Hydrangea types and varieties for growing in the country. Blue hydrangea tree planting and care in open ground

Do you want your garden to smell fragrant and delight you with long flowering? Then you need to place a recognized garden beauty Hortensia, named after the princess of the Roman Empire. This perennial shrub will delight you from July to September with its spherical inflorescences, which first have a greenish tint, then at the very peak of flowering, turning into a bright white color, turning slightly yellow in the fall. And if you plant large-leaved, or garden, hydrangea, you can achieve pinkish or bluish shades. Let's try to figure out how to change the color of garden hydrangea.

In nature, there are several dozen varieties of hydrangea. However, only

Garden hydrangea is the only type of hydrangea whose flowers can be changed from white to blue or pink

Garden, or large-leaved, hydrangea is the most popular and widespread type of plant, which is an ornamental shrub. The scientific name of hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla), translated as “water vessel”, is explained by the increased moisture-loving nature of the flower. Hydrangea has large, egg-shaped leaves with pointed edges. The shrub blooms with lush spherical voluminous inflorescences. The most common colors are white or pink. There are also lilac and blue inflorescences.

The color of the spherical inflorescences depends on the acidity of the soil. By the color of the hydrangea you can determine the acid-base environment of the soil: pink color indicates slightly alkaline or neutral acidity, blue indicates increased soil pH.

Therefore, you can change the color of garden hydrangea by increasing/decreasing the acidity of the soil. It is better to take care of this before planting the bush. To do this, you need to decide in advance on a place in the garden, prepare the appropriate substrate, plant the plant and monitor the acidity level of the soil.

How to test the soil

Any gardener, even an amateur, knows that good harvest largely depends on knowledge chemical composition the soil of your site. One important indicator is acidity, or soil pH.

Soil acidity is a quantitative indicator of the content of acids and salts. The pH value is determined by values ​​from 0 to 14.

In relation to the earthen mixture, they mean the following

up to 4 – strongly acidic environment;

from 4.5 to 5.5 – acidic soil;

from 5.5 to 6.5 – slightly acidic soil;

from 6, 5 to 7 – neutral land;

above 7 – alkaline environment.

How to determine soil acidity yourself

Soil acidity is determined very accurately with a special device, but approximate values ​​can be measured independently.

We offer you several simple and available ways determination of soil pH:

• Vinegar essence.

It is enough to pour a few drops of vinegar onto a handful of soil and observe the reaction. If rapid boiling occurs, accompanied by the release of carbon dioxide, then you have an alkaline environment. Small bubbles and weak soil reaction indicate neutral acidity. The absence of any reaction indicates that the soil is acidic.

• Grape juice.

In a vessel with grape juice drop a pinch of soil. A change in the color of the drink and the appearance of gas bubbles indicate normal soil pH.

• Currant or cherry leaves.

Pour boiling distilled water over a few leaves. Cool the liquid and throw a handful of earth into it. The change in color of water after some time is an indicator of acidity: red water is acidic, blue is slightly acidic, green is neutral soil.

• Litmus paper.

Place some soil on a clean piece of fabric. Tie it tightly into a knot and dip it in distilled water. Wait until the water is well absorbed into the soil. Lower the litmus paper. A change in color will allow you to draw a conclusion about the condition of the soil: from yellow to red - an acidic environment, blue-blue shades - neutral soil. This is one of the most reliable methods. Litmus paper is freely available in agricultural stores.

Most in a simple way Determining the soil pH level is visual. If, upon careful examination of the soil, you see reddish-rusty shades, then the soil is highly acidic. A thin iridescent film on water accumulated after watering or rain is evidence of an acidic soil environment.

Video “How to determine the acidity of the soil and methods for its deoxidation”

Changing the color of the garden queen

Knowing the acidity of the soil on your own garden plot, you can achieve the desired color of hydrangea. Acidic soil with a pH level below 7 will allow you to grow a blue, moisture-loving beauty. An alkaline environment (acidity above 7) is good for pink hydrangea. pH values ​​of 5.5 – 6.5 will produce shades or a pink-blue mixture.

