Hydrangea paniculata: planting, care, description of varieties

Author: Elena N. https://floristics.info/ru/index.php?option=com_contact&view=contact&id=19 Category: Garden plants Published: February 21, 2019Last edits: January 13, 2021

Hydrangea paniculata (lat. Hydrangea paniculata) is a species of the genus Hydrangea of ​​the Hydrangeaceae family, common in nature in Japan, China and the south of Sakhalin. This attractive and fast-growing crop is widely used in landscape design.

Planting and caring for paniculata hydrangea

• Flowering: from mid-June to October from four to five years of age.
• Planting: in the spring before the buds swell or during leaf fall.
• Lighting: bright light or partial shade.
• Soil: fertile, neutral, without any admixture of lime or other alkalis, clay soils or red soil are preferred.
• Watering: abundant and regular: the soil in the tree trunk circle should be moist all the time.
• Fertilizers: fertilizers are applied 4 times per season: in early spring - organic matter with a high nitrogen content, during budding and in mid-summer - full mineral fertilizer, and in autumn - potassium-phosphorus fertilizer.
• Pruning: sanitary and formative pruning, and, if necessary, rejuvenating pruning is carried out at the end of March.
• Reproduction: most often by layering and cuttings.
• Pests: aphids, spider mites, root-knot nematodes, snails.
• Diseases: white and gray rot, powdery mildew, peronospora, septoria, chlorosis, ring spot virus.

Read more about growing paniculata hydrangea below.

Diseases and pests: control methods

Diseases in hydrangea can be different. They can be associated with poor nutrition, poor metabolism, or can be caused by a fungus or virus. If a plant does not receive enough microelements, it may suffer from chlorosis. You can identify it by the color of the leaves. The rich green color becomes pale or acquires a yellow tint. Special fertilizers with a complex of microelements will help cure plants. The fungus can infect the plant if timely pruning is not carried out. Fungal diseases to which bushes are prone include: gray rot, white rot, powdery mildew. If these diseases are detected, it is necessary to immediately treat with fungicides, copper sulfate and Bordeaux mixture.

When treating fruit trees and shrubs in the spring, you must also treat hydrangea bushes, because it is better to carry out prevention than to treat the plant.

You may also encounter a viral disease called ring spot. It is impossible to cure it. If detected, the plant is removed as quickly as possible and burned.

When growing Unique paniculate hydrangea, you may encounter snails, aphids, root-knot nematodes, and spider mites. Snails are collected by hand so as not to harm the inhabitants of the garden, including yourself. You can defeat aphids and spider mites with the help of insecticides, and you can also repel them with the help of wormwood, tansy and garlic infusions. It is very difficult to notice the appearance of nematodes, which complicates the fight against them. Most often they are discovered when the bush dies. As a preventive measure, bushes and roots of seedlings should be treated using copper sulfate.

Botanical description

Hydrangea paniculata is a shrub or tree up to 10 m high with shallow roots, the distribution area of ​​which significantly exceeds the projection of the crown. The leaves of Hydrangea paniculata are ovoid or elliptical, up to 12 cm long. Honey-bearing inflorescences are densely hairy, wide-pyramidal panicles up to 25 cm long and consist of large sterile flowers with a diameter of up to 2.5 cm, the greenish-white petals of which gradually turn pink, and small fertile white flowers with early falling petals. Hydrangea paniculata blooms for the first time at the age of 4-5 years. The fruit is a capsule that cracks at the top when ripe and contains numerous small but extremely viable seeds.

Description of the variety

Panicula Hydrangea Unique (Hydrangea paniculata Unique) is a spreading shrub bred in Belgium in the mid-twentieth century. The breeders who developed the variety are the botanist couple De Belliers from Antwerp. In 1993, a little over 40 years after its appearance, the variety was awarded the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

The Unique hydrangea variety has strong and tough shoots, densely covered with leaves. Plants can reach 2.6-2.8 m in height and have approximately the same width parameters. The bush grows straight up, forming a spherical, and sometimes irregularly shaped, crown.

The annual growth is about 20 cm. The inflorescences can reach 30 cm in length, they are “full” and abundant, as a result of which the branches can sometimes bend under their weight. The shoots are covered with a red-brown bark, which has a edge on young shoots, and with age “bald” and peels off.

The roots are well developed, have a superficial location and, under favorable conditions, grow wider than the crown. This circumstance should be kept in mind when choosing a place for planting: it should be spacious and without crops with a creeping root system growing nearby. The dense green leaves have a textured surface with jagged edges. They are arranged oppositely, sometimes in whorls of 3 pieces. The shape is oval, reaching 10–15 cm in length and 6–8 cm in width.

