp change in temperature. In the homeland of the plant, the air has high humidity, therefore, when grown in an apartment, it requires a fairly high level of air humidity. Such conditions can be ensured by placing the pot on a pallet with wet expanded clay or placing a container with wet moss or small pebbles next to the plant.

Watering mode

Water the blue hydrangea frequently and abundantly. But this mode is applicable in spring and summer periods vegetation of the plant. In winter, the plant is dormant, so you need to water it so that the soil does not dry out completely. When the first leaves begin to appear at the end of winter, watering is gradually increased.

Top dressing

The blue hydrangea should be fed at the beginning of the budding phase. To do this, use complex fertilizers intended for flowering plants. Top dressing is carried out twice a month.

Pruning

Caring for this shrub involves pruning regularly to maintain decorative form and flowering. You need to cut the plant after flowering. Several of the strongest shoots are left on the bush. Shoots are cut in half. Flowers appear on two-year-old shoots, so these should be left. In the spring it is necessary to repeat the pruning and remove the elongated and weak shoots.

Reproduction of blue hydrangea

The flower propagates by seeds or cuttings. But the most simple and quick way this is grafting. Reproduction is carried out in July, for this shoots are cut with 2 or 3 internodes. It is better to root the shoots in loose light soil, deepening them by 1.5–2 cm. It is not necessary to cover the planted cuttings. It takes about two months for rooting, after which the cuttings are transplanted into small pots by the transfer method. In May, young plants are pinched so that the plant bushes more.

For propagation by seeds, you will need a nutritious substrate. Seeds are sown in it, you do not need to sprinkle them with anything. Sowing is carried out in winter. Crop care consists in airing and moistening the substrate. After the seeds germinate and a couple of leaves appear on them, the seedlings are transplanted into pots. When five full leaves appear, it is necessary to transplant the plants again into pots with a diameter of 7 cm.

Growing blue hydrangea will only bring pleasure and joy if you care for the hydrangea correctly. And this beautiful indoor shrub will delight the owners for a long time with delicate blue flowers.

Hydrangea care at home: basic rules for reproduction and transplantation Basic rules of care houseplant scindapsus (flower muzhegon) at home

A beautiful pink hydrangea with proper care can become an adornment of the richest flower garden. During the flowering period, the tree bush is covered with large caps of pink inflorescences, and if you wish, you can help them acquire a blue color. To acquire such a decoration, you need to learn everything about the care, watering, planting and propagation of this plant.

Having made the decision to get a hydrangea, the gardener must understand that he is getting on a rather long and difficult path. Although this flower is not considered very whimsical, planting and the ability to take root in a new place completely rests on the shoulders of a person. But first things first.

First you need to purchase a healthy and promising seedling. Young hydrangeas take root best if they are transplanted together with a lump of earth on the roots, but a bare rhizome can quickly and easily take root. The purchased bush should be carefully examined, future shoots should be noticeable on it, the branches should not be black and seemingly dry. The root is soft and pliable - this is the key to a healthy bush.

For future growth and flowering, the soil is very important, and since hydrangea after planting has been growing in one place for more than one year, it is necessary to thoroughly prepare for planting.

First, they are determined with the planting site: it should be a lighted area of the garden, without drafts, it is desirable that natural soil moisture is present, this will simplify the need for watering.

A hole is dug for planting, which should be 2 times larger than the root system of the planting material. The bottom of the pit is filled with humus and peat, even if the soil is considered fertile. Then a small mound is poured from a mixture of soil and sand, a bush is placed on this hill, the root is carefully spread in different directions. And only after that, the pit is filled up, trying to deepen the base by 2-3 cm in depth.

Planting is best done in spring, autumn planting may not give positive results. Mulching of the earth is very important. It is made from freshly cut grass, coniferous material, semi-rotten leaves. This will prevent the roots from drying out and prevent the growth of weeds.

It is very important to fertilize hydrangea in the first year of life. To do this, use any mineral fertilizers, mullein solutions or complex formulations for hydrangeas. It is important not to forget about watering the plant, as hydrangea loves moisture very much.