However, knowing the pH value of the soil and choosing a specific type of shrub is not enough. An important factor is the presence of aluminum in the soil. When the acidity is above 6.5 (neutral and alkaline), aluminum is not available to the plant, so the hydrangea will produce pink flowers.

Blue hydrangea needs acidic soil to help dissolve aluminum. In this case, the presence of aluminum is more important for the flower than the pH level of the soil. In addition, the availability of the element is influenced by the nutrients contained in the soil.

In general, the color of hydrangea is influenced by the type of shrub, the level of acidity of the soil, aluminum and the fertilizers used.

After planting, hydrangea, adapting to a new environment, can change color on its own. And in a year, the queen of the garden can please you with several shades on one shrub at once.

To control the color of the shrub, it is necessary to regulate the pH level of the soil. This begs the question of what to water with to change the color of the queen of the garden.

There are special agrotechnical techniques that help to achieve a change in the shades of inflorescences, which are best used on early stage bush growth. Let's take a closer look at them.

Pink hydrangea

Changing the color of garden hydrangea from white to pink

To change the color of hydrangea from white to pink, you need to maintain a pH above 6.5. If the acidity of the soil in your area is such, hydrangea will throw out pink inflorescences. Wherein additional measures there is no need to accept.

Acidic soil should be fertilized several times a year with chalk, limestone or dolomite flour. However, do not overdo it: it is enough to achieve acidity levels of 6-6.2. If values ​​exceed these values, soil chlorosis or iron deficiency may occur.

To provide the soil with essential nutrients, feed the soil with fertilizers that contain high concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus but low concentrations of potassium. Aluminum in combination with phosphorus forms insoluble compounds, which will prevent the appearance of blue inflorescences. Choose N:P:K fertilizer in a ratio close to 25:10:10. Ammonium monophosphate works great.

If the environment in your area is too acidic, then professional gardeners recommend planting hydrangea in large pots, using peat substrate with a small amount of aluminum salts as soil. In this case, the universal substrate sold in special stores is recognized as the best. This will make growing and caring for the pink large-leaved garden queen much easier.

Blue moisture-loving beauty

Changing the color of hydrangea to blue

To change the color of the inflorescences to blue, it is necessary to maintain an acidic environment (below 5.5 pH) containing a soluble form of aluminum available to hydrangea.

If your garden is dominated by acidic soil with a sufficient concentration of aluminum, then the hydrangea will independently fulfill your wish by producing blue caps.

You can increase the acidity of the soil by specially acidifying the root zone. To do this, it is enough to add high-moor peat or sulfur used in planting to the planting hole. agriculture. Then it is enough to regularly water with aluminum sulfate in a proportion of 15 g per liter. Make sure that the soil is moistened before watering with a special solution.

To change the color of a previously planted hydrangea, add high-moor peat or the bark of coniferous trees to the soil near the bush.

The change in shade can be affected by feeding with complex fertilizers containing potassium (high concentration), phosphorus (low percentage), nitrogen (average value). The ideal ratio would be N: P: K, close to 10:5:20. Do not use bone meal or superphosphate.

It is allowed to grow blue hydrangeas in large containers using ready-made substrates. Professionals advise choosing an acidic substrate for coniferous plants.

Video “How to change the color of hydrangea to blue”

By following the above recommendations, you will definitely get the desired result. However, don't expect your hydrangea to change color instantly. This period can take from several months to a year depending on weather conditions, quality of fertilizers and other factors.

When grown and cared for at home, indoor hydrangea is a semi-shrub spreading plant, reaching a meter in height, with large oval leaves (10-15 cm long) with jagged edges. Large inflorescences (about 35 cm in length) are umbrella-shaped and consist of sterile small flowers at the edges and fruit bearings in the central part.

The color palette can be adjusted using the soil: more acidic soil colors the flowers blue, neutral soil gives them a white or beige color, and alkaline soil gives them a lilac or pink color. The hydrangea fruit is a capsule with a large number of seeds.

