In addition to the name "hydrangea" this large, tall (up to 4 meters) plant with lush caps of inflorescences also has the species name Hydrangea (“Water Vessel”), emphasizing its love for moist soil.
In the wild, hydrangea is represented by thirty-five species growing in the East Asian and American subtropics.
Description and characteristics of the variety
Large-leaved, rather thermophilic and very spectacular varieties of large-leaved hydrangea were first obtained in France.
Further selection, aimed, inter alia, at obtaining cold-resistant forms, led to the emergence of such hydrangeas that are able to overwinter in the open ground of the middle band - true, with mandatory winter shelter.
These hardy varieties include:
- grade "Alpengluchen", characteristic slender lush bush, which in June-July is covered with rich red hats of inflorescences.
- Terry line "U & M" combines light and saturated shades of pink in inflorescences of different ages.
- "Forever and Ever" shines with colors of different colors: pink, white, red, blue.
- Hydrangea "Endless Summer"(" Endless Summer ") is able to bloom again.
Large-leaved hydrangeas are also grown in room culture, which solves the problem of wintering, but does not allow the bushes to reach the impressive size that they are potentially capable of.
A photo
Planting and care
Choosing a place
For abundant and friendly flowering requires a sufficient amount of sunlight. At the same time, in the sun "a vessel with water" dries quickly.
Therefore, a place for landing should be slightly shaded. One of the suitable options: the lower part of the bush is shaded, and the top is in the sun. Neighborhood with large trees is undesirable, because their powerful root system quickly absorbs soil moisture, which is so necessary for hydrangeas.
Priming
Soil should be slightly or medium acid, moderately loose and sufficiently nutritious. Its composition may be as follows: peat, humus, turf, leaf soil and sand in equal quantities. They also use an "equidistant" mixture of peat, humus, needles and garden soil.
Landing
The best time for planting this bush in open ground - the end of spring (heated soil and freezing). The landing pit in the sizes has to correspond to the root system of a sapling. For medium-sized plants, in particular, 35 cm in length, width and depth is sufficient.
At the bottom of the pit, if the soil is clay, lay a drainage layer of pebbles, expanded clay, brick or ceramic battle. Place a layer of prepared soil mixture and gently straightened root system, previously soaked in a bucket of water.
Dust the soil, gently compacting it, make organic and full mineral fertilizers, which will contribute to the formation of flower buds.
Watered, then the surface of the earth is mulched fallen needles or chopped bark. This last operation is necessary so that the soil under the bush longer retains moisture. Hydrogel is also added to preserve moisture in the soil.
The distance between several seedlings should be at least one meter.
Watering
Irrigation the water must be soft, as this plant does not tolerate hard, lime water.
Ideal - rainwater irrigation. Water from the water supply network should be well settled and warmed up, and occasionally it is useful in it. add a little acidifier - lemon juice or vinegar.
In the summer, if there is no rain, every bush should receive two buckets of water each week.
Top dressing
The plant responds well to the mineral fertilizing complex for heather, rhododendrons and azaleas. The best option - special mixtures specifically for hydrangeas.
Terms of fertilizer application take into account the main phases of growth and development:
- spring feeding promotes the formation of young shoots;
- June promotes abundant bud formation;
- summer, in its heyday, prolongs flowering and provides a bookmark flower buds, which will open next year. In this feeding should add potash and phosphorus component, and the nitrogen - to reduce.
- Autumn, before the shelter, consists of superphosphate and potassium.
Pruning
Large-leaved hydrangea, as a rule, is cut off slightly, limited to spring removal of weak, damaged and thickening shoots. This gentle mode is due to the fact that bloom provide only last year lignified shootsthat should be saved as much as possible.
Line of varieties "Forever and Ever", "U & M", "Endless Summer" shoots bloom both past and current year, so these bushes can be subject to significant pruning not only in spring, but also after flowering - half the length of the shoots and more.
How to cover for the winter?
In August-September, if the weather is dry, hydrangea should be plentifully watered. A well-hydrated plant will more easily tolerate future frosts. At the same time, as a prophylaxis of rot under the shelter, they spray the Bordeaux mixture.
In October, with the onset of night frosts, spud bushes to a height of 0.3 meters.
In the beginning of November branches bend down to the ground, fall asleep dry leaves, cover with spruce branches.
You can put on top box or box suitable dimensions, which will provide an air-insulating pillow, or install low arc and cover them with plastic film.
In the spring this shelter follows take off gradually.
Bloom
Standard flowering periods occur in the summer months - June and July.
To hydrangea bloomed 2-4 weeks earlier, and its inflorescences become more powerful, the plant is sprayed with a solution of growth accelerators, gibberellins, in water at a concentration of 50 mg / l twice, with an interval of four to seven days.
The color of the inflorescences depends on the reaction of the soil and changes from pink in neutral ground to blue and blue in acidic substrate.
This property is widely used, especially since acidified, soft water is beneficial for plants.
The presence of small amounts of aluminum and iron in the soil creates an additional play of color. In particular, in order to obtain a stable blue, it is recommended to water the plants every two weeks with two liters of alum potash or ammonium potash alum at a concentration of 3-5 g / l.
Faded "caps" immediately do not remove: in winter, they will provide additional protection for growth and flower buds. Eliminate these dry flowers only after wintering, early next spring.
Breeding
Seeds of large-leaved hydrangea do not have time to ripen during the summer of the middle band, therefore they propagate it exclusively vegetative: layering and cuttings.
- Reproduction by layering spend in the spring: bending down to the ground a suitable branch, fix it in the middle and added dropwise. By the autumn, the near part forms a sufficient root system, but the new plant is separated from the maternal one only next spring.
- Reproduction cuttingsand it is successful in early spring (parts of woody stems) and in summer (segments of green shoots). With the use of growth stimulants, in conditions of high humidity, at a temperature of 14-17 degrees, cuttings with two to four nodes quickly form roots in a substrate of leafy soil and peat with sand or in coniferous soil.
Wilting in the summer with enough watering observed in the sun when the temperature rises above 30 degrees. To prevent this from happening, the place for planting hydrangeas should be slightly folded.
Diseases and pests
Hydrangea on the site with optimal conditions for it is resistant to disease.
If the soil is limestone or supersaturated with humus, the plant may develop chlorosis, in which the leaves, with the exception of the central vein, become izhelta-light. In this case, spend watering potassium nitrate solution with a concentration of 4g / l, and after 3 days - ferrous sulfate solution the same concentration.
Downy mildew, in which dark oily, gradually spreading spots are formed on the leaves and stems, affects the hydrangea at a temperature of 18-20 degrees in combination with high atmospheric humidity. An effective remedy for this disease is spraying with copper-soap solution: 15 g of copper sulfate and 150 g of green soap on a bucket of water.
In the open ground, the plant is practically not affected by pests, except snailsthat can devour the leaves and buds. In this case, snails and their clutches collect, destroy and use specialized preparations against mollusks.
In general, large-leaved hydrangea, as a plant of open ground, is a rather unpretentious inhabitants of the site.
Wintering is a problem - even cold-resistant varieties hardly endure winter temperatures at minus 18 degrees. However, those flower growers of the middle zone who will provide their hydrangeas with the appropriate winter shelter will be rewarded with regular abundant flowering of lush bushes. In autumn, before falling off for the winter, their leaves acquire a rich red color, putting their emphasis on the golden autumn outfit.
Useful information
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