How to care for a hydrangea, garden and room?

The genus Hortensia includes about 70-80 species of flowering plants. Some of them have the form of bushes, others - small trees, the third - lianas, able to climb a tree and braid it almost to the top, to a height of several tens of meters. Inflorescences in most hydrangea species - scutellum or panicle: they form fluffy "caps" of white, lilac, pink flowers. The bush covered with them looks extremely picturesque. Inflorescences in frizzy hydrangeas are scattered along the entire length of the lianas.

The most popular type of hydrangea, which is often found in Russian gardens - Hortensia large-leaf, numbering more than a hundred varieties. In Europe, it was introduced in the early 19th century. In the countries of South-East Asia hydrangea has long been cultivated as an ornamental plant. On the question of how to care for hydrangeas, the answer is as follows: planting it in your area, you need to consider that it prefers acidic soils. For this reason, hydrangeas are often combined in flower beds with other plants that require acidic soil. It does not tolerate calcareous soils.

The hydrangea is propagated by green cuttings, which must be cut from the plant in spring or early autumn, after the end of its flowering. Root them in a mixture of sand and peat for 15-20 days, then transplanted into the ground. Plant cuttings in the gardens in the spring, and in the southern areas - and in the autumn. For landing, choose a shaded area. The distance between the cuttings should be at least one meter. The roots of the plant are branched, they do not leave into the soil to a considerable depth, therefore, a pit is sufficient to plant a hydrangea, the length, width and depth of which are 30 cm. It is necessary to add 1/3 of a bucket of humus and peat, after planting, hydrangeas must be immediately poured . Considering how to care for hydrangeas, you should remember that she loves moist soil. Watering the plant is better than rain, in extreme cases - with standing water; The ground after each irrigation must be loosened.

As for the application of fertilizers, hydrangea reacts very well to fertilizing. Here the answer to the question of how to care for hydrangeas is the following: it is fed before flowering, in May. To do this, use a slurry solution (1:10). Top dressing should be repeated after two weeks. In addition, in the care of hydrangeas, so-called full mineral or triple complex fertilizers are used, which include phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium. In time, the introduced fertilizing guarantees abundant flowering not only in the current year, but also in the coming year, since flowers, for example, large-leaved hydrangeas develop from the buds of biennial shoots. This fact should be taken into account when cropping: pruning hydrangea with a tree and a panicle can be carried out without fear, since these plants bloom in the shoots of the current year. Regularly cutting the hydrangea large-leaved, you can not at all see its flowering for several years. This species should only remove dried shoots and last year's inflorescences, it should be done in the early spring.

To give an exhaustive answer to the question of how to care for hydrangeas, we can not fail to mention the protection of it from frosts. Hortensia large-leaved should be covered for winter, other species only in the first couple of years after planting. For the winter, the stems should be bored and covered with fallen leaves. To protect against frost of young small shrubs, cardboard boxes can be used.

In how to care for a room hydrangea, there are some subtleties. First of all, a flowering hydrangea should stand in a cool place, otherwise the bloom may stop. It is best to keep the plant on a glazed loggia, protecting it from direct sunlight. Spraying the room hydrangea, you need to make sure that the water does not fall on the flowers, otherwise they will remain stained. The soil in the pot with the plant should always be moistened.

Thus, the answer to the question of how to properly care for hydrangeas will be as follows: this plant likes coolness and diffuse light, abundant watering and regular fertilizing with mineral fertilizers.