Highly important point is the loosening of the soil after the seedling has actively begun to grow, since its root system loves lightness and air. This should be done very carefully, since the roots are almost on the very surface of the earth.

Pruning, feeding and wintering

It is believed that hydrangea is quite hardy, but it is better to help it survive the winter frosts. To do this, you need to wrap her up. You need to start this immediately after the leaves have fallen. More resistant specimens are cut off, leaving only the tops. Then the branches are bent and fixed. Cover the bushes with any material available for these purposes, while providing space under the cover. At the end, the bush is covered with foil. After the onset of severe frosts, it is better to strengthen the protection with sedge, coniferous paws, and cover it with snow.

As soon as spring warm days come, there is no need to rush to remove the protection completely. The film shelter is left until the first buds begin to hatch. This indicates that the hydrangea is fully awake, has already stocked up with a sufficient amount nutrients to start growing.

In May and June, it is necessary to feed the hydrangea every 2 weeks. To do this, use a solution of droppings in a ratio of 1:10 l of substance and water. You can alternate this fertilization with fertilizing with potassium and ammonium nitrate.

After flowering has begun, feeding is carried out using superphosphate fertilizers. The main thing is to take into account the fact that there is a need to first simply water the plant abundantly and only then fertilize so as not to burn the root.

Pruning is a must in the care of a hydrangea. This will promote the growth of the bush, preventing the elongation of thin and weak branches. It is necessary to cut off the old branches, if they are dry, remove the entire part before the beginning of the living material. Treelike varieties such as pink or blue can be docked by cutting off any old branches, leaving only the strongest and richest in bud material.

Features of the view

Pink hydrangea is a shrub that can grow up to a meter in height. Straight, thickened basal shoots are densely overgrown with thin branches, which in the middle of summer are abundantly overgrown with pink inflorescences.

The leaves are oval with sharp ends. They are able to maintain a bright green color until late autumn, which decorates an already deserted garden.

The umbrella-shaped inflorescences of this bush are very unusual: in the center they are filled with flowers of small or medium size, and large buds develop around them. It is characteristic that it is the medium-sized small flowers that later form the seed pods.

The petals of this type of hydrangea contain anthocyanin, a substance that causes the color of the buds to change. This ability is possessed only by pink color ok or, if the gardener wishes, blue hydrangea.

To get a two-color bush on your site, you only need to correctly create ground acidity. The fact is that the slightly alkaline, that is, not acidic, soil makes the bush bloom with pink inflorescences. But as soon as the acidity of the soil rises with the help of fertilizers rich in sulfur and iron, the flowers will take on a delicate blue hue. By properly watering and fertilizing the bush, you can simultaneously observe both pink and blue flowers on one copy.

There is a popular method that leads to a change in the color of the hydrangea: you just need to bury any rusty metal objects, such as nails, next to the bush. This will lead to natural soil acidification.

If you want to, you can try to grow this plant indoors. Blue hydrangea varieties are ideal for this, planting and caring for which allows growth and flowering in pots. As in the open field, indoor hydrangea for the winter it will go on a winter vacation, wake up in the spring and bloom until the deepest autumn. Keep tubs with bushes in a bright place, but away from direct sunlight. To brighten the flower petals, add a few drops of lemon juice to the water for irrigation.

The advantage of this breeding is that you can easily move the plant to the right place, in the presence of good weather conditions, take it out on the terrace or even in the garden.

Plant propagation

The most common way to propagate hydrangeas is by layering. For this, the shoot of the mother bush is bent to the ground and sprinkled with earth in the place where the buds are present. You can secure the branch with hairpins. Throughout the growing season, watering is closely monitored, if necessary, the soil is filled up. Already next spring you can safely dig up a branch with formed roots and plant in the right place.

Hydrangea easily propagates by cuttings. To do this, the branches are cut into 15 cm pieces and planted in the ground at an angle of 45 °. After about 1.5 months, the cutting acquires a root system. Transplant immediately young plant it is impossible, it is necessary to ensure its high-quality wintering, and only in the next season to transplant to permanent place growth.