Types and varieties of indoor hydrangea

White and cream hydrangeas

• Hydrangea Mme E. Mouillere – inflorescence diameter up to 20 cm, flowers from 1-5 cm, leaves narrow.

• – flowers of regular shape, inflorescence diameter up to 20 cm, bush height – 35-40 cm. Blooms early.

Hydrangeas Pink

• - a bush, up to 70 cm high, the inflorescences are quite large (30 cm) of a dark pink hue, the edges of the sepals are deeply cut. Starts to bloom late.

• – has small flowers (up to 5 cm) of pink color, collected in an inflorescence with a diameter of 16-18 cm. The bush reaches a height of 40 cm.

• – the bush reaches a height of 50 cm, blooms large flowers(up to 6 cm) in inflorescences with a diameter of about 25 cm. Has abundant flowering.

Red hydrangeas

• – burgundy-red inflorescences. It is possible to obtain a purple-burgundy color if you add iron salts or aluminum sulfate to the soil.

• – the diameter of the inflorescences is up to 18 cm, while the flowers themselves are small – no more than 3.5 cm, the height of the stem is 20-25 cm.

Blue hydrangeas

• - a tall bush with bright blue inflorescences.

• – This variety is distinguished by its compactness. Inflorescences with a diameter of up to 20 cm have a peculiarity: over time, the tips of the petals turn green.

Indoor hydrangea care at home

For hydrangeas, the correct temperature regime. On the hottest days of summer, the temperature should not exceed 20°C, and in winter, not lower than 10°C.

Indoor hydrangea does not like direct sunlight, so the most comfortable place will be the south side of the apartment, at a distance of 1-2 meters from the window.

If you have a garden variety, you can familiarize yourself with the rules for planting and caring for hydrangeas in open ground.

Watering hydrangea

IN summer time Frequent and abundant watering is required, reduced in spring and summer, and practically eliminated in winter (just moisten the soil a little, avoiding drying out).

Water for irrigation must be settled or frozen (thawed), room temperature. In addition, we must not forget about regular air humidification. Spray with a spray bottle.

Fertilizer for hydrangeas

Fertilizers are added once every two weeks during periods active growth(appearance of new shoots) and flowering. Mineral fertilizers are suitable for flowering indoor plants.

Hydrangea changes color

Indoor hydrangea has one more unusual feature, but actually the opportunity to make a colored bush.

This can be done using different compositions of the substrate, for example, adding a solution of ammonia-potassium alum (4-5/l) or iron salts will color the inflorescences blue, lime gives a pink or purple color, and white or cream flowers usually grow in neutral soil . Thus, you can make a colorful bush by adding different fertilizers to different parts of the pot.

Hydrangea transplant

Transfer indoor beauty carried out every year, increasing the size of the pot by a couple of centimeters. Replanting should be done with caution.

Place drainage at the bottom of the new pot, sprinkle a little new soil, then carefully remove the flower from the old pot, along with all the soil, and place it in a new place of residence.

Fill the voids with fresh substrate and water. After which a layer of peat is laid on top for mulching (slows down the rate of moisture evaporation).

Do I need to prune hydrangeas for the winter?

Pruning hydrangeas is required. It is held twice a year.

• The first, after the end of flowering, before wintering, when weak, withered shoots are cut to the ground, and strong ones - by half.
• The second time, in the spring, when new shoots become very long, they are shortened so as not to weigh down the plant.

Hydrangea preparing for winter

The hibernation period for hydrangeas begins after flowering ends. At this time, it must be removed to a darker and cooler place.

Having fulfilled this condition, the flower will have time to rest and gain strength after abundant flowering, and already in February the buds will begin to awaken (the plant can be returned to its usual place). Otherwise, the next flowering will not occur earlier than in a year.

