The genus Hortensia includes ornamental plants, commonly known as hydrangeas, native to South and East Asia and the Americas. Most are shrubs between one to three meters high.

GENERAL CARE OF HYDRANGEA

Common hydrangea and mountain hydrangea in particular are very sensitive to too sunny a place and overwatering. Hydrangeas paniculatas are a little more robust and easier to care for.

• Location: The correct location is an important factor for a long and satisfactory life of hydrangea. These beautiful plants should be in a shaded or semi-shaded place. This is important, since, otherwise, the soil will dry out too quickly, when the hydrangea prefers it moist (but not waterlogged). In addition to the lighting conditions, you also have to pay attention to choosing a place as sheltered as possible from the wind for all species.
• Irrigation:

The water consumption of hydrangeas is quite high, since the enormous number of leaves causes some of the moisture to evaporate through them. In summer you should water them every day, even twice if it is in a pot. The watering interval is reduced in autumn and even more in winter. Make sure the soil doesn’t dry out completely.

In this video we explain how to know if you have to water a plant.

• Type of soil: It is recommended as a substrate a clay soil rich in humus that stores a lot of moisture. However, it must be quite loose and permeable to avoid stagnations.
• Fertilizer: It is best to use a compost or horn shavings. The right time to fertilize hydrangeas is spring, just before flowers form.

HYDRANGEA GROWTH AND SIZE

Different types of hydrangeas grow at different heights. Common hydrangea reaches a height of 100-150 centimeters. Hydrangeas paniculatas, on the other hand, can grow up to 3 meters tall.

Some species of climbing hydrangeas can grow up to several meters in height, as they can stick to walls and trees with their adhesive roots and can therefore reach extremely high.

The growth width of hydrangea species is between 80 and 150 centimeters. You should pay attention to this when planting young hydrangeas so that they do not come in the way of each other. The growth per year is between 10 and 50 centimeters, depending also on the variety.

HOW ARE HYDRANGEAS PRUNED?

Not all varieties of hydrangeas are cut in the same way. Plants are divided into types that are only lightly pruned and those that should be pruned in autumn.

Hydrangeas that should be pruned little:

• Common hydrangea
• Hydrangea arborescens (Hydrangea arborescens))
• Oak leaf hydrangea
• Climbing hydrangea
• Rough-leaved hydrangea
• Mountain hydrangea

These species must be pruned in spring when the frosts end and form their new cocoons in autumn. In spring, therefore, only cut the tips of frozen shoots and old inflorescences above the first pair of shoots.

Hydrangeas for pruning in autumn:

• Hydrangea paniculata
• Hydrangea snowball

Cut both types of hydrangeas in summer, in late autumn, all old shoots can be cut near the ground above a pair of eyes. These two species produce new strong shoots with large flowers in the flowering year.

To do this, put your hand directly on the base of the blade and break carefully by bending to one side. A new flower will form at this point after 5 to 6 weeks.

HOW TO MAKE HYDRANGEA FLOWERS BLUE

Most hydrangeas begin to bloom in June and brighten up gardens and terraces with their white, blue, pink or purple flowers, depending in part on the pH of the soil, well into autumn.

Pink hydrangeas can turn blue with special fertilization. For this, the plant needs an acidic soil with a pH of 4 to 4.5, which can be achieved using a fertilizer rich in potassium and coffee grounds.

On the other hand, in alkaline soils, with a pH between 6 and 6.5, the flowers acquire a pink color; and in alkaline soils with pH around 8, the flowers grow white.

HYDRANGEAS IN WINTER

This perennial resist sub-zero temperatures well. However, you should cover the neck of the root 10-20 cm high with bark mulch, compost or garden soil.

You can wrap the plant with a breathable fabric, such as a winter fleece. It is important that you do not use any airtight material, if the plant is already too large to wrap separately, avoid pruning it in autumn so that sensitive shoots are not exposed to direct frost after pruning.

Hydrangeas as pot plants spend the winter best in the basement, in the garage or in a garden shed. Protection from frost and darkness causes the plant to minimize the metabolic cycle. This in turn favors the formation of buds in spring. There is also no pruning, since the shoots do not usually die. The only problem is that the temperature should not exceed 5 degrees or fall below 3 degrees and should remain relatively constant.

If you do not have a basement or the possibility of moving the plant in the pot, then some preparation for the cold season is necessary. Wrap the pot with a coconut or jute mat. Do not use Styrofoam, as these airtight materials are not suitable.

In addition, the pot should be moved next to a wall of the house and / or placed on an insulating board to prevent frost from the soil from coming into contact with the pot. In this case, you should also cover the soil of the pot with mulch or similar and pack the plant.

ARE HYDRANGEAS POISONOUS?

Hydrangeas are classified as mildly toxic. If large amounts of leaves are consumed, it can lead to poisoning. Symptoms are dizziness, shortness of breath, cramps and circulatory problems.

The plant is also considered poisonous to animals. However, to cause real problems, dogs, cats and the like would have to ingest a large amount.

HOW DO HYDRANGEAS REPRODUCE?

The propagation of hydrangeas is very easy, suitable even for amateur gardeners without much skill. You can propagate hydrangea by cuttings or by dividing the mother plant. Propagation from seeds is practically impossible for amateur gardeners.

If you have a large hydrangea bush, you can divide the root. However, it is not suitable for all varieties of hydrangeas – the snowball is suitable for propagation by division, but panicle hydrangea is not.

If you want to divide the hydrangea, you need to dig up the healthy and vigorous mother plant in spring or autumn, carefully divide the root ball and replant the two “new” plants.

But the easiest way to propagate hydrangeas is to use so-called top cuttings.

HOW IS A HYDRANGEA CUTTING MADE?

When reproduced through cuttings, new plants inherit the growth characteristics of the mother plant. Therefore, it is essential to choose a plant with good flowers.

1. In June or July, cut off the green shoots under the third pair of leaves. Buds should be about 8 cm long and have no flower buds.
2. Remove both the bottom pair of leaves and the top pair of leaves along with the tip of the shoot with a sharp knife. What remains is the middle pair of leaves.
3. Reduce the remaining two blades by half by cutting the tip of the blade with sharp scissors. If the leaves are divided, evaporation is reduced, cutting saves energy and forms roots faster.
4. Place the cutting about 4 cm deep in a pot with “potting soil”.
5. Put the cutting in a mini greenhouse in a warm, but not sunny, place for the first two to three weeks, or cover the pot with a clear plastic bag. Since cuttings do not yet have roots to absorb water, it is important that there is plenty of moisture.
6. It is important to ventilate briefly once a day so that mold does not grow on the ground.
7. After three weeks, you can remove the cover for hours to slowly acclimate the hydrangea to life without a cover.
8. When the small hydrangeas have formed the first pair of new leaves, the cuttings will be ready to move into larger pots.

TIPS FOR THE REPRODUCTION OF HYDRANGEAS

• Submerging the lower end of the shoot in powder for rooting (available in garden centers) gives the bud the best chance of developing new roots.
• The so-called “potting soil” is very suitable for propagation of cuttings.

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