If the mother bush has grown a lot, you can try to divide it. To do this, dig it up, divide it into several seedlings with a sharp object. This division can be carried out both in spring and autumn. After planting, they provide quality care and watering.

You can also propagate the hydrangea by seeds, but this method is quite complicated and time-consuming, so only breeders and gardening enthusiasts resort to it.

Would you like 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 can be done even by novice gardeners. Can be matched 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. Long flowering period, variety of shapes and tones attract Special attention to her from the side of 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 treelike 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, the whole bloom summer season and September;

Bella Anna variety

"Anabel"- a wildly flowering, 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, is distinguished by its rapid recovery even in unfavorable climatic conditions. An interesting feature This hydrangea variety has a 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 cannot stand long shading, the best place for planting it is 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 field, you need 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. A flower growing at proper care, will take up 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 (specialists landscape design it is recommended to combine 20 g of urea, potassium sulphide, 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.

Suitable care

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

Perennial needs correct pruning... The plant should be pruned in the spring before 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 procedure for feeding hydrangeas is as follows:

in the spring, it is necessary to apply a complex fertilizer containing micro- and macroelements (phosphorus, potassium, nitrogen) under each bush;
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 more times it is advisable to feed the perennial divorced 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, so 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 area 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 hydrangea 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 to speed up the rooting process, it is recommended to make an incision on the part of the shoot that will be in the ground. 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, she can also become infected with chlorosis, powdery mildew false, spider mite, green leaf aphids may 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 excessive 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 at intervals 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.

An infusion of garlic 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 destruction of the aphid.

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 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 hydrangea, 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, stunted junipers.
A classic landscape design is the combination of hydrangea with pink phlox with a round shape of inflorescences, thujas, microbiota. Also hydrangea is used in mixborders to create compositions along garden paths, can be grown as a hedge.

Hydrangea - the basis 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 with the help of a paniculate.

Garden hydrangea care: video

Garden hydrangea: photo

Even on a very large garden plot it is impossible not to notice the 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, it is grown as perennial plants in the gardens of central Russia, only hydrangea tree-like and paniculate.

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 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:

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.
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.
Variety "Incrediboll" is a bush that reaches a height of 1.2-1.5 m, and has large spherical white inflorescences.
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.
The Annabelle variety blooms with white sterile flowers that 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. Below they are heavily pubescent, and slightly above.

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

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 tree-like and panicle hydrangea in Siberia.

Planting and leaving

The plant likes well-lit areas with little shading. 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. In full shade, small inflorescences are formed.

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, in areas with high level groundwater planting it is not recommended. 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 plant will overwinter. That is why in autumn the soil around the bushes must be partially covered from precipitation.

Landing garden hydrangea produced in 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 between one and 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:

In May or June, during the budding period, the plant is fed with nitrogen fertilizers.
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 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 need to be fed 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.

The panicle 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:

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:

Beautiful hydrangea plant excellent suitable for single and group plantings, goes well with low conifers and looks great against the background of stones. At correct fit and caring for her, admire the magnificent flowering and be proud of your flower garden all summer until autumn.

Garden hydrangea

Hydrangea blue - flowering garden shrub... It looks great in landscape compositions, it is suitable for decorating hedges, decorating gazebos, paths. Currently, many varieties have been bred that easily tolerate winter and delight with their flowering for many years. Separate type"Blue hydrangea" does not exist. The plant got this name for the shade of its flowers. Large-leaved varieties of hydrangea are covered with blue and blue inflorescences, mainly. There are two- and three-color species that change their shade throughout the season. Today we will talk about planting and leaving blue hydrangea.

Blue-flowered hydrangea varieties

As a rule, these are large-leaved hydrangeas. They differ in rounded inflorescences, long and abundant flowering. Initially, flower growers saw large-leaved hydrangeas in potted versions. These crops were not suitable for outdoor cultivation. They just froze. And only much later they were withdrawn frost-resistant varieties... Which ones have blue flowers?

