The genus Hydrangea includes about 70–80 species of flowering plants. Some of them are in the form of bushes, others are small trees, others are lianas that can climb a tree and braid it almost to the top, to a height of several tens of meters. Inflorescences in most types of hydrangea are a scab or panicle: they form fluffy "caps" of white, lilac, pink flowers. The bush strewn with them looks extremely picturesque. Inflorescences of curly hydrangeas are scattered along the entire length of the vines.
The most popular type of hydrangea that is often found in Russian gardens is large-leaved hydrangea, numbering more than a hundred varieties. It was introduced to Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. In the countries of Southeast Asia, hydrangea has long been cultivated as an ornamental plant. To the question of how to care for hydrangea, the answer is as follows: when planting it in your own area, you need to consider that she prefers acidic soils. For this reason, hydrangea is often combined in flower beds with other plants requiring acidic soil. It does not tolerate calcareous soils.
Hydrangea propagates by green cuttings, which must be cut from the plant in spring or early autumn, after flowering has ended. They are rooted in a mixture of sand and peat for 15-20 days, after which they are transplanted into the ground. Cuttings are planted in gardens in the spring, and in the southern regions - in the fall. For planting, you should choose a shaded place. The distance between planted cuttings should be at least one meter. The roots of the plant are branched, they do not go into the soil to a considerable depth, therefore, for planting hydrangeas, a pit is enough, the length, width and depth of which are 30 cm. 1/3 buckets of humus and peat must be added to it, after planting, hydrangea must be immediately watered . When considering how to care for hydrangea, you should remember that she loves moist soil. It is better to water the plant with rain, in extreme cases - with settled water; the earth after each watering must be loosened.
As for fertilizer application, hydrangea responds very well to top dressing. Here the answer to the question of how to care for hydrangea is the following: it is fed before flowering, in May. To do this, use a solution of slurry (1:10). Feeding should be repeated after two weeks. In addition, in the care of hydrangea, the so-called full mineral or triple complex fertilizers are used, which include phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium. Timely application of fertilizing ensures abundant flowering not only in the current year, but also in the next year, since flowers, for example, large-hydrangeas develop from the buds of two-year-old shoots. This fact should be taken into account when pruning the plant: pruning hydrangea tree and paniculata can be carried out without fear, since these plants have shoots flowering this year. Regularly cutting large-leaved hydrangea, you can not see its flowering at all for several years. Only dried shoots and last year's inflorescences should be removed from this species, this should be done in early spring.
In order to give an exhaustive answer to the question of how to care for hydrangea, one cannot fail to mention its protection from frost. Large-leaved hydrangea should be covered for the winter, other species - only in the first couple of years after planting. For the winter, the stems need to be spud and covered with fallen leaves. Cardboard boxes can be used to protect young bushes of small size from frost.
In how to care for room hydrangea, there are subtleties. First of all, flowering hydrangea should stand in a cool place, otherwise flowering may stop. It is best to keep the plant on a glazed loggia, protecting it from direct sunlight. When spraying indoor hydrangea, it is necessary to ensure that water does not fall on the flowers, otherwise they will remain stained. The soil in the plant pot must always be moist.
Thus, the answer to the question of how to properly care for hydrangea will be as follows: this plant loves coolness and diffused light, abundant watering and regular fertilizing with mineral fertilizers.