Hydrangea (lat. Hydrangea)- a plant that has bright colors and belongs to the class of dicotyledonous, dogwood order, hydrangea family, genus hydrangea.
The Latin name for the hydrangea is hydrangea, which means "vessel of water". The Japanese have their own name for this miracle of nature - “ajisai” (a flower is a purple sun).
Hydrangea - description and photos. How does hydrangea grow?
The leaves are hydrangea-oval, large, with a sharp tip and slightly noticeable venation. Gardeners fell in love with the hydrangea flower for its abundant and long flowering from spring to late autumn. The color scheme of these plants is diverse: hydrangea is white and cream, pink and dark purple, blue and red. Hydrangea flowers form into inflorescences that are shaped like a ball, umbrella or panicle. The hydrangea fruit is a 2-5 separate box that contains small seeds.
Artisanal and tree varieties of hydrangeas reach from 1 to 3 meters in height, they are quite wide and have a rounded shape. Liana species grow up to 30 meters in height depending on the size of the tree on which the plant will climb. Also, the hydrangea flower can be deciduous or evergreen. In the temperate zone, mainly deciduous varieties of hydrangeas are grown.
How to change the color of hydrangea?
It is worth noting that the color of the inflorescences can only be changed in large-leaved hydrangeas. The color of the hydrangea depends not only on the variety and variety, but also on the pH of the soil and the presence of aluminum in it. To change the color of the hydrangea, you need to water it with special fertilizers.
- Blue.
Blue hydrangea is obtained due to the presence of aluminum in the soil. Best absorption of aluminum occurs in acidic soil, poor in phosphorus salts. Water-soluble aluminum sulfate is commercially available, which is added to the watering can with each watering to maintain the blue color of the hydrangea. For 1 sq. m requires about 500 grams of aluminum sulfate. Be careful not to water the leaves of the plant.
- Blue colour.
Blue hydrangea grows in acidic soils (pH 5.0 - 5.5). Watering the bush with elemental sulfur or aluminum phosphate will help to make the soil acidic. As a result, the pH will decrease. The required amount of elemental sulfur or aluminum phosphate must be selected depending on the type of soil and on how much the pH needs to be lowered. Subsequently, the bush should be periodically watered with a solution of aluminum sulfate (15 g / l) in order to maintain the acidity of the soil in the desired state. 30-40 g of sulfate should be added to 1 bucket of water. For 1 bush, 2-3 buckets of mortar are required.
You can also add diluted apple cider vinegar, chopped grass, sawdust, coniferous bark, high-moor peat under the bush - these materials increase the acidity of the soil.
You can also reduce the acidity of the soil and achieve blue color in hydrangeas with the help of fertilizers - these are fertilizers with a low phosphorus content, an average level of nitrogen and a high potassium content. You can not use superphosphate and bone meal - they give lush flowering, but increase the acidity of the soil.
- Pink color.
Hydrangea pink grows in neutral and alkaline soils (pH 6.0 - 6.5). In such soil, the hydrangea does not absorb the aluminum present in the soil, hence the pink hue of the flower. To alkalize the soil and change the color of the hydrangea to pink, you need to water the bush with a pink solution of potassium permanganate or sprinkle it under it dolomite flour, chalk, ground limestone, lime fluff. Acidity above 6.5 will be harmful to the plant, as it gives a deficiency of iron and magnesium, which are necessary for hydrangeas to grow. Therefore, values of 6.0 -6.2 must be maintained.
For supporting Pink colour plants need to be fed with hydrangea fertilizers high in phosphorus and nitrogen, but low in potassium - for example, ammonium monophosphate.
- Purple or a mixture of pink and blue on the same bush.
Soil with a pH between 5.5 - 6.0 will produce purple flowers or a mixture of pink and blue on a single hydrangea plant. If you water neutral soil with a weak 0.1% solution iron sulphate(1 teaspoon per 7 liters of water) hydrangea will turn into purple.
Types of hydrangeas.
In total, there are more than 80 different types of hydrangeas: from shrubs and vines to small trees. Among all representatives of this genus, the most famous are the following:
- Hydrangea tree (lat. Hydrangea arborescenes) bred in North America, grows up to 3 m in height. Inflorescences are mostly spherical white or cream in color, up to 15 cm in diameter. Blooms from June to September;
- Large-leaved hydrangea (lat. Hydrangea macrophylla). This species is native to China and Japan. Shrubs grow up to 4 meters in height. Inflorescences are corymbs, varied both in shape and color;
- Hydrangea paniculata (lat. Hydrangea paniculata) grows in China, Japan and in the south of Sakhalin, usually represents shrubs or trees up to 10 m high. The crown of this type of hydrangea is dense and rounded. The flowers are large, the inflorescences are white, then acquire pink hues;
- Oakleaf hydrangea (lat. Нydrangea quercifolia) - view from the southern United States. The leaves of the oak-leaved hydrangea resemble a crown. The flowers are collected in paniculate inflorescences, in autumn they acquire a crimson hue;
- Hydrangea petiolate (climbing, creeping, climbing) (lat. Hydrangea petiolaris) grows in Japan, Korea, Sakhalin . This type of hydrangea, with the help of aerial roots, can rise to a height of 25 meters, like a liana. Inflorescences loose, consisting of white-pink flowers. Petiole hydrangea is used to decorate the walls of houses and arbors;
- Curly hydrangea (lat. Hydrangea scandens)- most often it is used as a synonym for petiole hydrangea. This species is native to southern Japan;
- Serrata hydrangea (lat. Hydrangea serrata) – This is a low shrub with a fairly dense crown, reaching a height of 1.5 meters. The flowers are collected in corymbs with a diameter of 15 cm.
Where does hydrangea grow?
Hydrangea grows in South and East Asia, in America and Russia. A wide variety of species of this plant grow in China and Japan. In Russia, frost-resistant types of hydrangeas, such as paniculate and tree-like, are mainly common.
Planting hydrangeas in spring or autumn.
Hydrangea is planting in early spring or in autumn. Hydrangea seedlings should be planted in fertile and loose soil. This shrub prefers shady places, does not tolerate direct sunlight. On hit sunlight on a hydrangea bush, the growth of the plant instantly slows down, and the inflorescences become small and lose their color.
Hydrangea - watering. How to water hydrangea?
Watering hydrangeas should be carried out with soft water. Rain water works best for this. If it is not possible to collect and store rainwater, watering is carried out tap water, previously settled for 4-6 days. The water temperature for irrigation should not be below 15 degrees, as the hydrangea has a very sensitive root system. In terms of moisture, each bush should receive at least 16 liters per week, and always either in the early morning or late in the evening.
A unique plant is so beautiful and unpretentious in home cultivation and care that it can decorate the site of even a novice grower. It is enough to arm yourself with knowledge about hydrangea agricultural technology to grow a magnificent shrub.
Description of garden hydrangea
The undoubted queen of the garden pleases with a generous annual flowering. Landscape designers willingly use various types of hydrangeas to make flower beds. garden perennial widely represented by almost 80 varieties.
Among others, varieties have gained particular popularity:
- White Anna.
- Anabel.
- Grandiflora.
- Invincible Spirit.
- Sterilis.
- Vanilla Fraze.
- Limelight.
- Pinky Winky.
It should be noted that hydrangeas easily change varietal colors when the soil acidity index changes in one direction or another.
Most species are flowering garden shrubs. Breeders have made efforts, trying to stabilize and fix a certain color of spherical inflorescences for the species.
Varieties with white flower caps look especially elegant and solemn in any weather.
Garden hydrangea grows well in one place for no more than ten years.
The perennial shrub is characterized by a long flowering period and relative frost resistance.
Under natural conditions, there are tree-like, liana hydrangeas. Shrub species are the most widespread. In the wild, the height of perennials often reaches three meters.