The inflorescences are quite large, broadly pyramidal, with rounded apices . They are formed on most shoots of the current season, at the base they are 20–25 cm wide, reaching a height of 30 cm. Unique does not bear fruit, the flowers are sterile, consist of 4 petals, the color of which changes with flowering time. Immediately after blooming, they have a light green tint, then turn white, and at the peak of flowering they become purple or pink.

Important! Unique or Unicum absolutely lives up to its name, as it has the largest bush and inflorescences among all hydrangea varieties.

The color of the petals depends on the following factors:

• duration of flowering;
• degree of illumination: in a place well illuminated by the sun, they acquire a pink tint, in the shade they turn green;
• soil type - in a substrate with an acidic pH level, the color becomes more intense.

Planting paniculate hydrangea in open ground

When to plant

The best planting material is four to five year old seedlings that take root well and can bloom within the year of planting. Hydrangea paniculata is planted in the spring, before the sap begins to flow, or during leaf fall. Seedlings planted in the spring will almost certainly bloom soon, but if planting is carried out in the fall, it is necessary to insulate the tree trunk for the winter.

Hydrangea paniculata can grow in partial shade, but in bright sun its flowering will be longer and more lush. It is very important that the plant is protected from strong cold winds.

• Campsis: planting and care, propagation, types and varieties

Growing hydrangea in the garden - planting and care

Hydrangea paniculata prefers soil that is fertile, neutral, without any traces of lime or other alkaline compounds, due to which it may, at best, bloom poorly, and at worst, simply die. Keep in mind that the plant's roots extend far from the trunk, so do not add chalk, dolomite flour or ash to the soil within a diameter of 5-6 m from the intended planting site. Do not plant bulbous flowers in this space that require annual digging of the soil - tulips, gladioli, hyacinths. Brown peat, pine soil or sawdust can be added to acidic soil to neutralize it. Hydrangea paniculata grows poorly in sandy soil.

How to plant

The landing site is prepared in advance. The pit for paniculata hydrangea should be spacious: depending on the size of the seedling, from 50x50 to 80x80 cm with a depth of 40 to 60 cm. The distance between two hydrangeas or between the hydrangea and other plants should be 2.5-3 m. Fill the hole with 2- 3 buckets of water so that the moisture saturates the ground well. The next day, fill the hole almost to the top with a mixture of fertile soil, sand, peat and humus (2: 1: 2: 1), adding 25 g of urea and potassium sulfate and 65 g of superphosphate to it and mixing thoroughly. Allow the soil to settle and settle.

The roots of seedlings are slightly pruned before planting, and in tree-like forms of paniculata hydrangea, annual shoots are also shortened, leaving no more than 3-5 buds on them. Only large-leaved hydrangea seedlings are not pruned, since the flower buds of this plant are located at the ends of the shoots.

Lower the root system of the seedling into the hole, straighten its roots and dig the plant so that the root collar is slightly above the surface of the area. Water the seedling well, and when the water is absorbed and the soil settles a little, the neck will be where it belongs - at the level of the surface of the site. Mulch the tree trunk of the seedling with pine needles, leaf humus or acidic peat and at first shade the plant from the bright sun.

Transplanting hydrangea Unique

After purchasing the plant, it needs to be transplanted into open ground. For it to take root, you must adhere to a number of rules.

What is needed for planting

Hydrangea Tardiva - description of the variety

First of all, you need to prepare the ground. It should be slightly acidic or sour. It should not contain lime. This plant likes moist, well-drained soil.

Note! The optimal age for planting a plant is from 2 to 3 years. Younger plants may not take root.

Optimal place

The plant is heat-loving, so it is best to choose slightly shaded areas. Even though it is drought-resistant, care must be taken to ensure that there is sufficient moisture at the planting site.

Important! The place where the hydrangea will grow must be protected from strong winds and cold.

Step by step planting process

Planting is carried out in autumn or spring. The sequence of actions when planting hydrangea is as follows:

1. First you need to prepare the planting hole. Its size differs depending on the type of soil. If the soil is light, its dimensions are 40x40 cm in length and width and 50 cm in depth. The width and length of the hole on loamy soil is 50 cm, depth is 60 cm. If the soil is heavy and clayey, then you need to dig a hole 70 cm deep, 60 cm long and wide.
2. A layer of broken brick or fine gravel is placed at the bottom of the hole as drainage - no more than 10 cm. Then you need to pour peat.
3. The roots of the plant are spread over the entire area of ​​the hole, the neck of the root is located at soil level.
4. The plant needs to be watered. The amount of water required is from 10 liters for light soil and up to 25 liters for heavy clay soil.
5. The bush is mulched with humus or peat.