Fresh articles about garden and vegetable garden

Hydrangea "Mini Penny". Repaired grade... Blooms on the shoots of the current year. It has juicy green foliage and pale blue flowers, collected in globular inflorescences.
"Ramars". A small compact bush. Refers to multi-colored varieties. Some species are covered with purple or violet flowers. Others are spectacular bright blue and white.
Freedom. Bicolor variety. At the beginning of flowering, against a background of rich greenery appear pink flowers... Then their middle turns blue, and the edges - white.
"Compeito". Hybrid variety with large purple-blue flowers, the center of which is white.
"Performance". The pink-like flowers are pink at first. Then the hue changes to blue.
Hopcorn Blue. A short bush up to sixty to eighty centimeters with tulip-like blue flowers. Blooms on the shoots of the second year.
Jomari. Compact bush with blue double flowers. It also blooms on the branches of the second year.

When to plant blue hydrangea

The best time to plant hydrangeas is spring, the moment when the earth thaws, the buds have not yet blossomed, and autumn is in the month of September. When choosing a place for an ornamental deciduous plant, keep in mind that it is better to plant a hydrangea in the shade or partial shade, since the bright sun causes slower growth, as a result of which the inflorescences become smaller.

Preparing the soil for planting blue hydrangea

The soil for hydrangea should be well-drained and moistened, consist of a balanced mixture of humus, leafy soil, peat chips, river sand (2: 2: 1: 1). Regardless of the type and variety of hydrangea, remember that lime in the soil has a negative effect on development. The soil should have a Ph level of about 5.0. Alkaline soil leads to chlorosis (yellowing of the leaves). When the bush grows on alkaline soil, there is often a lack of iron and magnesium, which is manifested by light and pale color of the leaves. Therefore, acidify the soil or treat the bush with iron chelate. In past centuries, gardeners buried iron items (nails, a bank, a horseshoe). When planting, prepare a special balanced soil mixture with fertilizers.

Planting blue hydrangeas outdoors

An empty planting hole must be thoroughly shed with water. The surrounding soil must be saturated with moisture. To do this, at least 3 buckets of water are poured into the pit. After a day, you can start planting the plant. For planting, mix the amount of soil substrate required to fill the pit. Dry mineral fertilizers (50 g of fertilizers per plant) are added to the specified soil composition and mixed thoroughly. You can also use specialized fertilizer for hydrangeas. The planting hole is filled with a prepared soil substrate, slightly compacting it. In the center, a hole is made the size of an earthen lump on the roots of the seedling. The bush is set in a hole, the roots are buried in earth. The earth around the bush is compacted with hands. If, after compaction, the planting pit turns out to be insufficiently filled, a substrate is added from above. After planting, the blue hydrangea is well watered so that the entire volume of soil in the pit is saturated with moisture. Following this, the soil is covered with a layer of mulch. It contains crushed bark or sawdust deciduous trees... Soil mulching is necessary to retain moisture in the soil.

When planting several hydrangea bushes, the distance between them should be at least 1 m. This is necessary so that the bushes, growing, do not shade each other. If you want to plant the hydrangea in a row, you can dig a trench 90-110 cm wide.If you want to achieve more early flowering, then when planting, dig holes closer to each other (70-80 cm), and after 2-3 years, thin out the bushes if necessary. Planting pit Depth - 36-45 cm, width - 51-65 cm. The roots grow mainly in breadth, extending much further than the crown. Planting depth The root collar should be at the level of the soil, a maximum of 2-3 cm lower, otherwise the flower will not develop well. Now that you know how to plant a hydrangea correctly, you need to take care of the plant in a timely manner.

Blue hydrangea 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.

In autumn, plants are fed with complex fertilizers, and in spring with urea (2 tablespoons per adult bush, diluted in 2 buckets of water and water). This allows them to develop and form large panicles.

During the growing season, the plant can be fertilized with slurry, but if you overdo it with organic fertilizing, then the branches of the bush can break off under the weight of the inflorescences.

