Hydrangea in Siberia: planting and care, cultivation features.
Content:
Hydrangea has been gaining popularity among gardeners for many years. Thanks to breeders, new varieties of this beautiful shrub appear every year. The hydrangea itself is a heat-loving, southern plant. but if the shrub is properly cared for, it can adapt to almost any climate, even for cultivation in Siberia. But naturally it has its own characteristics.
Briefly about hydrangea. The climate in Siberia.
Siberia itself is one of the harshest places in Russia. The climate here is generally quite cold. The heat lasts only three months a year, it is very often cold and damp, and the Russian winter is often famous for its severe frosts, which sometimes reach 50 degrees. Autumn and spring in Siberia pass very quickly, and their warmth does not last long, the only outlet when you can bask in the sun is summer. But it's short enough. It is the climate that greatly affects the cultivation of flowers and other plants in Siberia. But hydrangea is able to grow even in such conditions. Despite its origin, gardeners grow it even in such harsh conditions. Some grow it at home in pots, and some do it successfully even outdoors.
Hydrangea varieties suitable for Siberia.
Naturally, for such a cultivation, you need to carefully choose the variety that you want to grow. At the moment, hydrangea has 40 different varieties, and this is not the limit, every year there are more of them. But in the conditions of Siberia, many of them are simply impossible to grow. But there are also varieties that easily tolerate Siberian frosts and, if properly cared for, they will delight you with full flowering. Frost-resistant varieties such as: Silver Dollar are best suited for Siberia - this variety initially grows large, white flowers, which eventually turn pink. This variety blooms, like all hydrangeas, for a very long time, and there are always a lot of flowers on the bush. This variety differs from the others in that it easily grows to a height of almost three meters.
Phantom - this hydrangea variety has practically the largest flowers of all. It easily grows up to two meters in height, and its flowers gradually change color during the season.
Pinky winky - this hydrangea looks very original due to the fact that it has two colors on its bushes at the same time. From below they are darker, and from above they are almost white. Such bushes grow in height by 2.5 meters.
Vanille fraise - this variety is able to radically change its color during the season. And in height it easily grows up to two meters.
Lime Light - this variety, like many, gradually changes its color, but unlike the others, which change from light, to darker, this variety initially has green flowers and gradually they turn white. In height, it easily reaches 2.5 meters.
Strong annabelle - this variety grows quite compact bushes with a height of only 1.5 meters, and a beautiful rounded shape.
Candiflora- this shrub reaches two meters in height and grows very lush and crown. It blooms for a long time, just like all other varieties. But the color of the flowers of this variety is quite unusual for hydrangeas, sand.
Annabelle - this variety is practically the most frost-resistant of all. It has many advantages for growing in Siberia.Its bushes grow very quickly and bloom in very large inflorescences.
Invincibelle - this variety is just as good for Siberia as the previous one. It tolerates almost any frost very well, its shoots are very long, and the inflorescences bloom almost to severe frosts.
All these varieties are great for growing in Siberia. They feel very good even in the harshest climates, but just like other varieties, they need proper care, because the bushes must develop correctly. Absolutely any species and varieties of hydrangeas need proper and special care. Although it is not whimsical at all in cultivation, the gardener is simply obliged to pay attention to it, of course, if you want to get a well-developed plant that will bloom profusely throughout the prescribed period.
How to choose the right seedling.
Initially, the gardener has a very important task to choose the right seedling for planting. First of all, you need to pay attention to the land in which the hydrangea grows. There must be an earthen lump on the root system of the seedling, which must be moist and uniform. Also, the shoots of the plant must be of sufficient length, be healthy, without damage and always flexible.
It is best to buy a seedling just before planting. Of course, it is best not to store the seedlings, but if for some reason it is not possible to plant it immediately, then it is imperative to observe the conditions for storing the seedling before planting: the earthen lump on the roots should always be moist and located in a dry and well-ventilated place.
When and where to plant it.
Of course, you can plant a hydrangea, as well as other plants, both in spring and in autumn. But as far as Siberia is concerned, it is better to do it in the spring. This is done so that the seedling can take root well over the summer and get used to a new place where it will have to grow for many years. During this time, the seedling will also have time to grow up and endure the winter well. It is in Siberia, when a plant is planted in autumn, there is a high probability of losing it, because it can simply freeze out.
Likewise, in the spring, hydrangea can be planted only when the frost has completely stopped, and there will definitely not be repeated ones. This mainly happens in the second half of May. This is all necessary because although hydrangea is frost-resistant, it can hardly endure temperature fluctuations, especially when it is young, or even just planted.
Regardless of the variety or species, any hydrangea loves acidic soils most of all. If it is not acidic enough on your site, then to correct the situation, special fertilizers are applied twice a year. this should be done in early spring, before the hydrangea has bloomed. And in the fall, when preparations for winter begin. It is the composition of the soil that plays a very large, and practically the main role in the cultivation of hydrangeas. After all, if the soil on your site does not suit it, then it will not develop correctly, and even more so it simply will not bloom.
Also, the right choice of place has a very important role in planting shrubs. Since hydrangea does not really like transplanting, the choice of place must be taken with full responsibility. Hydrangea is very fond of light and warmth, so the area on which it will grow should be well illuminated by sunlight, only these should not be direct rays, but a little scattered. Although this shrub can easily adapt to almost any conditions, so if it grows a little in the shade, it will not affect flowering in any way.
Mostly hydrangeas are planted as a separate plant. it is rarely planted in a flower arrangement. And all because the shrub is very large and all other plants will very quickly be lost against its background. Hydrangea is often planted as a hedge and is often used in landscaping.