Planting hydrangea

If the weather is windy or dry during planting, it is recommended to spray the plant.

Caring for Hydrangea paniculata

Planting paniculata hydrangea and caring for it is not labor-intensive. Garden hydrangea paniculata can grow near highways and in other unfavorable places, but if you want to see it in its best shape, do not neglect to perform simple plant care measures.

Hydrangea paniculata, like other species of the genus, is extremely moisture-loving, so the soil in its trunk circle should be slightly moist all the time. Do not allow the soil to dry out on hot days. Water the plant once a week, pouring at least 3 buckets of water under each adult bush. It is good to add potassium permanganate to the water for irrigation from time to time. In order to retain moisture in the soil as long as possible, the tree trunk circle is regularly mulched with leaves or sawdust.

Hydrangea paniculata is fed four times a season. In early spring, at the very beginning of sap flow, organic matter is added to the soil - a solution of mullein or bird droppings, for example. The next feeding is carried out during the budding period: a solution of 35 g of potassium sulfate, 35 g of superphosphate and 25 g of urea in 10 liters of water is added to the tree trunk circle - this amount is enough to fertilize 1 m². In mid-summer, hydrangea is fertilized with a solution of 25-35 g of granular complex mineral fertilizer in a bucket of water. Consumption – 2-3 buckets per adult bush. The fourth feeding is applied when preparing the plant for winter: in this case, use a special fertilizer for hydrangeas that does not contain nitrogen.

To form an ideal bush or tree, proper pruning of hydrangea is very important, which is usually done at the end of March. When forming a bush, leave from 5 to 10 developed shoots and shorten them to 3-5 buds. The remaining shoots are cut to the base. Old hydrangea is subjected to anti-aging pruning, shortening all shoots to 6-7 cm from the surface of the ground: next year the old plant will produce young shoots.

Hydrangea paniculata, like any other plant, can suffer from diseases or pests. Most often, powdery mildew and aphids cause trouble for her. To get rid of powdery mildew, you need to treat the plant several times every 10-12 days with one percent Bordeaux mixture or a solution of 20-25 g of Fundazol in 10 liters of water. Ordinary garlic will help to cope with aphids: 250 g of crushed cloves are poured into a bucket of water, left for two days, after which 50 g of grated laundry soap are added to the infusion, dissolved, stirring, and the bush is treated, trying to ensure that the solution wets not only the top, but also underside of hydrangea leaves. Treatments with garlic infusion should be carried out once a week until the aphids disappear. If garlic does not cope with the task, you will have to resort to the help of acaricidal drugs - Akarin, Aktar or Actellik, for example.

With the onset of cold weather, paniculata hydrangea in Siberia and the Urals needs shelter. Sometimes you have to cover hydrangeas in the middle zone if weather forecasters predict a frosty and snowless winter. The root zone is covered with a layer of rotted manure, peat or dry leaves at least 20 cm thick. As soon as snow falls, throw a snowdrift under the bush or tree.

What is the difference between paniculata and tree-like

There are other types of hydrangea, sometimes paniculata is confused with them. But in order to properly care for a plant, you need to know for sure what is actually growing in your plant. And it’s much easier to plan the design of the site this way. Different types of hydrangeas differ in the shape of the bush, leaves and inflorescences.

The most common hydrangeas are:

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• paniculata;
• tree-like;
• large-leaved.

The first two can be planted without problems in the middle zone and even in the northern latitudes of Russia - the shrubs will definitely bloom. In large-leaved hydrangea, flower buds form on last year's shoots. If the shoot is cut off, there will be no flowers. Therefore, you will have to tinker with wrapping it for the winter, or transplanting it into a container or greenhouse.

We will dwell in more detail on the more unpretentious types of hydrangea, and therefore more popular among gardeners: tree-like and paniculate.

Large-leaved hydrangea is still easy to identify by sight - large leaves noticeably distinguish it from its “relatives”.

First of all, when buying a seedling, carefully look at the label. The names are often written in Latin. Salespeople are people too, and sometimes they can get confused. The panicle hydrangea should say "hydrangea paniculata". The tree hydrangea is called "hydrangea arborescens".