Propagation of hydrangea by cuttings in the fall at home

Cuttings are the most reliable way reproduction. If you carry out this procedure in January-February, then by next autumn there will be a real bush of 3-4 shoots, and if later, the plant will put out only one stem. Cuttings with at least three internodes are cut from the root shoots. Lower leaves are torn off, and the top ones are cut by half (for large leaves) or by a third (for small ones).

A shoot approximately 8 cm long, placed in a prepared substrate of peat and sand, watered and covered glass jar or cropped plastic bottle, to ensure humidity. Ventilate every day and do not allow the soil to dry out. After about a month, the plant takes root and can be transplanted into a separate pot; for starters, 8-9 cm in diameter will be enough.

Dividing a hydrangea bush

The easiest way to divide a hydrangea bush. This procedure is carried out during the annual transplant.

To do this, the bush is carefully removed from the pot and divided into parts (the number of parts depends on the density of the rhizome), so that each has a sufficient number of roots and shoots. In each divided area, the roots and shoots are shortened and placed in new pots with prepared soil.

Hydrangea from seeds at home

Hydrangea seeds are sown at the end of winter, on a substrate previously prepared and poured into seedling boxes: a mixture of leaf, turf soil, humus, sand and peat (1: 1: 1: 0.5: 0.5). There is no need to sprinkle soil on top.

Moisten and cover with glass or film. Ventilate every day and moisten as necessary. With the emergence of seedlings, the glass (film) is removed and the seedlings are thinned out. As soon as leaves (2-3) appear on the young shoots, they are transplanted into separate pots (7-8 cm in diameter) with the same soil.

Diseases and pests

• Gray rot – affects the plant when the humidity is too high. Treatment: treatment with Bordeaux mixture.
• Spider mites and aphids – affects the bush with insufficient humidity. Treatment: wipe the leaves and shoots with a soapy solution and a sponge; if that doesn’t help, then treat with Actellik after a week.
• The leaves are turning yellow – insufficient watering, lack of nitrogen in the soil or the soil is too alkaline, which causes chlorosis. To restore their strength and color, iron sulfate (10 g/l) or iron sulfate (2 g/l) is added to the water for irrigation.
• Indoor hydrangea begins to dry out (tips dry) - due to insufficient moisture and watering, as well as lack of fertilizers. Correct the shortcomings, otherwise the next consequence will be the falling of leaves and buds. So remember to water, spray and fertilize as needed. Follow the plant, it will tell you.
• Indoor hydrangea does not bloom - this is a consequence of the fact that the plant did not rest in winter, but continued to grow and bloom, spending a lot of energy. At the end of autumn, the bush must be pruned and placed in a cool, dark place for wintering. And in the spring, take it back and continue caring, then the hydrangea will definitely bloom again.
• Appear brown spots on the leaves - lack of watering.
• Light spots on leaves - excess light. Move the flower into the shade. Hydrangea is afraid of direct sunlight.
• Slow flower growth – insufficient amount of fertilizers. Worth feeding.

Every gardener's dream is to grow special plant, plants with unique colors that will become the highlight of the garden. Blue hydrangea may well become such a plant. If you think that blue hydrangea is a type of hydrangea, then this is a little wrong. The term “blue hydrangea” combines hydrangea varieties with blue flowers. Also experienced gardeners know how to color inflorescences large leaf hydrangea in a bluish tint. In this article we will learn what varieties of hydrangeas have blue flowers, how to grow such plants, and how to paint the inflorescences blue.

Blue hydrangea - beautiful blooming garden shrub. It looks great in landscape compositions and is suitable for decorating hedges, gazebos, and paths. Currently, many varieties have been bred that can easily withstand winter and delight with their flowering for many years. A separate type"blue hydrangea" does not exist. The plant received this name for the shade of its flowers. Varieties of large-leaved hydrangea are mainly covered with blue and blue inflorescences. There are two- and three-color species that change their shade throughout the season. Today we will talk about planting and caring for blue hydrangea.

Hydrangea varieties with blue inflorescences

As a rule, these are large-leaved hydrangeas. They are distinguished by rounded inflorescences, long and abundant flowering. Initially, flower growers saw large-leaved hydrangeas in potted varieties. Such crops were not suitable for growing in open ground. They were simply freezing. And only much later were frost-resistant varieties developed. Which ones have blue flowers?

