Hydrangea flower is a semi-shrub, perennial plant with ovate large serrated leaves located opposite. It has large spherical inflorescences reaching a diameter of 30 cm. Inflorescences of various varieties can be racemose, thyroid or umbellate, consisting of flowers having instead of petals many sepals of blue, white, lilac, pink or red shades. Fruits formed after flowering hydrangea are a multi-seeded box.
Hydrangea flower begins to bloom in late February. At the end of March, this process becomes widespread. A plant can please its flowering from one and a half to two months. At this time, it should be protected from the bright rays of the sun, as it is considered shade-tolerant. Most of the time, the flower prefers to be outdoors (open veranda, balcony, loggia, garden). With the onset of autumn, hydrangea must be transferred to a cool place in the house, and with the arrival of winter frosts - in a warm place.
Hydrangea flower is a plant well cultivated both in the garden and in the house for many years. And his name was given in honor of Hortense Lepot - a woman who traveled around the globe, survived a shipwreck and later became a famous astronomer. The homeland of the plant is Japan, China.
Features
Indoor hydrangea plants like cool, well-lit rooms, but without the scorching rays of the sun. Burns even appear on leaflets concerning window glass. To speed up flowering, the plant needs additional illumination from 17 to 22 hours at 300 watts. Daytime lamps accelerate flowering by 20 days, mirror lamps by 30.
Hydrangea flower at the end of winter is transferred to a bright room with a temperature of up to + 15 degrees and is regularly watered.
To plant a plant, it is more correct to buy a ready-made substrate in the store (Senopoliya, Azalea, Begonia). But you can take a mixture of leaf and sod land, adding sand and peat there. Hydrangea and peat slightly acidic substrate are suitable. These flowers love moisture, so they should be regularly sprayed and watered. Water should be well settled and soft. But this is in the hot months. In winter, the plant should be watered only twice, that is, once a month and a half. In the summer months, every two weeks you need to feed him mineral fertilizers. A bucket of water contains potassium sulfate 30 g, ammonium nitrate 30 g, superphosphate 40 g. Abundant watering and top dressing are carried out until mid-August, after which top dressing is stopped altogether, and watering is done to a minimum to stop vegetative growth and promote the planting of flower buds. Weak shoots and basal shoots are simply removed.
The middle of September is the time of transplantation. From open ground, the flower is transplanted into pots and cleaned in the basement or in the greenhouses. The autumn-winter period for this plant is the hibernation time at a temperature of 3-6 degrees. In mid-December, it is placed in greenhouses and for up to two weeks they provide temperatures up to +12 degrees, then gradually increasing to +20.
Hydrangea flower - photo
And may the beauty of this flower bring you joy and aesthetic pleasure!