However, cultivated species are significantly lower than their wild counterparts.
Garden varieties of hydrangeas rarely exceed human height.
Deciduous shrub has a urinary form of the root system. Large pointed oval leaves are located on the branches opposite each other. The edges of the leaves are serrated with pronounced veins. Flowering lasts from mid-spring to the first frost.
Small flowers are collected in large spherical brushes of inflorescences. Usually flowering buds awaken on the shoots of last year. A wide range of colors is characteristic: from pale pink and deep purple to pale blue and bright purple.
In most cases, the pH of the soil affects the coloring. Acidic soil enhances the blue spectrum, while alkaline soil exhibits pink tones.
White caps of hydrangea flowers indicate a neutral indicator of acidity.
Hydrangea types
The most widespread in home cultivation are tree and paniculate hydrangeas. Both species are successfully grown in cottages and garden plots. The difference between the tree-like hydrangea is in larger leaves. Often their length reaches 20 centimeters.
Tree hydrangea combines decorative perennial varieties White House, Invincibel Spirit, Incrediball, High Starbest.
The leaves of the paniculate hydrangea do not exceed 12 centimeters in length, have a light edge of the leaf plate on the underside. Inflorescences are collected in panicles on long peduncles.
The most popular varieties of panicled hydrangea: Vanilla Fraze, Phantom, Pinky Winky, Limelight, Grandiflora, Weems Red, White Lady, Kyushu.
Features of agricultural technology
When purchasing a variety of white hydrangea, you need to be prepared to regularly maintain a slightly acidic or neutral level of soil acidity. Breeders have bred individual hybrids that are more resistant to soil reaction. Thanks to this, gardeners get consistently white flowering brushes throughout the season.
White flowers are typical for hybrids:
- Sterilis;
- Grandiflora;
- Anabel.
How to plant hydrangea in the garden
Decorative perennial shrub grows well in quiet corners of the garden, open to the sun in the morning. Despite the fact that the hydrangea does not tolerate a lack of moisture, wetlands should be avoided. It is also highly undesirable to plant a plant in poor, sandy soil that quickly loses moisture.
When choosing a permanent place for hydrangeas, you should choose closed corners protected from drafts and wind. The nearest building or fence should be at least one and a half to two meters away. Landing specimen is carried out in the offseason. The rules for spring and autumn planting of hydrangeas have significant differences and require further study.
Hydrangea planting and care
Simple agricultural technology consists in observing certain rules related to:
- Application of fertilizers;
- Seasonal pruning;
- Watering mode;
- transplant.
Hydrangea is very sensitive to lack of soil moisture. Regular watering begins after the awakening of the perennial. Under normal conditions, once or twice weekly soil moisture is sufficient. For irrigation use settled soft water.
Irrigation intensity is adjusted according to weather conditions. Avoid watering in rainy weather. In hot, dry summers, flowering shrubs are watered every other day. Regular loosening of the surface layer of soil and mulching of the stem area is recommended.
Sawdust is used as mulch, pine needles, chopped tree bark, straw, fallen leaves.
In order for hydrangea to bloom in the garden, planting and care must comply with the basic rules. Perennial transplantation is carried out as needed, but not more often than in the third, fifth and tenth year of cultivation. Too frequent change of place can ruin the hardiest plant, not just hydrangea.
How to feed hydrangea
The first feeding of white hydrangeas begins with the awakening from a winter rest, characterized by sap flow and the opening of the first buds.
Organic or mineral fertilizers are applied after abundant watering to avoid chemical burns of the root system.
Fertilizers are applied to the soil no more than once or twice a month.
Excessive enthusiasm causes the indefatigable flowering of the bush. Thin branches break off under the weight of large inflorescences. During the period of growing green mass and during flowering, the plant needs different microelements.
A solution of wood ash is contraindicated for hydrangeas, as it alkalizes the soil.
From early May to mid-June, hydrangeas are fed with a nitrogen-dominated complex. Potash fertilizers are applied throughout the summer to maintain the flowering phase. From the beginning of September, the hydrangea is not fed, so as not to provoke growth. In mid-September, watering is reduced as the plant prepares for the winter dormancy phase.
Crown shaping by pruning
Hydrangea care includes mandatory spring pruning. Inexperienced gardeners are often overzealous, removing most of the branches. It should be remembered that most species form flower buds on the shoots of the second year.
Strong even shoots are shortened by three to four buds.
First of all, it is necessary to remove damaged, not overwintered branches. Then cut off the shoots growing inside the bush. Dried inflorescences are recommended to be cut in September so that they do not burden the perennial during wintering. Completely exclude aged shoots growing inside the shrub.
Methods for propagating white hydrangea
Perennial, like other bush crops, successfully reproduces:
- The division of the root system;
- cuttings;
- Germination of seeds;
- Rooting cuttings.
The division of the bush is resorted to during the transplantation of an adult hydrangea. The root system is divided into several parts in such a way that one or more growth points are preserved in each.
For cuttings, shoots left after spring pruning are used. This breeding method is the most preferred. Hydrangea cuttings are very high, almost 100% rooting. Gardeners root segments of twigs that have at least three to four buds.
Young seedlings are placed on permanent place in two years. Be sure to remove the first flower stalks, not allowing the plant to bloom until the age of three.
Early flowering depletes the hydrangea, prevents the formation of a powerful root system.
Growing new specimens from seeds is a troublesome and time-consuming process. Gardeners rarely use this breeding method, since it does not guarantee the preservation of the decorative features of the hybrid.
Rooting layering is also very widely used for breeding perennials.
The procedure consists in obtaining a new copy from a sprig sprinkled with soil. In this way, not only hydrangea is bred, but also many other decorative and fruit crops.
In the spring, one of the branches is fixed with studs or pegs in a horizontal position, as close as possible to the soil. Part of the shoot is sprinkled with earth, always leaving the apical bud free. Throughout the season, the shoot is watered. In autumn, the branch is separated from the mother bush, dug up and planted in a permanent place.
Experienced gardeners remove all dried inflorescences from hydrangeas in early to mid-September. At this point, stop making organic or mineral top dressing. Watering is reduced to once a week and completely stopped with the approach of the first frost.
How to organize a winter
Hydrangea needs special shelter if the climate zone is characterized by prolonged frosts with air temperatures below -20 ° C. Be sure to insulate young specimens under the age of three.
The winter-hardy qualities of hydrangea are directly proportional to its age.
Gardeners use different methods of warming young and mature shrubs.
The tops of the branches of young seedlings are gently tilted to the ground, fixed in this position with the help of pegs from a rope. The base of the bush is spudded, sprinkled with peat, sawdust, fallen leaves. Then the plant is covered with roofing material, lutrasil. The edges of the covering material are fixed with boards.
Three-year-old hydrangeas are covered in the same way. On top of the covering material, a spruce hut is arranged or a pile of dry sawdust is poured.
Experienced gardeners place pickled grain under the base of the wintering hydrangea to protect the plant from rodents.
Adult five-year-old bushes insulate differently. Because they are difficult to bend to the ground. The tops of the branches are loosely tied with twine. The resulting cone is wrapped with lutrasil. The insulation is fixed with adhesive tape or a stapler. A flexible metal mesh is installed around the perimeter. Sawdust, pine needles, fallen leaves, spruce twigs are loosely poured inside the mesh cone.
Hydrangea is a beautiful flowering shrub, popular among gardeners around the world. The scientific name HYDRANGEA comes from the Greek "hydor" and "aggeion" - respectively "water" and "vessel". The genus includes 35 species that grow in East Asia, South and North America.
Why is hydrangea so named
The history of the name of the flower is quite interesting and is associated with the participants of the 1st round-the-world French expedition led by Louis-Antoine de Bougainville.
