Low bush panicle hydrangea - a magnificent decoration of the garden. Long and spectacular flowering, easy care - all these features are fully possessed by the novelty - the Summer Love variety. Its inflorescences change their shade three times from snow-white to pink.
Hydrangea Summer Love (Hydrangea Paniculata Summer Love) panicled: description
The key characteristic of the variety is a compact crown, which can be formed by a bush up to 1.5 m high or a tree up to 3 m high. What form the plant will take will be decided by the gardener from the very beginning, carrying out systematic pruning in subsequent years.
A bush planted in spring blooms in the same year. It withstands winters with frosts down to −35 ° С. The branches poorly resist the scorching sun and strong winds, so they need quiet shelter from midday heat and gusts of wind.
Hydrangea Hydrangea Paniculata Summer Love
Origin and appearance of hydrangeas Summer Love
Under natural conditions, the bush is found on Sakhalin, in Japan and China. The progenitor of the Summer Love variety is able to reach 10 m in height, cultural varieties are much more modest in size. The roots mainly spread in breadth, capturing an area significantly larger than the crown diameter.
Hydrangeas in the garden
In all hydrangeas, the leaf has a saturated green color, an ovoid shape. In the variety Summer Love, it is up to 12 cm in length. It is considered a good honey plant. After the flowers wither, fruits are formed - boxes, inside of which there are numerous very small seeds.
For your information! How much exactly a bush or tree is able to live in one place is unknown, but specimens are recorded whose age exceeded 60 years.
How hydrangea blooms Summer Love
Inflorescences are very dense, have the shape of a pyramid up to 35 cm long with a rounded apex. The first flowering usually starts in mid-summer, and it is snow-white. The second comes three weeks later and is already pale pink, and the third begins three weeks later and acquires a deep pink color.
The long (up to 35 cm in length) hydrangea inflorescence consists of two types of flowers: some form seeds, and others crumble barren. As they bloom, the petals crumble. The barren flowers are located at the base of the panicle and are larger in size.
Note! The inflorescences are so large that they drop under their own weight as they bloom.
Hydrangea transplant Summer Love after purchase in the open ground
The procedure depends on what season is chosen for planting. In spring, this is done in April-May, when the soil warms up to 10 ° C. In this case, the bush has all summer and autumn to form a powerful root system. Autumn planting is carried out with simultaneous preparation for wintering, which involves sheltering a bush with underdeveloped roots.
Landing
What you need for planting hydrangea
Soil having an acidity of 5.0 is put into a prepared landing pit. Hydrangea does not tolerate calcareous and alkaline soils. The soil mixture can be made independently. To do this, take humus, leafy soil, sand and peat in a ratio of 2: 2: 1: 1. It is necessary to take care of watering. It is important for shrubs throughout the warm season. Ideal - place a barrel nearby for sludge water for irrigation.
Immediately after planting, the bush needs support, so it also needs to be prepared in advance. A metal rod or wooden rail is suitable at least 1.2 m high. The support is buried 30 cm into the soil, and the central shoot is neatly tied to the ground.
Important! In the first year of life, the shoots are fragile, therefore without support they can easily break under strong gusts of wind.
Choosing the best place
Hydrangeas need light, but either scattered or incident on it only part of the daylight hours. Suitable area near the walls and fences, giving a shadow in the afternoon. In addition, the plant needs protection from strong winds, because of which it can acquire a disheveled appearance due to the numerous broken branches and knots. In gardens, hydrangeas are often combined with pergolas. Ivy, maiden or ordinary grapes weaving along translucent supports create much needed shading.
Flowerbed with hydrangeas in the shade of a house
Over time, hydrangea grows and takes up quite a lot of space. Therefore, the planting hole is dug at a distance of not less than a meter from any other plants. It is also not worth planting it under the trees, too strong a shadow will prevent the inflorescences from forming.
Step-by-step landing process
It is necessary to act in the following sequence:
- Dig a hole measuring 30 × 30 × 30 cm.
- 2 buckets of water are poured into it, leaving for a day, so that the soil is properly saturated.
- 40 g of superphosphate are mixed into the soil mixture.
- A peg is installed at the bottom of the pit.
- Hydrangea roots are lowered, gently falling asleep with their prepared soil mixture.
- The root neck is placed flush with the soil level, it is impossible to deepen.
- Water immediately.
- Tie the bush to the support.
Note! So that the soil does not dry out too quickly, the trunk circle must be mulched. Then the sides are formed so that during irrigation water does not flow past.
Reproduction of hydrangeas Summer Love
All cultivars of hydrangeas easily propagate, so there will never be a shortage of planting material after the very first bush appears on the site.