1. Hydrangea "Mini Penny". Remontant variety. Blooms on the shoots of the current year. It has lush green foliage and pale blue flowers collected in spherical inflorescences.
2. "Ramars". A small compact bush. Refers to multi-colored varieties. Some species are covered in purple or violet flowers. Others are striking bright blue and white.
3. "Freedom". Two-color variety. At the beginning of flowering, pink flowers appear against a background of rich greenery. Then their center turns blue and the edges turn white.
4. "Compeito." Hybrid variety with large lilac- blue flowers, the middle of which is white.
5. "Perfection". Rose-like flowers are pink at first. Then the hue changes to blue.
6. "Hopcorn Blue." A low bush up to sixty to eighty centimeters with tulip-like blue flowers. Blooms on shoots of the second year.
7. "Jomari." Compact bush with blue double flowers. It also blooms on branches of the second year.

When to plant blue hydrangea

The best time to plant hydrangeas is spring, when the ground thaws and the buds have not yet bloomed, and autumn - in September. When choosing a place for an ornamental foliage plant, keep in mind that it is better to plant hydrangea in the shade or partial shade, since bright sun causes slow growth, as a result of which the inflorescences become smaller.

Preparing the soil for planting blue hydrangea

The soil for hydrangea should be well-drained and moist, consist of a balanced mixture of humus, leaf soil, peat chips, river sand(2:2:1:1). Regardless of the type and variety of hydrangea, remember that lime in the soil negatively affects development. The soil should have a Ph level of approximately 5.0. Alkaline soil leads to chlorosis (yellowing of leaves). When a bush grows on alkaline soil, there is often a lack of iron and magnesium, which is manifested by light and pale color of the leaves. Therefore, acidify the soil or treat the bush with iron chelate. In past centuries, gardeners buried objects made of iron (nails, a jar, a horseshoe). When planting, prepare a special balanced soil mixture with fertilizers.

Planting blue hydrangea in open ground

The empty planting hole must be thoroughly flushed with water. The surrounding soil should be saturated with moisture. To do this, pour at least 3 buckets of water into the hole. After a day, you can start planting the plant. For planting, mix the amount of soil substrate required to fill the hole. Dry mineral fertilizers are added to the specified soil composition (50 g of fertilizers per plant) and mixed thoroughly. You can also use specialized fertilizers for hydrangeas. The planting hole is filled with prepared soil substrate, compacting it slightly. In the center, make a hole the size of a ball of earth on the roots of the seedling. The bush is placed in a hole, the roots are buried in soil. The soil around the bush is compacted by hand. If, after compaction, the planting hole is not filled enough, add substrate on top. After planting, the blue hydrangea is watered well so that the entire volume of soil in the hole is saturated with moisture. Following this, the soil is covered with a layer of mulch. It contains crushed bark or sawdust. deciduous trees. Mulching the soil is necessary to retain moisture in the soil.

When planting several hydrangea bushes, the distance between them should be at least 1 m. This is necessary so that the bushes, as they grow, do not shade each other. If you want to plant hydrangea in a row, you can dig a trench 90-110 cm wide. If you want to achieve more early flowering, then when planting, dig holes closer to each other (70-80 cm), and after 2-3 years, thin out the bushes if necessary. Planting pit Depth - 36-45, width - 51-65 cm. The roots grow mainly in breadth, extending much further than the crown. Planting depth The root collar should be located at soil level, a maximum of 2-3 cm lower, otherwise the flower will develop poorly. Now that you know how to plant hydrangea correctly, you need to care for the plant in a timely manner.

Caring for blue hydrangea

Caring for hydrangea consists of weeding and loosening the soil around it, organizing a timely and correct watering regime. In addition, to prevent rapid evaporation of moisture, it is recommended to mulch the bush at the beginning of summer with peat or sawdust.