In 1768, the expedition sailed to the island of Mauritius in Indian Ocean. The crew settled on the island for a long rest. Philibert Commerson, a naturalist and physician, settled on the magnificent estate of Poivre, the governor of the island. He was accompanied by Jean-Henri Bernarder de Saint-Pierre, a military engineer with a passion for botany and Madame Poivre, a beautiful young woman who loved flowers and wore airy clothes. Madame Poivre preferred pink, white and blue.
One day, two men were walking in the park, where they found an unknown flowering shrub, from which an engineer made bouquets for Madame Poivre. This plant was brought from China and bloomed with blue or pink balls-inflorescences. Commerson, seeing a shrub, realized that this was a new species for Europe, he decided to name it in honor of Saint-Pierre's beloved.
That day, the Prince of Nassau-Siegen, a member of the expedition, the future Russian admiral, was also walking in the park. He talked about the beautiful sister Hortense, showed her portrait. Commerson, wishing to distinguish himself, proposed to name chinese flower name of the prince's sister. It so happened that instead of poivria, the shrub was called hydrangea.
Later, botanists-scientists gave the scientific name to the flower - Hydrangea (Hydrangia), emphasizing the plant's love of moisture.
How to plant a hydrangea (video)
Common types of Hydrangea
Hydrangea paniculata
It is found in Japan, China, in the south of Sakhalin. It grows in coppice sparse oak forests, on the edges of forests.
It is a shrub or tree up to 10 m in size. The crown is dense, rounded, the leaves are elliptical or ovate, 12 cm long. The leaves are pubescent, and more below than above. Flowers form panicles broadly pyramidal, up to 25 cm long. On the branches that form the fruits, the flowers are small, white, the petals quickly fall off. Flowers that do not produce fruit are larger, with white petals, which then turn pink.
Flowers are honey plants, appear from the age of 4 years. Hydrangea blooms from June to October.
The fruit-box ripens in October. It is small, 3 mm long, the top is cracking. Lots of very small seeds inside. Seeds have a high - 95% - viability.
The shrub grows quickly, is quite frost-resistant, prefers fertile soils, moist.
The plant is durable, lives up to 60 years.
Several varieties of this species are widely used:
- "Unique" is distinguished by large flowers, long flowering, pleasant aroma;
- "Brussels Lace" is decorative due to the large number of fruiting flowers, a very delicate variety;
- "Grandiflora" - blooms late, flowers are large, collected in pyramidal inflorescences, very large, up to 30 cm long; flowers are creamy white when they bloom, then become pure white, later turn pink, turn greenish-red in autumn; beautiful dry bouquets are obtained from this variety;
- "Kiushu" grows up to 3 m, the diameter of the crown is the same, the shape of the crown is fan-shaped; the shoots of this variety are hard, red-brown, the leaves are dark green with red petioles, white flowers emit a pleasant smell, rather large, collected in wide and long inflorescences; the variety is frost-resistant;
- "Matilda" - a shrub with a rounded crown and dull green leaves; large flowers change color, like the Grandiflora variety, forming inflorescences 25 cm long;
- "Pink Diamond" is a fashionable variety in Europe; flowers are creamy white at first, then dark pink, almost red;
- "Presox" is distinguished by the earliest flowering time, bred in Japan;
- "Floribunda" is a shrub with very large, round, barren flowers on long stalks.
Hydrangea
Upright shrub found in eastern regions North America. Low, usually 1, rarely 3 m tall. The crown of this species is rounded, the shoots are somewhat pubescent, the leaves are bare, ovoid or elliptical in shape.
The edge of the leaflets is serrated, at the base there is a heart-shaped notch. The top of the leaves is green, the bottom is bluish. The corymbose inflorescences consist of larger sterile and small fertile flowers. Blooms for the first time at 4 years old. The fruits are a small box of 3 mm.
The tree-like hydrangea is characterized by rapid growth, while, as the site notes, it is demanding on soil fertility and its moisture content. It tolerates soils with lime better than other varieties.
The plant is propagated by cuttings, which are almost 100% rooted after being treated with a solution of indolyl-butyric acid. More simple is reproduction by layering. To do this, in the spring they bend the shoot to the ground, lay it in a specially dug ditch 8-10 cm deep. This layering is pinned, covered with soil one and a half cm.
The upper part of the shoot is gently folded up (preferably at an angle of 45 degrees) and sprinkled with earth.
The soil must be kept regularly moist and loose. rooted young plant next spring, secateurs are carefully separated from the mother and transplanted along with a clod of earth.
Tree hydrangea is a wonderful ornamental plant for single and group plantings. It goes well with roses, lilies, clematis, looks great in combinations and compositions with shrubs and trees.
The most famous varieties of this shrub:
- "Annabel"- shrub with a wide spreading crown, characterized by the fact that the foliage remains green in autumn, fast growth and beautiful white flowers, gathering in large inflorescences;
- "Grandiflora"- abundantly and continuously flowering variety, growing up to 2 m and having a crown with a diameter of up to 3 m; light green leaves are very large - up to 16 cm in length, flowers - creamy white;
- "Sterilis" differs in long and plentiful blossoming; inflorescences so dense and heavy that they bend the branches; the flowers are whitish-green at first becoming pure white.
ground cover hydrangea
It grows in mountainous mixed forests in northern China.
It is a deciduous shrub with a wide rounded crown. The shoots are reddish-brown, the bark exfoliates in thin plates, covered with hairs. Leaflets are ovate, 12 cm long, their tip is acute, the base is wedge-shaped. The foliage is dark green, the leaves are bare above, hairy below. In autumn they turn yellow-brown.
Flowers, white at the beginning, become reddish or purple by the end of summer. They form umbellate wide inflorescences. One inflorescence contains up to 500 flowers that bloom at the end of July. To give the flowers a blue color, they are watered with a solution of alum.
Ground cover hydrangea is propagated by seeds, offspring, green cuttings, and by dividing the bush. Of all the species, this is the most drought-resistant, winter-hardy. Even in Arkhangelsk it calmly winters under the snow. In the Urals, the shrub may freeze slightly, but quickly recovers in the spring. Blooms profusely every year, making it highly decorative.
Hydrangea "Bretschneider"
It grows up to 3 m. The shoots of this species are chestnut-brown, hairy. The ovate leaves have teeth along the edges, dark green in summer, yellow-brown in autumn.
The flowers of Bretschneider are milky white. Barren flowers are greenish at first, then milky white, then turn purple.
About 500 flowers form large umbrella corymbs. The shrub blooms annually and abundantly in June-August. Flowers can be dried after cutting and used for bouquets during the winter.
This species is usually propagated by cuttings and seeds. Seeds are sown in May in a greenhouse or room. After 30 days, the seeds germinate. Seedlings grow 10-30 cm per year.
It is very convenient to propagate Bretschneider hydrangea with green petioles, because they take root well even without treatment with stimulants. This species is frost- and drought-resistant, tolerates good partial shade.
hydrangea oak-leaved
Shrub with felt reddish shoots. The leaves of the bush are very unusual. They are not solid, as in other species, but 3-7 lobed, resembling oak leaves. The base of the leaflets is wedge-shaped, almost truncated. The top of the leaf is dark green, bare, the underside is pubescent, white tomentose. Paniculate inflorescences consist of many white flowers, which are about 3 cm in size. When the plant fades, the color changes to purple. In September, fruit-boxes ripen.
Oakleaf hydrangea requires rich light soils, moist, without lime.
It is highly valued in ornamental horticulture because of the peculiar shape of the leaves, as well as because of the large inflorescences.
