Hydrangea has been pleasing a person with its beauty for several centuries. In the eighteenth century, this flower attracted the attention of lovers and connoisseurs of exotic. The birthplace of hydrangea is America and Southeast Asia. The flower received its name in honor of the name of the princess, sister of Karl Heinrich, who in 1768 ruled the Roman Empire. The plant was brought to Europe from Japan at the beginning of the 19th century.
Hydrangea has 35 species and is a deciduous or evergreen shrub, tree or liana, depending on the species. This is a flower of amazing beauty, for which gardeners appreciate and grow on their sites. To create compositions, hydrangea macrophylla is most often used. Its terry inflorescences differ in size and variety of shades and colors.
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The shrub of large-leaved hydrangea is a deciduous plant up to two meters high. Its shoots are erect, and the leaves are ovoid in bright green color. From mid-summer to late autumn, large-flowered hydrangea blooms. Winter care is the same as for other plants of this species.
The plant forms spherical inflorescences, which crowned the ends of the stems. Flowers attract attention with a bright color of different tones: pink, lilac, white, red and blue. Of interest is the opportunity to change the color of the flower. To do this, just change the composition of the soil. Blue flowers will grow on acidic, pink on alkaline, and beige on neutral.
Growing
Large-leaved hydrangea is a thermophilic plant. It is susceptible to low temperatures. Shelter for winter large-leaved hydrangea is a prerequisite for growing. You can plant a plant in the ground in spring and autumn. The soil must be fertilized before planting. And what - it depends on its composition. If the soil is alkaline, the addition of acid peat is mandatory. Hydrangea prefers clay, red soil. Before planting hydrangea in the ground, whether in autumn or spring, you need to shorten the roots, and in the spring time of planting - also young shoots. Only a few pairs of kidneys are left.
Hydrangea is planted at a distance of one meter, one bush from another. Wells are not deep, thirty centimeters are enough, since the root system of the plant is branched, but not deep. One third of a bucket of humus is poured into each seat. After planting, hydrangea should be abundantly watered, and the soil should be mulched with rotten manure.
Watering and feeding
Hydrophilous plant is large-leaved hydrangea. Preparing for winter provides for the cessation of all watering, starting in late autumn. But in the vegetative period it needs to be watered, and it is better to use rainwater, it is softer. Enough one and a half to two buckets of water per plant. If there is no rain for a long time, once a week is enough for watering; with precipitation - once a month. The strength of the shoots increases if a weak potassium permanganate solution is added to the water for irrigation. So that the soil does not take up the crust, after watering it is loosened for better air access to the roots.
It is necessary to feed the flower during the beginning of growth and the formation of buds, during the period of rapid flowering. At the end of spring - the beginning of summer, the first top dressing after winter is done with slurry and mineral fertilizer. After two weeks, re-dressing is done. To increase acidity, sawdust and decayed needles are added to the soil. In autumn, hydrangea bushes spud 20-30 cm in height.
Winter preparations
It is difficult to tolerate wintering in open ground large-leaved hydrangea. Preparation for winter begins in the fall, when the lower leaves are torn off and watering is stopped. This allows young shoots to numb faster. Before the onset of the first frosts, all leaves are removed, except for the topmost. They will protect flower buds.
The hydrangea is large-leaved. Wintering will take place more favorably if fertilizers with a high content of potassium and phosphorus are introduced into the soil before frost. You can not use nitrogen mixtures, they can contribute to the growth of shoots this year.
Shelter for winter large-leaved hydrangea is necessary, otherwise the plant will freeze and not bloom in spring. Young shoots may die or freeze slightly if severe frosts occur or the plant is not well covered. In spring, you need to trim the frostbitten part of the stem. This will not harm the plant, since the buds from which new shoots will grow are located deep in the center of the bush.
Ways to shelter for the winter
Shelter for winter large-leaved hydrangea is carried out in several ways.
- The branches of the plant should be tied with a rope and bent to the ground, on which boards with nails driven in a short distance are laid in advance. A plant is tied to them and covered with fallen leaves, and then covered with lutrasil with holes for air access. Young hydrangeas are laid on spruce branches, pressed on top with stones, covered with leaves and covered.
- Needs hydrangea large-leaved. Preparing for winter is as follows. On the spruce branches laid around the bush, dry leaves are poured with a thick layer. Then, the shoots of the plant are laid out in a circle. All this is covered in accessible materials in layers: spruce branches, lutrasil, sawdust and again spruce branches. A film or roofing material is stretched on top.
- Shelter of large-leaved hydrangea can be done like this. Around a hydrangea bush wrapped in burlap, a mesh frame is made. The distance between it and the plant is covered with dry leaves, and on top of the structure is covered with material that does not allow water to pass through. It can be roofing material.
- A hydrangea is a large-leaved plant. Preparation for winter begins long before its onset. In summer, all the leaves at the bottom of the plant break off. With the onset of autumn, the shoots bend to the ground and are pressed down by plywood. Before the first frosts, the branches are tied, pinned and sprinkled with earth and fallen leaves. Plywood is placed on top. So that the wind does not destroy the entire structure, plywood is littered with stones.
Thus, the question of when to cover large-leaf hydrangea is decided by itself, if you follow these recommendations.
Large hydrangea bush formation
Hydrangeas are to the liking of many gardeners. But in order to grow bushes of an attractive form, they need to be formed. This is done in the spring, until the movement of juice has begun and damaged kidneys and shoots are clearly visible. But, if you want to root the cuttings, it is better to carry out pruning during sap flow, so they will take root better.
Large-leaved hydrangea blooms on the shoots of last year. Pruning is carried out taking into account this feature of the plant. When forming a bush, healthy shoots are not cut off. Only the frozen ones can be shortened a little.
Needs pruning of faded shoots in autumn, large-leaved hydrangea. Care for the winter will provide an opportunity to grow young shoots that will bloom next year. Hydrangea overwintered under shelter is not cut, only old inflorescences are removed.
In the spring held:
- Sanitary pruning, in which the tips of the shoots damaged by frost are slightly cut, and dry and broken branches of the plant are also removed.
- Anti-aging pruning involves removing old branches at the base of the plant.
Large-leaved hydrangea, whose wintering will take place safely, after preventive pruning, looks new. The bush takes on a different shape and pleases with rapid flowering.
Disease
For leaves and stems of hydrangea, a great danger is the defeat of downy mildew. Signs of this disease are oily yellow spots. Over time, they increase in size and darken. Young stems and the lower part of the leaves are covered with a yellowish coating. The disease develops in high humidity during the hot season. To combat this disease, the leaves and stems are washed with a soapy solution containing copper, which is absolutely harmless to the plant.
Large-leaf hydrangea is affected by a disease such as chlorosis. Its sign is a change in the color of the leaves to a lighter. The development of this disease contributes to an excess of humus in the soil. To combat this disease, you need to water the plant with iron sulfate and potassium nitrate.
Pests
Often the lower part of the leaves is affected by a spider mite. This can be immediately noticed. Leaves turn yellow and become marble. Then they dry up and fall off. The tick is a dangerous pest for hydrangea. During the year he repeatedly gives birth. A favorable environment for its reproduction is high temperature and low humidity. To combat the pest, the plant is sprayed with thiophos.