In the fall, plants are fed with complex fertilizers, and in the spring with urea (2 tablespoons per adult bush, diluted in 2 buckets of water and watered). This allows them to develop and form large panicles.

During the growing season, the plant can be fertilized with slurry, but if you overdo it with organic fertilizers, the branches of the bush may break off under the weight of the inflorescences.

Pruning blue hydrangea

It is important to form the bush correctly. Gardeners do not like to prune branches, but in the case of paniculata hydrangea, without heavy pruning, you may not see abundant flowering.

Trimming rules:

1. In autumn, all inflorescences are cut off.
2. In the spring, all weak and frozen branches growing inside the bush are cut out into a ring.
3. In the spring, the annual growth is shortened, leaving no more than five pairs of buds on each.

This pruning helps the bush bloom more luxuriantly every year. What does “abundant flowering” mean in the case of paniculata hydrangea? Five year old specimen good care will please the owner with several dozen panicles, and a twelve-year-old with several hundred! The plant lives in the garden for 50 years or more. A specimen older than 20 years can be rejuvenated by cutting the bush to a stump. But even such pruning will not prevent the plant from blooming in the same year.

Protecting blue hydrangea from pests

Blue hydrangea is only affected by aphids and red spider mites. These pests feed on plant sap and are able to reproduce in large quantities. Very often, the lack of control against them leads to the death of the plant.

• Leaf aphids accumulate on the tips of shoots and petioles of the youngest leaves. Gradually multiplying, it sucks out the sap of the plant, which leads to curling and drying of the tops of the shoots. Only commercial insecticidal preparations for killing aphids can help in the fight against them.
• Spider mites are classified as harmful arachnids. Ticks are very small and often invisible to the naked eye. You can only notice the web on the youngest leaves of the plant. To combat this dangerous pest, there are drugs - acaricides and insecto-acaricides that destroy harmful arachnids.

How to grow blue hydrangea

Blue hydrangea is a garden shrub dotted with gorgeous flowers light blue hue. The plant looks very impressive, so it is widely used in landscape design for decorating alleys and gazebos in city parks, creating hedges around houses, decorating squares near municipal buildings.

Popular varieties of blue hydrangea

It should be noted that blue hydrangea does not refer to a separate representative of its species. It got its name because of the unusual color of the inflorescences in blue and blue shades.

This color of buds occurs mainly in large leaf hydrangea, there are also two-color and three-color varieties that can change their color throughout the season. In addition, by creating certain conditions during plant growth and watering with a special composition.

Experienced gardeners learned how to give hydrangea inflorescences a blue color.

Hydrangea bushes with blue flowers usually have large foliage. Inflorescences of a plant round shape, large in size and capable of blooming profusely for quite a long time. At first, large-leaved hydrangea was grown in room conditions, since it was a very delicate plant and did not tolerate temperature changes well. Over time, breeders became interested in this crop; they subsequently developed frost-resistant varieties with changing colors during flowering, which flora lovers really liked.

The most famous species of large-leaved hydrangea with blue and blue flowers This:

Blue hydrangea: planting and care

Selecting a planting site and preparing the soil

The best time to plant blue hydrangea is in March or September.

The place for garden plant you need to choose in partial shade, since the sun's rays can negatively affect the growth and development of the shrub, as a result of which the inflorescences will be small and the flowering will be short-lived.

The ideal place for a comfortable existence would be small lawn, located near branchy trees that will create diffused lighting for the hydrangea.

You also need to take into account that hydrangea cannot be planted close to other plantings, since a flowering bush, especially with good care, can grow greatly, so there must be at least 2.5 meters of free space around it.

To ornamental plant grew healthy and delighted you with its flowering for a whole year, you need to plant it in high-quality soil, saturated useful substances . Since hydrangea loves moisture very much, the soil where it will grow should always be moist and loose. To do this, you can purchase a special substrate in a special store or make it yourself.

When preparing the soil, you must not forget that blue hydrangea loves an acidic environment and does not tolerate it when there is a lot of lime in it. The following components must be present in the soil:

• Leaf soil - 3 parts.
• Turf - 3 parts.
• Coarse sand - 1 part.