Hydrangea radiata
Grows in the east of North America in the forests on the slopes of the mountains. It is an upright shrub with pubescent shoots. The leaves are pointed towards the apex, rounded or semi-heart-shaped at the base. The edges of the leaves are serrated, the surface is bare, dark green, the lower part of the leaf is white-tomentose, pubescent, has a mesh venation. Inflorescences are in the form of a shield, along the edges there are many white sterile flowers up to 3 cm in diameter. Flowers appear in early July and until mid-August. By the end of September, the fruits ripen.
The radiant hydrangea is not very frost-resistant, but after freezing it quickly recovers, and flowers appear on the regrown annual shoots. It is recommended to cover the roots with dry foliage for the winter.
ashy hydrangea
Native to North America. It is an upright shrub with pubescent shoots. Leaves 6-15 cm long, pointed towards the apex, rounded or heart-shaped at the base. The edge of the leaves is serrated, the surface is bright green, the bottom is gray-felt, pubescent. Inflorescence corymbose, 20 cm in diameter. Blooms in July-September. Thanks to long flowering, it is an excellent ornamental shrub. At the same time, the ashy hydrangea is winter-hardy, and although the shoots often freeze over in harsh winters, the bush recovers very quickly. The following year, the plant blooms again and bears fruit on new shoots. It is usually propagated by cuttings, which are easily rooted without being treated with various stimulants. It responds well to mineral dressings, watering in dry weather. Faded blooms should be removed annually. Dried shoots with flowers look beautiful in dry winter bouquets. In summer, free-growing hedges are decorated with hydrangeas, especially beautiful against a dark green background of needles. It also looks spectacular in open places in group plantings.
serrate hydrangea
A low shrub, usually one and a half meters in size.
The shoots of this species may be bare or pubescent. Leaflets are ovate, also elliptical, with a sharp apex and a margin on both sides. Hydrangea is beautiful white and blue flowers in corymbs, median flowers are small, also blue or white, pink. It differs from other species by changing the color of flowers depending on the acidity of the soil. Blossoms from July sometimes until September, fruits ripen in October. It is very exacting to the soil and its humidity. Usually propagated by cuttings.
Hydrangea Sarget
Hydrangea Sajeta (Hydrangea sargentiana Rehder) came to us from East Asia. This species differs from others in unusually large leaves, very pubescent, dark green, up to 25 cm long. At the top, the leaves are pointed, rounded or semi-heart-shaped at the base. The shoots are thick, the hairs on them are thick, coarse, bristly, almost prickly.
This shrub loses everything above ground in winter, and the next year it grows back by 0.8-1 m. At the same time, it blooms annually in July. Her flowers are pale purple (bearing fruits) and white (sterile), the latter are located on the periphery of the corymbose inflorescence. The fruits ripen in warm autumn in October. The plant begins to bloom and bear fruit from the age of 13. Dying shoots should be cut off annually. For the winter, cover the roots with spruce branches or fallen dry leaves. It is recommended to plant this species in sunny, well-lit places. The soil needs to be moist.
Hydrangea rough
The homeland of the plant is Asia, where it can be found in the Himalayas, Taiwan, Indonesia, and central China. This is a deciduous shrub with a straight trunk, branched, woody at the base. The foliage is velvety, purple-green. The leaves are oblong, with pubescence. On last year's branches, on the tops, large rounded inflorescences of lilac-blue color bloom at the end of summer.
Rough hydrangea prefers fertile soil, neutral or slightly acidic. The place should be protected, hydrangea does not like direct sunlight. In the spring, a third of the shoots must be cut at ground level.
Hydrangea climbing or petiolate
It grows in the area of the island East Asian type: in Japan, Korea, in Russia in South Sakhalin, the Kuril Islands. Found in dense and sparse forests.
Climbing hydrangea is a liana-like shrub. She has a lot of aerial roots, there are suction cups, with their help the shrub is attached to the bark of trees and sometimes climbs up to 25 m in height along it. If there is no support nearby, then the plant spreads along the ground. It is the only species used as a groundcover.
The petiolate hydrangea has leaves on long petioles, broadly ovate, 8 cm, the base is pointed or heart-shaped. The foliage is smooth, shiny, dark green. Corymbose inflorescences are formed from white-pink flowers, the inflorescences are loose, with a diameter of 20 cm. In fertile flowers, the petals are fused at the top. Climbing hydrangea is a good honey plant.
Hydrangea is very demanding on the soil, which must be fertile. Prefers moist loam. The first years it grows very slowly, it is even surprising how much it grows later. Tolerates partial shade well, however abundant flowering occurs only in open lit places. The plant is propagated by cuttings, layering.
When decorating with a climbing hydrangea, the greatest effect is achieved when it covers its branches with dark green shiny leaves as much as possible. large area. To stimulate dense branching, the plant is pruned. If the shrub is used as a groundcover, then it usually does not need pruning, support is also not needed. In this case, dead, diseased, damaged shoots are removed. At vertical gardening prune a fast-growing plant intensively so that vertical growth and branching are in the correct ratio. At the same time, the stems must be tied up, directed and cut off, to stimulate the formation of side shoots. We recommend that you read the material about.
Reproduction features
Propagation of hydrangeas is carried out by harvesting cuttings from basal shoots. The procedure is carried out at the end of January or February: the cuttings obtained during this period give bushes by autumn. If you plant in March or April, you will get only single-stem seedlings.
To propagate the plant, the stems are cut right at the base. Each blank should have three internodes about 7 cm long. The lower leaves of the plant are removed, and the rest of the foliage is cut in half. A straight cut is made 4 cm below the internode.
Ready cuttings are planted in the soil, consisting of a mixture of sand and peat. During the first four months of planting do not obscure. The cuttings take root in about a month, after which they are transplanted into pots with peat, and at the end of spring frosts - to a permanent place, at a distance of 30x40 m from each other. After planting, the soil must be mulched so that it does not lose moisture. Planting care consists in removing weeds, watering and loosening the soil. In autumn, with the onset of cold weather, the plants are transferred to the greenhouse.
Hydrangea is also propagated by shoots, layering and dividing the bush.
The main mistakes when growing a flower
While hydrangeas are easy to grow, they may not bloom. This happens when gardeners make certain mistakes. To understand the reason, you need to pay attention to the following points:
- whether the acclimatization of the flower went well: if there was not enough heat or light, the hydrangea will not be able to develop correctly;
- does the flower have enough moisture;
- whether the upper parts of last year's branches were trimmed, and whether the flower bud was damaged;
- whether the roots are well developed: flowering begins only after the root system gets stronger.
Diseases and pests
If you take care of the hydrangea correctly, there should be no problems when growing it. But with incorrect agricultural technology, the plant can be affected by various diseases and pests described in the table.
| Name | Signs of defeat | Control measures |
| Powdery mildew (Pulveream rubigo) | White coating on stems and buds | Treatment of the flower with the preparation "Fundazol", removal of the affected parts of the plant |
| Downy mildew (Rubigo downy) | Dark oily spots on leaves and stems | Flower treatment with preparations "Fundazol", "Chistotsvet" |
| Rust mushrooms (Rust fungi) | Rusty spots on the leaves | The use of copper oxychloride, the drug "Topaz" |
| Aphid | Sugar discharge on the foliage, leaf fall | The use of the drug "Tanrek", tobacco dust, treatment of leaves with soapy water |
| Slugs | Etched notches and holes in plant tissues | Mechanical removal of slugs, treatment of the plant with the preparation "Thunderstorm" |
| Spider mite (Aranea minutum reddas) | Small yellow spots on the back of the leaves | Treatment with preparations "Vermitek", "Lightning" |
What is combined with hydrangea in the garden
Ideal flower partners are hostas (Exercitus), ferns (Fern), astilbes (Artemisia) and buzulniks (Primula). Also, hydrangea looks great against the background of cereal plants, goes well with Karmichael's aconites(Carmichael) and Arends (Arends). She has a good tandem with colchicum (Crocus).