Pruning blue hydrangea

It is important to form the shrub correctly. Gardeners do not like to prune branches, but in the case of panicle hydrangea without strong pruning, you can not wait for abundant flowering.

Pruning rules:

All inflorescences are cut in autumn.
In the spring, all weak and frozen branches growing inside the bush are cut out on the ring.
In the spring, the one-year growth is shortened, leaving no more than five pairs of buds on each.

Such pruning contributes to the fact that every year the bush will bloom more magnificently. What does "profuse flowering" mean in the case of panicle hydrangea? A five-year-old specimen, with good care, will delight the owner with several dozen panicles, and a twelve-year-old specimen with several hundred! The plant lives in the garden for 50 years or more. A specimen over 20 years old can be rejuvenated by cutting the bush into a stump. But even such pruning will not prevent the plant from blooming in the same year.

Protecting blue hydrangeas from pests

Blue hydrangea is only affected by aphids and red spider mites. These pests feed on the sap of the plant and are capable of multiplying in large numbers. Very often, the lack of control of them leads to the death of the plant.

Leaf aphids accumulate at the tops of the shoots and petioles of the youngest leaves. Gradually multiplying, it sucks out the sap of the plant, which leads to twisting and drying of the tops of the shoots. Only purchased insecticidal preparations for the destruction of aphids can help in the fight against them.
Spider mites are harmful arachnids. Ticks are very small and often invisible to the naked eye. You can only see cobwebs on the youngest leaves of the plant. To combat this dangerous pest there are drugs - acaricides and insecto-acaricides that destroy harmful arachnids.

Sowing calendars for 2017

Dormant period of blue hydrangea

Novice growers may be alarmed when they notice that the leaves of the hydrangea are falling. If this happened in winter, then there is no reason to worry. The flower has begun a dormant period that lasts about 3 months. Of course, it is difficult to recognize a flowering beauty in the bare branches, but if you wait until summer, you can be sure that this is the same beautiful blue hydrangea. How to care for a wintering flower? The process is very simple. Watering is significantly reduced, but the earthen clod must not be allowed to dry. Fertilizing is not needed. Until March, the hydrangea is harvested in a cool, dark place. Young plants, whose shoots are not lignified, do not shed their leaves and hibernate without entering a state of dormancy.

How to grow a blue hydrangea

Blue hydrangea is a flowering garden shrub. It looks great in landscape compositions, it is suitable for decorating hedges, decorating gazebos, paths. Currently, many varieties have been bred that easily tolerate winter and delight with their flowering for many years.

There is no separate type of "blue hydrangea". The plant got this name for the shade of its flowers. Large-leaved varieties of hydrangea are covered with blue and blue inflorescences, mainly. There are two- and three-color species that change their shade throughout the season.

Besides, large-leaved hydrangea easy to "recolor". You just need to create the appropriate conditions. What varieties have blue inflorescences? How to choose planting material? How to grow a hydrangea? You will find the answers to the questions in the article.

Varieties with blue inflorescences

As a rule, these are large-leaved hydrangeas. They differ in rounded inflorescences, long and abundant flowering.

Initially, Russian flower growers saw large-leaved hydrangeas in potted versions. These crops were not suitable for outdoor cultivation. They just froze. And only much later frost-resistant varieties were bred. Which ones have blue flowers?

Hydrangea "Mini Penny".
Repaired grade. Blooms on the shoots of the current year. It has juicy green foliage and pale blue flowers, collected in globular inflorescences.
Ramars.
Small compact bush. Refers to multi-colored varieties. Some species are covered with purple or violet flowers. Others are spectacular bright blue and white.
Freedom.
Bicolor variety. At the beginning of flowering, pink flowers appear against a background of rich greenery. Then their middle turns blue, and the edges - white.
"Compeito".
Hybrid variety with large purple-blue flowers, the center of which is white.
"Performance".
The pink-like flowers are pink at first. Then the hue changes to blue.
Hopcorn Blue.
A short bush up to sixty to eighty centimeters with tulip-like blue flowers. Blooms on the shoots of the second year.
Jomari.
Compact bush with blue double flowers. It also blooms on the branches of the second year.