Everyone watch! The difference between tree hydrangea, paniculata and large-leaved hydrangea is detailed and understandable to everyone

When hydrangeas grow older, the differences in the shape of the bush are more noticeable. In a tree-like shoot, each shoot comes from the ground and one bud is formed on it. Many such shoots form a bush. Paniculata has fewer shoots, but they are branched, each “panicle” bears several flowers.

The names can be misleading. It is the paniculate, and not the tree-like, hydrangea that resembles a tree. And its stems are usually thicker, then they become woody. This is why flower growers love paniculate hydrangeas: the bush holds its shape well and does not spread to the sides under the weight of lush inflorescences.

By the way, about them. It is easy to see the difference between the round caps of tree hydrangea and the more elongated inflorescences of paniculata. Color varies, but it is more common for paniculata to transition from white to pink during the flowering season. White tree varieties either remain that way or may turn slightly green in the fall.

See what you like best. In the meantime, we offer a selection of the best varieties of paniculata hydrangea for central Russia.

Reproduction

Most often, paniculata hydrangea is propagated by cuttings and layering. The remaining cuttings with 4-5 buds after spring pruning are placed for two days in a weak Kornevin solution, after which they are planted on a school bed, burying the lower cut in loose acidic soil for two buds. Cuttings of paniculata hydrangea must be protected from bright sun, and the soil in the garden bed should be regularly moistened, not allowing it to dry out. As soon as young leaves appear on the cuttings, the shading is gradually removed. For the winter, the cuttings must be covered with spruce branches. Next summer, it is better to remove the first flower stalks so that the plant can devote all its energy to growing the root system. Cuttings are planted in a permanent place at the age of 4-5 years.

It is very easy to propagate paniculate hydrangea by layering: in the spring, a low-growing shoot of a young plant is bent to the ground, pinned to it and the place of fixation is covered with fertile soil or peat. The cuttings are watered throughout the season, covered with spruce branches for the winter, and next spring they are separated from the mother plant and transplanted to a school bed for growing.

Application in garden design

Due to its attractive appearance, hardiness, and compatibility with other plants, Unique is actively used in landscape design. In addition, the variety tolerates polluted air quite well, which makes it possible to plant it within the city.

Can be used in various compositions and elements of decorative landscaping, such as:

• alpine slide;
• small Japanese garden;
• heather garden;
• as a tapeworm on the lawn or large flower bed;
• as the central figure of the composition surrounded by smaller shrubs (dwarf thuja or fir, boxwood, etc.);
• in combination with mahonia, lilac, roses, shrubs with red leaves (plum, Japanese maple, etc.);
• as a hedge;
• like a plant in tubs that can be moved from place to place, somewhat changing the image of the garden, changing compositions.

You might be interested in learning about the Baby Lace panicle hydrangea variety.

Since the shrub is quite large and lush, by planting it in a certain way and forming a crown, you can visually smooth out the layering or slope of the site (for example, by planting the shrub in a line on an inclined plane, at regular intervals, keeping the tops at the same level). Looks good surrounded by flowers, especially bright colors (roses, irises, tulips). It goes well with almost any color of pine, and thanks to its tall growth, Unique can be planted next to both tall and short conifers.

Varieties

We are sometimes asked to list the “names of paniculate hydrangeas”, the most popular in cultivation and at the same time the least capricious to care for, and are also asked to recommend varieties of paniculate hydrangea for the Moscow region. Actually, any variety of this species is winter-hardy enough for moderately frosty winters, but in conditions of abnormal cold, they all need shelter for the root zone.

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We offer you the best varieties of paniculata hydrangea.

Hydrangea paniculata Grandiflora (large-flowered)

A shrub that over time takes the form of a tree up to 3 m high. It is distinguished by later flowering than other varieties. Collected in wide pyramidal inflorescences up to 30 cm long, the large sterile flowers of this variety are creamy when blooming, pure white in full bloom, and then pinkish - becoming greenish-red closer to autumn. The lifespan of plants of this variety is about 30 years;

Hydrangea paniculata Vanilla Fraze

The plant is up to 150 cm high and has a crown of the same diameter. The inflorescences are large, similar to lilac clusters. The flowers are creamy at first, then they turn pink, and towards the end of flowering they become dark red. One bush can have snow-white and bright crimson flowers at the same time. Plants of this variety can withstand frosts down to -29 ºC;

Hydrangea paniculata Phantom

A plant up to 2 m high with a crown diameter of the same size. The inflorescences of this variety are large, dense, round-pyramidal. The flowers are light cream in color when opening, but become pinkish over time;

Hydrangea paniculata Pink Diamond

The inflorescences of this variety, up to 30 cm long, consist of creamy white flowers that gradually acquire a dark pink, almost red color;