Hydrangea can be a great background for many plants, but only at a certain height. Optimal in this sense is the Kyushu variety, whose flowers reach a length of 2 meters. Against their background, any mixborder looks great.
Other tall varieties are Levana and H. paniculata Taiwanform (this variety is also interesting for its corollas, reminiscent of a swarm of butterflies).
It is allowed to use hydrangea in a mixborder, but it is worth remembering that the plant is characterized by rapid growth, and it will have to be cut off periodically. But for creating hedges, this quality of hydrangea fits perfectly.
Hydrangea: cultivation and care (video)
Paniculate forms of hydrangeas look great in an array, but they can also be grown on a trunk. Neighbors for a flower in this case can be ground cover roses (Surgens), cuff (Alchemilla) or Cossack juniper (Cossack iuniperorum). In general, growing hydrangeas in the garden is not difficult. With caring care, she will delight you with her flowering for a long time.
Garden hydrangea is not a frequent visitor to our household plots. And it’s completely in vain, because hydrangea flowers have a wide color palette, are unusual in their shape and can become a real decoration of a personal plot.
In this article, we will take a short excursion into the past to acquaint you with the history of the hydrangea flower, tell you about the types and varieties of hydrangea, give some recommendations for planting garden hydrangea and caring for it, and, of course, we will provide the opportunity to enjoy garden hydrangea flowers on a photo.
Hydrangea flowers in the garden
The nature of central Russia is not rich flowering shrubs. This gap is filled by winter-hardy plants introduced from other places. Some of them (like lilac, wrinkled rose) are so fond of and widely distributed in Russian gardens that one gets the feeling that these are our "native" plants. Others are undeservedly overlooked and are still quite rare guests in the gardens. These include garden hydrangea flowers, although it is difficult to find a shrub that would be distinguished by such a duration of flowering in the second half of summer.
In addition, among garden hydrangeas there are species that perfectly tolerate a temperate climate and are distinguished by their unpretentiousness in culture. Therefore, it is difficult to explain such our "disgrace". But the active selection of this culture, which gives us more and more diverse varieties, contributes to the fact that various types and varieties of hydrangeas appear more and more often in the gardens of the middle lane.
Garden hydrangea flowers: historical background
Europeans got acquainted with hydrangea at the end of the 18th century, when the participants of the first French round-the-world expedition brought large-leaved hydrangea from the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. It got its name in honor of the beautiful Princess Hortense, sister of Prince K. G. Nassau-Siegen, a member of the expedition. There is also a more romantic version that it was named by the French physician and naturalist F. Commerson in honor of the charming beloved Hortense. However, there is a completely prosaic explanation that the name comes from the Latin word hortensis, which means "from the garden", since the bush was discovered in the garden of the governor of Mauritius.
Later, botanists, referring the hydrangea to the genus Hydrangea, gave it the name hydrangia, however, the old name was preserved in another name for this species - hydrangea. The plant received a new name for its moisture-loving nature. In Greek, hydor is "water", angeion is "vessel", which gave Hydrangea.
Types and varieties of hydrangeas in the photo
The genus of hydrangeas contains several dozen species (botanists still do not have a consensus on the number of species) and belongs to the Hydrangeaceae family of the same name.
Most species are shrubs with large leaves, less often they are small trees or creepers.
As can be seen in the photo, all types of hydrangeas have flowers collected in large corymbose or paniculate inflorescences and located, as a rule, at the ends of the shoots.
In most types of hydrangeas, the inflorescences contain two types of flowers: small fertile (fertile) flowers and large sterile (sterile), which are usually located on the edge of the inflorescences. The color of most species is white or pink.
Description of hydrangea paniculata and its photo
For gardening in central Russia the greatest interest hydrangeas are paniculate and tree-like. These hydrangeas are most often found in old gardens.
AT last years Hydrangea paniculata (H.paniculata) is being actively selected, and almost every year new varieties appear on the market. In the gardens of the Moscow region, its growth does not exceed 3-3.5 m. The description of paniculate hydrangea is similar to the description of tree hydrangea, the main difference is in the form of inflorescences.
Wide-pyramidal paniculate inflorescences of hydrangea up to 20-25 cm long consist of small fertile flowers and large sterile ones.
Look at the photo of panicled hydrangea above - the color of the petals is white at first, then they turn pink, and by the end of flowering, greenish tones appear in their range. This sign of color change is to some extent characteristic of all varieties. The large elliptical or ovate leaves are slightly pubescent above and noticeably stronger below.
The species and varieties are characterized by very long flowering. Early varieties bloom in June, the bulk begins to bloom in July.
But the late-flowering variety of hydrangea "Tardiva" ("Tardiva") should not be started, because it blooms in October, and simply does not have time to prove itself. It is worth noting that the Floribunda variety (Floribunda), which is very common in the West, is often found on sale under this name.
Hydrangea paniculata "Grandiflora"
Most often, the old variety of hydrangea "Gmndiflom" ("Grandiflora"), or, as it is also called in the West, "Pee Gee" (from the abbreviation of the name Paniculata Grandiflora) is grown in gardens. Hydrangea paniculata "Grandiflora" has large, dense inflorescences, consisting of sterile flowers.
Hydrangea paniculata "Limelight"
Hydrangea "Limelight" - the first variety with dense inflorescences of sterile flowers that have a distinct greenish tint, turning pink by the end of the season.
Hydrangea paniculata"Limelight" reaches a height of 1.6-2 m. A reduced copy is “Little Lime” (“Little Lime”) up to 1 m high.
Hydrangea paniculata "Pinky Winky"
Hydrangea "Pinky Winky", syn. "DVPinky"("Pinky Winky"), has conical openwork inflorescences with a large number of sterile flowers that acquire a purple-pink color. Hydrangea paniculata "Pinky Winky" reaches a height of 1.5-1.8 m.
Hydrangea paniculata "Phantom"
Hydrangea "Phantom"("Phantom")- a large shrub up to 2.5 m high with a spreading crown and very large pyramidal creamy white inflorescences. By autumn, the inflorescences of hydrangea paniculata "Phantom" evenly turn pink.
Hydrangea paniculata "Vanilla Fraze"
Variety "Vanille Fraise"("Vanilla Fraze") has a very dense large conical inflorescence, quickly acquiring a pleasant strawberry-pink color. A real vanilla-strawberry dessert. A bush up to 2 m high. A reduced copy of the Vanilla Fraise hydrangea variety is the Sundae Fraise variety (Sunday Fraise), reaching a height of 1-1.2 meters.
Varieties of hydrangea paniculata
Now the market offers a large number of varieties of panicled hydrangea, differing in the density and color of inflorescences, the height of the bushes, and the flowering period.
Dharuma("Daruma"), probably the most undersized variety. Small creamy openwork spherical flattened inflorescences become dark pink over time. The leaves also take on a reddish tone, complementing the red color of the shoots.
Hydrangea "Diamant Rouge"(Diamond Rouge) differs in large dense inflorescences and very quickly appearing juicy red color. Plant 1.5-1.8 m high.
Variety "Early Sensation", syn. Bulk("Early Sensation"), blooms very early with wide-conical openwork inflorescences. Fertile flowers turn purplish-pink quickly, complementing the deep purple shoots. By autumn, the leaves also take on a purple hue.
"Great Star", syn. "Le Vasterival"("Great Star")- a variety with very large white sterile flowers with elongated petals in the form of a "propeller", hovering over the main mass of small fertile flowers. Bush height up to 2 m.
Kiyushu("Kiushu")- an old variety up to 2.5 m high, characterized by erect shoots and openwork inflorescences. The described smell was not to be caught.