Propagation by cuttings
The best time for harvesting cuttings is spring and summer. Before the buds are distilled, the bushes are cut to give them an attractive shape. Cut shoots are suitable for planting material.
Cuttings of hydrangea
For propagation, take apical shoots with 2-3 pairs of leaves and make a cut at an angle of 45 °. The lower pair is removed, and the remaining one is shortened, leaving half of the sheet plate. This is done to reduce the area of evaporation of moisture. The tip is also carefully cut to stop its growth. To accelerate the formation of roots, the stalk is immersed in a solution of epin. Next, choose the rooting method: in soil or in water.
For rooting in the soil:
- Take a container and fill it with soil with a pH = 5.0 reaction, into which a little clean river sand is added for loosening.
- Cuttings are buried in the soil to the level of a cut pair of leaves.
- Cover with a clear plastic or glass cap to create a greenhouse effect.
- The optimum germination temperature of panicled Hydrangea Summer Love is 18-25 ° C.
- Numerous roots should grow in 3-4 weeks, and new leaves will hatch from the remaining buds.
- Successfully rooted cuttings are planted in separate pots and grown until next spring.
Important! For panicle hydrangea, only rooting of green, not lignified cuttings is suitable.
Rooting in water lasts about two weeks. Cuttings are harvested in exactly the same way. If the roots have grown successfully, then the plant is planted in a pot and placed on the eastern windowsill, where it is looked after until next spring.
Note! By November, the seedling will discard the foliage. Then he should lower the temperature to 10 ° C, reduce watering. You need to return to heat in March.
Growing from layering
The event is carried out in the spring before buds open on a shrub. The lower side shoots are bent to the ground and dug to a depth of 2 cm. It is best to fix the layering with a wire pin.
Hydrangea propagation by layering
Watering the bush is carried out every day so that the soil remains moist. If rooting is successful, then by the end of summer a young shoot will appear on the trickled shoot. As soon as it grows 20-30 cm, a new bush is spudded. In October, they dig it out and transplant it to a permanent place.
Bush division
This method is also good for spring. In March, before the buds open, the bush is dug up, trying to extract as many roots as possible. Then it is divided into several parts, trying to injure it as little as possible. Then each part is planted in a new place. The technique is also suitable for rejuvenating old bushes.
Hydrangea Care Summer Love
There are not many key principles in caring for the shrub, but you should follow them carefully. A groomed bush will grow extra branches, strangle itself, and flowering will never be plentiful and magnificent.
Watering mode
The minimum watering regimen is once a week. At the same time, 1 liter of planting is poured into 30 liters of water. The soil under the bushes should always be slightly moist. If the region is arid and rains are rare, then watered as the soil dries. To prevent cracking of the earth, restraining weeds and retaining moisture in the soil, a layer of mulch is poured around the trunk.
Note! About how hydropic hydrangea is, even the fact that its name is translated from Latin means "vessel for water".
Top dressing
For each top dressing, the bush responds with active growth. With the first blossoming buds, it is worthwhile to introduce a complete complex fertilizer into the soil. When buds appear on the shoots, 60-80 g of superphosphate and 40 g of potassium sulfate per 1 m² are added. Until September, the same top dressing is repeated twice. If during watering you add a little potassium permanganate to the water (to a slightly pink color), this will make the growing shoots stronger.
Features of care during the flowering period
Since the severity of the blossoming inflorescences is very high, the shoots can strongly bend to the ground. To prevent this, use garter branches with bunches, as well as the installation of props. Welded metal structures, a low (up to 1 m) fence, wattle fence, etc. are suitable for this.
Hydrangea flowering support
Features of care at rest
When the flowering is completed, all wilted inflorescences are carefully cut with secateurs. Along the way, cut, damaged and growing inside the crown shoots are cut. In addition to watering in the warm season before wintering, when all foliage will fly around, it is recommended to carry out reinforcing watering - 3-4 buckets of water for each plant. This will strengthen the roots.
Winter preparations
For panicled hydrangea, the IV climatic zone is established. This means that the bush will withstand a drop in temperature to −35 ° C without harming itself. However, this applies to adult plants. Young seedlings aged 1-2 years must be sprinkled with a thick (10-20 cm) layer of mulch for the winter. After snow falls, it is best to throw snow on a bush with a snowdrift.
The Summer Love variety is one of the most effective in panicled hydrangea. During flowering, white and pink candles attract bees, turning the garden into a fabulous corner. Simple care and ease of propagation are attractive qualities, as well as frost resistance.