Planting a plant in open ground

Seedlings of three-year-old shrubs are suitable for planting. You need to purchase them in special stores that sell plants for growing, where you will probably be able to buy a quality product.

You can plant a plant as follows:

1. Dig a hole 50 cm wide and about 40 cm deep and a day before planting, pour 5-6 buckets of water into it so that the ground is saturated with moisture.
2. The next day, you need to add nutritious soil and some mineral fertilizers to the hole to stimulate root growth.
3. Then the seedling needs to be placed in the hole and carefully sprinkled with soil, then lightly compact it around the plant.
4. Now the young hydrangea needs to be watered generously and peat or pine needles placed on the surface of the soil around the plant.

Caring for ornamental shrubs

First of all, blue hydrangea needs regular watering, as it very moisture-loving. Insufficient moisture greatly affects the flowering and well-being of the plant.

It is necessary to water 2 times a week, pouring 4-5 buckets of water under each bush. The main thing is to never allow the soil around the plant to dry out. IN hot weather bush recommended periodically spray. In winter, watering can be reduced to once a month.

Top dressing is also necessary step in caring for hydrangea. The first time the fertilizer must be applied in the spring, it should consist of a mixture of superphosphate, potassium sulphide and urea. The second time, fertilizing should be done in July, during the formation of buds, here you need to use superphosphate and potassium sulfide. And the last entry nutrients should be in September using organic fertilizers.

Periodically the bush should be subjected to pruning. If this is not done, the bush will grow to a shapeless mass and will not look at all aesthetically pleasing. It is recommended to carry out pruning in several stages, given that all varieties of blue hydrangea bloom on last year's shoots.

To put the plant in order, you need to do the following:

• At the end of March - beginning of April you need to remove it using garden shears a small number of old shoots, simultaneously removing dry and damaged branches.
• Annual shoots should also be trimmed a little, leaving about 6 buds.
• If the bush is too dense, some of the shoots can be cut off completely.
• With the onset of autumn, it is recommended to trim all flowers from the bushes.
• No fertilizing is required after this procedure.

At the end of November, the bush begins to shed its leaves, thus preparing the plant for the onset of winter. The dormant period lasts 3 months, and with the arrival of warm days, blue hydrangea comes to life again and begins to quickly recover.

Care in winter period caring for a plant is quite easy. To do this, you must first reduce watering, but not allow the soil to dry out. Feeding will not be needed at this time either.

If the hydrangea is planted in a separate pot, it must be placed in a cool and dark place, and plants that grow in open ground must be covered before the onset of frost.

How to make hydrangea blue

There are several varieties of large-leaved hydrangea that are able to change the shade of their flowers depending on the composition of the soil. If the soil where the bush grows is quite acidic, then the inflorescences themselves will change their color, for example, pink will eventually become lilac or purple, and white will acquire a blue tint.

But you can try artificially change color buds and here's what you need to do for this:

1. Before planting hydrangeas, add peat or sulfur to the soil to create an acidic environment.
2. You can regularly water the bush with a solution of ammonium sulfate - 15 grams per 1 liter of water to maintain the acidity of the soil. Before such watering, it is necessary to ensure that the soil around the plant is moistened with plain water, otherwise the solution may burn the hydrangea roots.
3. To maintain soil acidity, it is recommended to use natural products, such as solutions from orange and lemon peels, drunk coffee, pine needles.
4. Very good result To change the color of the buds, they also provide special fertilizers suitable for blue varieties of hydrangea.
5. If you bury some iron objects near the plant, this can also affect the change in the color of the inflorescences.

It is worth remembering that all these methods cannot be used for a long time, since the composition of the soil may irreversibly change for the worse and it will be impossible to grow other plants in this place. Therefore, experienced gardeners recommend planting blue hydrangea in special pots designed for such plants, which can be immediately filled with a certain soil and without any problems maintaining the desired composition in it.