Hydrangea "White Lady"("White Lady"). Long openwork inflorescences are decorated with a few large flowers with jagged petal edges. The flowers remain white for a long time. Bush height up to 2 m.
In the variety "Wim's Red"("Weems Red") - beautiful shape bush up to 2 m high with large openwork inflorescences covering it from the top to the ground. It blooms in June with white flowers, which then turn deep pink and finally burgundy red.
Hydrangea tree and her photo
Another beauty that endures our climate is the tree-like (H. arborescens). This is a low shrub up to 1.5 m high with a neat rounded crown and slightly pubescent shoots. The leaves of the hydrangea tree are large, ovate or elliptical, serrated along the edge, with a heart-shaped notch at the base. The leaf is green above, bluish below.
As you can see in the photo, the arboreal hydrangea has a corymbose inflorescence, consisting of small white fertile flowers and relatively large barren ones. Blooms for a long time from the first half of July. In very severe winters it can freeze slightly.
Hydrangea tree varieties: photos and descriptions
As in the case of r. paniculata, not usually found in gardens natural look, and a variety of hydrangea tree "Annabelle" ("Annabelle"), blooming with large (up to 25 cm in diameter) inflorescences of white sterile flowers.
Much less common forms of this Hydrangeas "Gmndiflom" ("Grandiflora") and Sterilis("Sterilis") with similar dense hemispherical inflorescences of barren flowers.
"Hayes Starburst", syn. "Double Annabelle"("Hayes Starburst")- the first grade of hydrangea tree-like with double flowers, filling rounded inflorescences up to 25 cm in diameter. The flowers are greenish at first, then turn white. The bushes are low, thin shoots often do not withstand the severity of the inflorescences. The height of the bush is 0.8-1.2m.
"Incrediball", syn. Abetwo"("Incrediball"), - a variety that strikes with the size of spherical white inflorescences. The height of the bush is 1.2-1.5 m.
Variety "Invincibelle Spirit", syn. "Invincible"(Invincibell Spirit), conquers with large pure pink inflorescences from sterile flowers. Over time, the flowers fade to a light pink color. Bush 0.9-1.2 m high.
Sort "White Dome", syn. Dardom("White House"), characterized by large corymbose inflorescences with creamy white fertile middle and snow-white sterile marginal flowers. Plant 1-1.4m high.
In addition to these two species, other hydrangeas can also find a place in our gardens.
First of all, this is Mr. Bretschneider (N. bretschneideri). Some botanists do not distinguish it as a separate species, but consider it a kind of ground cover (N. heteromalla). It is not as decorative as the species described above, but has a high winter hardiness. Reaches a height of 2.5-3 m and forms a lush thick bush with a wide-rounded crown with dark green large leaves. It blooms profusely from the end of July with wide umbellate inflorescences, consisting of small fertile flowers, which are decorated along the edge with large white barren flowers, acquiring a purple-pink color by the end of flowering. Thanks to juicy beautiful foliage and openwork soft inflorescences, the shrub is good for creating a background and in informal living hedges.
Hydrangea leaves and their photos
Hydrangea attracts not only with flowers, but also with beautiful juicy foliage. At the same time, there are plants that have special decorative leaves. In the city of radiant (N. radiate) - sometimes it is described as a kind of tree hydrangea - large foliage, dark green on top and white-hairy-pubescent below. If the plant is planted in a windy place, then it will be possible to observe the "overflows" of foliage colors. It blooms from July with corymbose inflorescences with numerous white marginal sterile flowers. It is winter-hardy enough, but the root system should be covered, and the shoots should be bent to the ground. Then, in case of freezing of the shoots, the plant will quickly recover. The variety "Samantha" ("Samantha") has been bred with large leaves and a contrasting silvery reverse side.
Pay special attention to the photo of the leaves of the oak-leaved hydrangea (H. quercifolia). Unlike other species, her leaves are not solid, but lobed, resembling oak leaves, for which she received her specific name. In autumn, they take on a very beautiful red-purple color, adding to the charm of the bush. In addition, this species blooms with large beautiful paniculate inflorescences. Many decorative-flowering varieties of this hydrangea have been obtained, but it is not winter-hardy enough in our climate, and it is easier to get by with panicle varieties. But the species itself, and especially varieties with decorative foliage, can be used as decorative leafy plants, growing them as perennials. In this case, it is enough to cover the root system before winter, and in the spring new shoots with beautiful foliage will grow.
Hydrangea variety "Burgundy"("Burgundy") it is distinguished by a particularly bright purple autumn color of the leaves, and in "Little Honey" ("Little Honey") it attracts with golden yellow tones.
Petiole hydrangea and her photo
Having seen the petiolate hydrangea, or climbing hydrangea (H. petiolaris = H. scandens) in the Baltic states, some gardeners try to grow it in our country, forgetting that winters are milder in the Baltic states. In our climate, this species can be used either as a groundcover or removed from supports before winter. Additional shelter will not hurt either, since shoots may suffer in winters with little snow.
Look at the photo of petiolate hydrangea - this plant has large, corymbose, loose inflorescences, consisting of fertile flowers with marginal sterile flowers. On the shoots, a mass of aerial roots and suckers is formed, with the help of which this hydrangea is able to climb to a height of up to 25 m in the south. Thanks to its large heart-shaped dark green leaves, when grown as a ground cover, it forms a dense green "veil".
Large-leaved hydrangea and her photo
Of course, the most beautiful and desirable is the large-leaved hydrangea, with which the story began. Unlike other plants, it strikes with a variety of colors, and not only different colors: white, pink, red, magenta, blue, violet, but also their combinations.
As you can see in the photo of the large-leaved hydrangea, the variety of flower shapes and inflorescences is added to this variety of colors.
However, its winter hardiness does not correspond to our frosts, and choosing a reliable shelter option is not an easy task. If the shoots are not covered well enough, then they freeze out; if the cover is tight, but it is wet, the shoots will trample. If you cover too late or open too early in the spring, then the flower buds die. The most reliable option is when the hydrangea is grown in a greenhouse, then planted in open ground, again transferred to the greenhouse in the fall, and removed to the basement for the winter.
In recent years, new "winter-hardy" varieties have appeared, characterized by remontant flowering.
These are the popular Endless Summer series, abbr. ES (Endless Summer), and Forever & Ever, abbr. FE (Foreve Eve). “Wintering without shelter” they were made by sellers, since flower buds do not withstand frost, and shoots often freeze out. The main difference from old varieties is that they can bloom again on the shoots of the current year. But this is for the 7-8th climatic zone.
If you want to have flowering on last year's shoots, then the bush must be covered for the winter, and everything that was described above remains true for these varieties. If you still managed to keep the shoots, and your hydrangea has bloomed, then this does not mean that it will flourish a second time. In our zone, the season is shorter and the sum of positive temperatures is lower, so the plant may not have time to bloom a second time. For this to happen, it is necessary to create a greenhouse above the bush in the spring so that the plant begins to vegetate earlier; cut flowering shoots as early as possible; the bush should be planted in a sunny place and watered abundantly; conduct regular top dressing and have a “warm” microclimate on your site. In this case, you may be able to achieve repeated flowering.
Planting and caring for garden hydrangea
Plants are unpretentious, but it is better to choose open places or partial shade for planting garden hydrangeas (for colored varieties, a slight shading at noon is desirable). The place should be well-drained, especially for insufficiently winter-hardy species.
When planting and caring for garden hydrangea, you can not worry about the special saturation of the soil with minerals, this plant is not demanding. However, it grows and blooms better on loose, fertile, moisture-intensive soil with an acidic reaction (pH of the order of 5-6). Therefore, peat is necessarily introduced into the substrate.
Hydrangeas are calcephobic, which should be considered when choosing partner plants and using fertilizers. When the soil is alkalized or lime enters the plants, chlorosis develops. As the genus name suggests, hydrangeas are demanding on soil moisture and prefer abundant watering, especially on hot sunny days.