After you have chosen the place where the hydrangea will grow in the future, the first step is to prepare a hole for planting.It should be at least half a meter in length and height. this size is simply necessary for the root system to develop well and have enough space. Before lowering the seedling into the hole, you first need to add special fertilizers to it, or simply mix organic matter with minerals. Also, there must be sand in the soil of the mixture, thanks to it the soil will be lighter and looser.
Before lowering the seedling into the hole, its roots must be shortened a little with a sharp tool. And the shoots are best cut off a little. Planting a hydrangea seedling should not be too deep. The root collar should be practically on the ground. After you have lowered the plant into the center of the planting pit, it must be carefully covered with earth, and then tamped well. And after you have done this, the newly planted plant must be watered with warm water. After all this, the land under and around the bush is best mulched, and peat is best suited for this purpose.
Correct care.
After the plant has been planted, it must be properly cared for. First of all, watering is part of the care. Since hydrangea is very moisture-loving, it should be watered often and in moderation.
Hydrangea also loves pruning very much. It is necessary to hold this event at least twice a year. Moreover, this must be done correctly, because a lot depends on this. In the spring, pruning should be done before the buds begin to bloom. But in the fall, pruning must be carried out before the first frosts begin.
When pruning, you need to: cut off old damaged and diseased branches, as well as weak shoots.
On all shoots of this year, several buds should be left, the rest of the length should be shortened.
If new shoots began to form on old ones, then they definitely need to be shortened, but this must be done so that three buds remain on them.
Since the hydrangea bushes are very large, its flowers are large and heavy, capable of breaking not very strong branches. Therefore, they definitely need support and they definitely need to think about it in advance, even when you just planted a seedling.
It is imperative to apply fertilizer to the bushes, but this must be done correctly and in due time. After all, it is thanks to top dressing that the flowering will be intense, long and abundant. And the intensity of the color of hydrangea flowers depends precisely on the acidity of the soil, and for this you also need to apply fertilizer.
For feeding hydrangeas, both organic matter and special complex fertilizers are perfect.
There should be several top dressings per season, but no more than four: the first should be done in early spring, before the shrub begins to bloom. The second top dressing for the shrub is needed already when the plant begins to bloom. The third feeding is carried out in the middle of summer, at this time the shrub is already blooming very profusely. And the last, fourth feeding is carried out when you start to prepare the plant for winter.
Despite the fact that special frost-resistant varieties are chosen for Siberia, you still need to prepare very carefully for winter. Indeed, despite all the tricks of the breeders, hydrangea is a thermophilic plant that can simply freeze out at any time.
Although all the varieties already listed grow well in our climate, they still need some care and they definitely need to be insulated for the winter. If, nevertheless, it suddenly happens that the hydrangea freezes, then it simply will not bloom, or there will be very few flowers and it will take a lot of time for it to recover. In order to insulate the hydrangea so that it can withstand any frosts, special measures must be taken. Firstly, during the autumn preparation for winter, the shrub must be spud to a height of at least 30 cm. The shoots of the hydrangea must be lowered to the ground, but it is best to put them not on the ground itself, but on whatever material.After you cover the hydrangea bushes, you must make sure that moisture does not get under the covering material. And in the form of a covering material, it is well suited: hay, sawdust, needles, etc. Naturally, this material must also be completely dry. Also remember to cover the young plant harder. This is because the older the plant, the easier it is for it to endure severe frosts.
Diseases and pests.
In hydrangeas, just like other plants, diseases are found. Although this is a rather rare occurrence, it can happen absolutely at any moment.
Among hydrangeas, there is a disease such as chlorosis. It appears due to the fact that the plant grows for a very long time in the same place and does not receive proper fertilization. because of this disease, the leaves of the bush begin to turn yellow. If you do not start treatment on time, then gradually the bush will begin to weaken and eventually die altogether. As a prophylaxis, and even the treatment itself, such preparations that contain iron are suitable. Also, hydrangea is often affected by such diseases as: gray and white rot, powdery mildew, septoria.
These are all fungal diseases that can live both on the leaves of a plant, and simply in the ground. Initially, they may not show their existence in any way, but as soon as you make a mistake in caring for a shrub, and it does not matter which one, the disease can very quickly show itself in all its glory and the fungus will begin to develop very quickly and destroy your plant.
If the disease is affected, the earlier you start treatment, the easier it will be to do it, and it will have time to inflict less harm. First of all, at an early stage of the disease, spraying the bushes with special preparations helps. And those parts of the shrub that were nevertheless affected must be removed from the bush and burned outside the site.
In addition to the fact that hydrangeas have diseases, pests can also attack it. It can be aphids, snails, spider mites, etc.
It is much easier to deal with pests, when they first appear, the bushes need to be sprayed with special preparations, if this is not done and the pests remain, then they can destroy the plant, and it simply will simply die.
Reproduction
With regards to reproduction hydrangeas, then there are several ways for this: seeds, cuttings, layering and dividing the bush. But most gardeners choose cuttings. After all, it can be carried out at different times and this almost always gives a 100 percent result. Cuttings need to be cut only from young bushes, it depends on this how quickly they will take root. And it is best to cut them off on the side shoots. Cuttings should have at least two buds, but not more than five. Cutting hydrangeas is carried out in the same way as cutting absolutely all plants, there are absolutely no difficulties in this. Before planting, it is advisable to treat all cuttings with growth stimulants of the root system, and only after that plant them in a pre-prepared mixture. In one container, you can plant several cuttings together, the main thing is that they have a distance of at least 10 cm.It is best to plant rooted cuttings in open ground in the spring, this is done for the objective reasons indicated above. If all the conditions for care are fully met, then you can easily grow a healthy, excellent flowering plant that will always delight you.