These are the most popular varieties. Many of them change color during one flowering period. Pink hydrangea can be purchased, planting and care provided in accordance with the requirements. And then the flowers turn blue. This is the peculiarity of the variety. We just didn't pay attention to it.

The hydrangea color changes easily. During the budding period, the bush must be watered with aluminum alum (for two liters of water - a teaspoon with a slide). Then the white color will become blue, pink - lilac, purple or blue-blue.

How to plant

For planting, seedlings of three-, four-year-old shrubs are ideal. It is better to buy them in specialized real or online stores. Root system the seedlings must be protected and hidden in some kind of material. In the store, containers are used for these purposes. Growing up consists of:

Hydrangeas love partial shade. Open sunny spaces do not like moisture-loving shrubs. In the shade, hydrangea does not bloom well, blooms later. This plant needs a middle ground.

When planning group plantings, it must be borne in mind that the shrub requires space for growth and development. The optimal free diameter around each hydrangea is two meters.

Beautifully flowering shrubs like acidic, moisture-consuming and loose soils. Such conditions can be provided in the following ways:

bring soil from the forest (you need to dig the ground under the pine trees together with needles);
mix equal amounts of high-moor peat, leaf and sod soil, sawdust compost, sand.

Hydrangeas don't like lime in the soil!

Dig a hole the night before (width, length and height - half a meter). Pour in five buckets of water. The next day, add the prepared substrate, place the seedling, gently spread the roots and cover them with earth. Water well and cover with pine needles or peat.

Care

Decorativeness, color saturation, elasticity of leaves and shoots depend on correct watering, pruning, dressing.

Hydrangea loves water. With a lack of moisture, it withers, blooms poorly. If you give several buckets of water under such a plant, it immediately comes to life.

The optimal frequency of watering is once or twice a week. For each bush, you need to give three to four buckets. If, after watering, you mulch the soil around the hydrangeas, then water it once every ten days. The mulch will retain moisture for longer.

Conclusion: in no case should the soil around the hydrangeas be allowed to dry out.

Fertilization.

The large-leaved blue hydrangea loves feeding and responds very well to them. Fertilizers need to be applied depending on the period of plant development:

at the end of spring - the first feeding of superphosphate, potassium sulphide and urea (2: 2: 1.5);
in the middle of summer (during the formation of inflorescences) - the second feeding of superphosphate and potassium sulphide (2: 1);
in late summer - early autumn (during the period of active flowering) - the third top dressing, organic (compost or rotted manure).

Conclusion: hydrangeas need mineral fertilizers; during the period of active flowering - organic. Under no circumstances should ash be brought in!

This is a mandatory step in caring for shrubs. Regardless of the variety. Treelike, Grandiflora, Paniculata, Japanese, Phantom hydrangea ... Planting and leaving will not be complete without pruning.

Almost all varieties of large-leaved blue hydrangea bloom on last year's shoots. This must be taken into account when pruning. It is important to keep the flower buds at the ends of the branches.

Do not touch the inflorescences in the fall. They will protect flower buds from winter frost. They can be removed in the spring:

in April, completely cut off a quarter of old shoots that are more than three years old;
the rest have only last year's inflorescences;
remove weak, diseased and overly exposed branches.

Conclusion: it is impossible to shred a large-leaved hydrangea, since inflorescences appear only on last year's branches.

Wintering of blue hydrangea.

Water the plant actively from late summer. It should meet the winter strong enough. To prevent the shoots from stifling under cover, treat the bush with Bordeaux mixture.

At the end of October, when light frosts are observed at night, the hydrangea can be covered with perforated polyethylene or agrospan. In early November, tilt the shoots to the ground, cover with spruce branches or dry leaves. And put the box on top.

Output: blue varieties hydrangeas are prepared for winter like roses (they reliably protect from frost).