The soil when caring for garden hydrangea must be mulched to retain moisture. Plantings are also mulched before winter to cover the root system. To provide lush flowering hydrangeas in the open field require regular feeding. In the spring, after pruning, nitrogen fertilizers are applied, later (in May-June) they are fed with a complex fertilizer that does not contain calcium and chlorine, phosphorus and potash are introduced into the budding phase, and at the end of August - potassium sulfate. It is good to use manure infusions with superphosphate as a top dressing.
Growing hydrangeas involves mandatory pruning in the spring (April-May). The degree of pruning can, to a certain extent, adjust the height of the bush. Without pruning, the bushes thicken, which is reflected in the abundance of flowering and the size of the inflorescences.
Insufficiently winter-hardy species need winter shelter. The most reliable is pot culture, when the plants are harvested in the fall in the greenhouse and then transferred to the basement.
Today, a sufficient number of varieties have been bred so that you can choose a plant for your garden. The cultivation of hydrangeas is carried out not only singly or in groups, but also together with other plants. Thanks to its late flowering, it is indispensable for creating flower beds that delight us at the end of the season.
Majority hydrangeas (Hydrangea) - small deciduous trees or shrubs, not exceeding a height of 1 - 3 meters, but there are also tree-like lianas up to 30 meters high. In the Hortensia family, there are about 80 types of hydrangeas, almost all of them are native to North America and Southeast Asia, including Japan and China. Several types of hydrangeas grow in the Russian Far East.
All hydrangeas have opposite, rounded leaves with serrated edges. Large corymbose inflorescences or conical panicles appear at the ends of the shoots of the current year in the second half of summer.
Hydrangea inflorescences consist of large, very conspicuous flowers, consisting of four to five flat petals, however, these flowers are sterile, and small, very unsightly flowers, but producing seeds.
For reference: flowers from which seeds can be obtained are called fertile.
AT middle lane In Russia, only a few types of hydrangeas can be grown in open ground, namely: tree-like hydrangea, ashen hydrangea, radiant hydrangea, oak-leaved hydrangea, panicled hydrangea, large-leaved hydrangea, ground cover hydrangea, Sargent hydrangea, Bretschneider hydrangea, petiolate hydrangea.
- A very common type of hydrangea in our country comes from North America. Tree hydrangea is a sprawling bush of upright shoots up to 1 meter high, the shoots branch in the lower part, some lie down and take root.
In the hydrangea tree, light green, oppositely arranged leaves up to 20 centimeters long are located on long petioles. White or pink hydrangea tree inflorescences bloom from mid-July. The shape of the inflorescences is convex shields up to 15 - 20 centimeters in diameter, consisting of large sterile and small fertile flowers. In severe winters, unripened young shoots of the hydrangea tree can freeze slightly.
There are several varieties of hydrangea tree. The most famous - Annabelle, is a short shrub with dark green leaves and very large, up to 30 centimeters in diameter, round white or greenish inflorescences, consisting of sterile flowers.
The variety of hydrangea treelike Grandiflora is more common than others, it has large, up to 20 centimeters in diameter, inflorescences of their large sterile cream flowers, which turn green over time.
The Sterilis variety is very similar to the Grandiflora variety, only its inflorescences are slightly smaller.
For the winter, the faded inflorescences of the hydrangea tree must be cut off. Pruning of weak, diseased, dry or thickening shoots should be done either in early spring, before the leaves bloom, or in summer, when all the leaves have fully blossomed.
Hydrangea arborescens grows well in both sun and partial shade. It is undemanding in care, unlike large-leaved hydrangea, it grows well not only on neutral, organic-rich soil, it can grow even on poor soils, although flowering suffers greatly. Hydrangea tree is considered drought-resistant.
Tree hydrangea can be planted in the garden in groups on lawns, next to a pond, in a curb planting along paths. It can be planted next to tree groups in a Japanese-themed garden.
- ornamental deciduous shrub up to 2 meters high with a wide spreading crown. - grayish pubescence of the underside of leaves and young shoots. Ash hydrangea leaves are broadly elliptical, serrated at the edges, up to 15 centimeters long. Inflorescences corymbose, up to 15 centimeters in diameter. Blooms in July.
Ash hydrangea winters well in our climate, but in cold winters, young shoots can freeze slightly, although the bush quickly recovers in spring. In order not to take risks, in the fall, ashen hydrangea bushes can be covered for the winter.
Ash hydrangea, like the tree-like one, is undemanding to soil fertility and moisture, which makes it indispensable in planting medium-sized hedges. It tolerates penumbra well, decorative throughout the growing season.
- a very decorative deciduous shrub with a height of just over 1 meter. Oakleaf hydrangea is less known in Russia than Sargent's hydrangea, but it deserves attention due to its somewhat unusual leaves for hydrangeas. They are with 5-7 large lobes, reach a length of 20 centimeters, dark green in summer, bronze-red or purple in autumn, very reminiscent of oak leaves. The underside of the leaves is white tomentose.
The inflorescences of oak-leaved hydrangea are conical, in the form of a panicle, up to 20 centimeters in length, in which there are a lot of large sterile flowers, up to 3 centimeters in diameter. At the beginning of flowering, the inflorescences are white, then they turn pink, and in the fall they acquire a deeper, almost crimson color with greenery.
In cold winters, the oak-leaved hydrangea can freeze slightly, so it needs shelter.
Hydrangea macrophylla, or garden (Hydrangea macrophylla) is a small, less than 1 meter tall, shrub native to Japan. Large-leaved hydrangea has bright green, serrated, up to 15 centimeters long leaves. Among the cultivated large-leaved hydrangeas, there are forms close to wild-growing, with a corymbose inflorescence, with separate sterile flowers. However, along with these forms, varietal hydrangeas are already widely cultivated, in which spherical, up to 25 centimeters in diameter, inflorescences consisting only of sterile flowers, usually pink. However, their color can change from pink to blue depending on the acidity of the soil. There are also bred, resistant varieties with blue flowers.
Large-leaved hydrangea can be successfully grown in indoor culture, but it is most widely used in amateur gardens in open ground. It should be noted that despite the low winter hardiness, large-leaved hydrangea with great success, along with roses, wins our gardens and hearts)). Large-leaved hydrangea can be used to create a garden in a poetic style.
Among the variety of modern varieties of large-leaved hydrangea, there are plants with white, red, blue flowers, the edges of the petals can be even or jagged. The most frost-resistant varieties of large-leaved hydrangea are Blue Wale, Mariesii. Caring for large-leaved hydrangea.
Hydrangea paniculata (Hydrangea paniculata) - deciduous shrub with a wide crown up to 1.5 - 2 meters tall, which can be formed in the form of a small tree. Panicled hydrangea has very dense, oblong-round, dark green leaves, up to 12 centimeters in length.
Hydrangea paniculata is perhaps the most "northern" of all types of hydrangeas. It blooms from late June - mid-July to late August. Inflorescences are strongly convex shields, very similar to panicles, in which both sterile and fertile flowers are mixed. Hydrangea paniculata is a very resistant and profusely flowering hydrangea. At the very beginning of flowering, unopened buds have a greenish color, in the full dissolution of the inflorescence they become white, by the beginning of autumn their color gradually turns into crimson or crimson-violet.
Hydrangea paniculata is very winter-hardy. In late autumn, it is recommended to cut off faded inflorescences. In the spring, before bud break, the main pruning of the shoots is carried out. If the hydrangea is grown as a tree, then formative pruning should also be carried out in early spring.
