Hydrangeas - planting and care

Hortensia, planting and care for which is not difficult, - amazing in variety and beauty of shrubs. They are appreciated in ornamental gardening for an extensive palette, a variety of forms of inflorescences, an interesting bark, curly large leaves, abundant flowering, and also unpretentiousness.

The hydrangeas (landing described below) are attributed to the extensive family of hydrangea, their genus is about 100 species. There are curly, deciduous, direct growing, evergreen, thermophilic and frost-hardy, as well as tree-like and dwarf hydrangeas.

Hydrangea leaves are oval, with serrate or wavy margins, large. Depending on the species, the flowers are formed in the inflorescence in the form of an umbrella, ball, panicle or cone. In the center of the inflorescence are fruiting small flowers, and along the edges - sterile large ones with 4 petals. Color can be cream, white, pink, blue, purple, red, raspberry and bright pink. The palette of one flower can consist of several transitional shades. The color of the flowers depends on the acidity of the soil (pink appears on alkaline soils, blue on acidic soils).

One of the most popular species is the hydrangea garden. Planting it and growing flower growers is very widespread, mainly because of frost resistance. The most valuable for cultivation in the home and in the garden are such types of hydrangeas: treelike, serrate, sarenta, petiolate, oaky, millet.

Planting hydrangea paniculate, in principle, like the rest of the species, begins with the choice of soil. Preference is given to loamy structural and water-permeable soils, generously flavored with organic, with acidic or neutral reaction. On alkaline soils, plants fall ill from lack of iron. In such a situation it is necessary to acidify the soil or grow flowers in a tub. When planting the plants are placed at a distance of about 2.5 m from each other. Dimensions of the pit are 50x60 cm and the depth is 40 cm. Straight before planting, the seedlings are shortened with roots. Planted, abundantly watered.

Very hygrophilous plants hydrangeas. Planting them involves further moistening and mulching (shavings, chips, bark, leaf humus, needles). As for lighting, hydrangea likes partial shade, but some of the species can grow with more sun.

Pruning is very important for these colors. Too frequent, it leads to meager flowering. The correct pruning is to remove the old inflorescence to the first pair of healthy and strong kidneys. Excessive thickening can be avoided by cutting off a couple of weak, very densely located or old branches under the root annually. It is advisable to trim in early spring, before the active vegetation begins. The hydrant hydrangea is cut more strongly.

The hydrangea breeds with uncoated tops of non-flowering (young) shoots in summer and spring, stiffened cuttings during the cold season, and species plants sowing seeds in unheated greenhouses in the spring.

Many growers like to breed hydrangeas. Landing them is not so difficult, and even care. But, like other flowers, they are affected by various fungal diseases, mildew, gray rot. Pests that damage this plant are aphids, weevils, acorns, spider mites.

In the garden, hydrangeas are often placed in very large groups, where plants of different species can be present simultaneously. But large, grown-up adult bushes look great alone. The branches of a hydrangea blooming look great in a vase. And the dried inflorescences are traditional elements of winter arrangements and poppuri.