Varieties of panicled hydrangea: Grandiflora - with long, up to 25 centimeters conical inflorescences, in which there are many large sterile flowers; Praecox is an early flowering variety with medium-sized inflorescences, but the flowers in the inflorescence have jagged edges, Pinky-Winky, Kyushu.
Hydrangea paniculata is good both as a tapeworm and in group plantings, it can grow both in open areas and in light partial shade, however, it is more demanding on soil moisture than tree hydrangea.
ground cover hydrangea, or mixed-haired (Hydrangea heteromalla) - deciduous sprawling shrub over 2 meters tall. Ground cover hydrangea is easy to form in the form of a tree. The upper side of the leaves is dark green, the lower side is light, covered with pubescence. Leaves up to 20 centimeters long, elliptical, with a sharp end and a wedge-shaped base, are located on reddish petioles.
Ground cover hydrangea blooms in July. The corymbose inflorescences are wide, but liquid, containing mainly small fertile flowers, among which sterile, larger flowers are located in some places. At the beginning of flowering, the shields are white, turning pink closer to autumn, sometimes they can also acquire a brighter crimson or purple color. Hydrangea groundcover is drought-resistant, winter-hardy, grows rapidly. Easily propagated, in spring and autumn - by dividing the bush, during the summer - by root offspring, green cuttings.
A neatly trimmed groundcover hydrangea bush is an excellent tapeworm.
Very similar to groundcover hydrangea, differs only more small leaves on short petioles and not so wide inflorescences. Hydrangea Bretschneider blooms in July, the color of the inflorescences is white, turning crimson by autumn. Grows well in partial shade. Hydrangea is highly winter hardy, does not require shelter for the winter.
A neatly trimmed Bretschneider hydrangea bush is an excellent tapeworm.
- a very unusual Chinese hydrangea with thick, erect, felt-pubescent shoots up to 1 meter high. She has very interesting - powerful, dark green, velvet - leaves. In July, reddish-brown scutes-inflorescences with rare white stars of sterile flowers bloom on the tops of the shoots.
Hydrangea sargent in our climate is grown as an ordinary perennial, because every winter the shoots freeze completely, under the root, but in the spring they grow back and bloom annually. Perhaps this type of hydrangea should also be paid attention to when creating a Japanese or Chinese garden.
hydrangea rough, or rough, (Hydrangea aspera), bristly hydrangea (Hydrangea strigosa), hydrangea felt (Hydrangea villosa) with leaves narrowed to the base and bluish flowers are the closest relatives of the sargent hydrangea. In the same way as the sargent hydrangea, these types of hydrangeas in our climate can be grown as ordinary perennial herbs. They grow well in open sunny places, and in partial shade.
All of these freezing types of hydrangeas will look best in mixed flower beds, including those with herbaceous perennials that mask them.
Hydrangea radiata (Hydrangea radiata) is an upright deciduous shrub with felt pubescence on the shoots. The leaves are dark green, serrated, semi-heart-shaped, light below, pubescent, with mesh venation. White shields-inflorescences of radiant hydrangea bloom in July.
Radiant hydrangea is sun-loving, but you need to monitor the moisture and fertility of the soil. Radiant hydrangea hibernates only with shelter for the winter, and even then it can freeze slightly, but it quickly recovers and blooms annually.
Hydrangea radiata looks good in group plantings on the lawn, it can also be successfully used for curb plantings along the path.
petiolate hydrangea (Hydrangea petiolaris) - liana, up to 25 meters in height, with small, green, glossy leaves and large, up to 25 centimeters, white scutes-inflorescences. Petiolate hydrangea can be used in vertical gardening of arbors, walls. It is quite winter-hardy, prefers partial shade.
General Hydrangea Care
Landing place
Hydrangeas prefer a bright place with diffused sunlight, so in the garden they are more suitable for partial shade - in the open sun, hydrangeas can feel good only with a thick layer of mulch. For freezing types of hydrangeas, you need to choose places protected from the north winds.
The soil
All types of hydrangeas prefer slightly or medium acid soils. They do not tolerate lime content in the soil at all. If you plant a hydrangea on calcareous soils, it will immediately develop leaf chlorosis.
In addition to high requirements for acidity, the soil for hydrangeas must be fertile and moist. Large-leaved hydrangea also requires high humidity air.
During the growing season, you need to monitor the soil: it should always be loose and free from weeds. Therefore, to reduce labor costs, apply soil mulching.
Watering
Watering, if there is no rain, should be regular, up to 2 buckets per week. Rain water is preferable, if not, then tap water needs to settle, a bag of peat can be placed in a container with water to soften, acidify. It is better to water early in the morning or in the evening, after sunset.
top dressing
Top dressing in spring and early summer can be carried out with a weak solution of potassium permanganate, slurry. From mineral fertilizers in spring and in the first half of summer, it is desirable to use acidic fertilizers, such as ammonium sulfate, potassium sulfate. At the end of summer and autumn - phosphorus-potassium fertilizers.
To change the color of large-leaved hydrangea flowers, aluminum alum or iron salts can be used.
pruning
Some types of hydrangeas need annual pruning in early spring, in the bud stage. If pruning is not carried out, then the bushes will stretch in length until they break under their own weight. Until three to four years, hydrangea bushes do not form. As a result, adult hydrangea bushes formative pruning is carried out annually.
All types of hydrangeas, except paniculate and large-leaved, should be heavily pruned. It stimulates not only the intensive growth of shoots, but also the formation of large inflorescences. Strong pruning of last year's growth is carried out annually, in early spring, leaving only 1-3 internodes on the shoot. With light pruning, there will be many small inflorescences. But paniculate hydrangea, on the contrary, blooms better with light pruning. In large-leaved hydrangea, it is very important to preserve last year's shoots completely, because it is on them that next year shoots grow with inflorescences.
reproduction
Hydrangeas are propagated by dividing the bush better in spring, with annual, non-lignified green shoots, they are cut when they are still flexible. Hydrangea cuttings take root both in water and under a jar. But it is even easier to propagate hydrangeas by layering and root offspring.
Shelter for the winter
The frost resistance of hydrangeas is different. Non-hardy, freezing types of hydrangeas require shelter for the winter. The base of the bushes is sprinkled with dry sawdust, peat, humus, sand, covered with leaves or nonwoven fabric. In addition, the large-leaved hydrangea is still covered with a box, and on top - with a polyethylene film or roofing material, so that melt water does not get inside the shelter, otherwise the shoots from high humidity may rot and there will be no flowering.
Information source: https://ru.wikipedia.org, http://dachadecor.ru
Image source: https://sorticulturist.wordpress.com, http://www.forestventure.com, http://punarinnanreviirilla.blogspot.ru, commons.wikimedia.org, www.canadaplants.ca, flickr.com: Kingsbrae Garden (3), Henryr10 (2), Nobuhiro Suhara (5), Luong Pham, Invincibelle Spirit (2), theroadhere, John Hagstrom (2), rachelgreenbelt (2), Danny Barron, dollywings [ Pat ], debra prinzing, The New York Botanical Garden, yokohamayomama, Jenny Walters, RPOP, sml106, Martien Uiterweerd, Robert Sarkisian, Roger Wasley Photography, Keishi Etoh, B. Bowen Carr, Kai Yan, Joseph Wong, Light Collector, Josiah Lau Photography, Vojtěch Zavadil (3) , JAYKAY144, Paco Garin, gartenknorze (2), Bernhard Demes, Geo F-Winterspoon, fam_Angjer, HEN-Magonza, John Hagstrom (2), Jon. D. Anderson, Tom Potterfield (2), Chironius, chuck b., Jörg Kaspari, ScotiaWolf, Ueli, Hans Runge, Alistair, Hickory Hollow Nursery and Garden Center, Quinta de Corujas, Ingemar Tømmerås, Tim Wood, sandra blanks (2) , Jan Smith, Laura Ann