Hydrangea paniculata Limelight

A plant extremely popular among designers due to its strong shoots that easily withstand heavy greenish inflorescences, which turn white in bright sun and pink towards the end of flowering. The leaves of this variety are green in spring and summer and turn purple in autumn;

Hydrangea paniculata Pink Lady

A fan-shaped shrub up to 2 m high with a spreading crown, straight brown shoots that acquire a reddish tint in autumn, and white inflorescences up to 30 cm long. Over time, a light blush appears on the fragrant white flowers, then the flowers gradually become soft pink;

Hydrangea paniculata Magical Candle

A plant with a spreading crown and large pyramidal inflorescences of light cream and green fragrant flowers, which turn pink in summer and crimson in autumn;

Hydrangea paniculata Vims Red

A plant with inflorescences up to 35 cm long, conical in shape, emitting a honey aroma. During the season, the flowers turn from white to pink, and at the end of flowering - deep red;

Hydrangea paniculata Diamond Rouge

A compact upright shrub with inflorescences up to 40 cm long, the flowers of which are initially white and then acquire a rich crimson-red color;

Hydrangea paniculata Sunday Fries

Dense compact bush with red-brown shoots, pubescent leaves along the veins and white flowers, which become lilac-pink by the end of summer;

Hydrangea paniculata Pinky Winky

A variety that was bred more than 10 years ago, but still has not lost its popularity. This is a small tree or bush with a wide-rounded crown and shoots that grow up to 30 cm annually. Powerful stems bear paniculate inflorescences of white flowers, which change color to pink-purple during the season;

Hydrangea paniculata Melba Fraze (Fraiz Melba)

A new variety, which is a tall bush with dark burgundy shoots with a brown tint and dense pyramidal inflorescences 45-55 cm long, consisting of milky white flowers, gradually acquiring at first a soft pink, and towards the end of flowering a rich wine-red hue.

In addition to those described, the following varieties of hydrangea paniculata are grown in culture: Silver Dollar, Little Lime, Kyushu, Bobo, Tardiva, Presox, Unique, Floribunda, Matilda, Darts Little Dot, Brussels Lace and others.

• Kandyk

Varieties of paniculata with photo

The list of varieties of paniculata hydrangea can take a long time. In the last year, several more varieties of newly bred representatives have appeared that are not yet widely used by gardeners. Among the most widely known are the following varieties:

• Hydrangea Bobo - the most popular, was bred by Belgian biologists. Its height reaches a maximum of 70 cm, which makes it especially popular, because in this case it is much easier to allocate a place for planting in the garden plot. This variety belongs to the early representatives - the flowers begin to bloom and turn pink in May. The appearance of the bush is quite dense with a rich green color.

Hortense Bobo

• Hydrangea paniculata Vanilla Fraze - the shrub reaches a height of one and a half meters, but this does not deprive the plant of its well-deserved popularity. Experienced flower growers are delighted with the density of the size of the pyramidal inflorescences. In addition, the inflorescences always acquire two colors - the top is painted white, and the bottom acquires a soft pink color. The resulting appearance is more reminiscent of an ice cream cone.

Hydrangea paniculata Vanilla Fraze

• Hydrangea Weems Red is a tall shrub, at least one and a half meters high. The variety has gained popularity due to its flower color. During the flowering process, the shade of the inflorescences changes from white to bright red, burgundy. In addition, this variety is frost-resistant, so it is suitable for planting in any region of Russia. True, in Siberia and the Far East additional covering of bushes for the winter will be required.

Hortensia Weems Red

• Hydrangea paniculata Grandiflora is a late variety that is actively used for planting in summer cottages in warm regions. Hydrangea Grandiflora changes the shade of its inflorescence several times. At the very beginning of flowering, the flowers are creamy white, and then become simply white. At the end of the season, you can admire the cone-shaped inflorescence of red-green color.

Hydrangea paniculata Grandiflora

• Hydrangea paniculata Diamond Rouge - a shrub variety that grows up to one and a half meters in height. The shades of flowers turn from white to soft pink, and with the onset of autumn the foliage itself turns from a rich green hue to orange.

Hydrangea paniculata Diamond Rouge

• Hydrangea Lightlime is a new variety that was bred by American scientists and went on sale only in 2014. According to the creators, the height of the grown bush does not exceed one meter. The popularity of the presented variety is still small, but the beauty of the inflorescences is delightful.

Hydrangea Lightlime

• Hydrangea Pinky Winky - the flowering time of the variety is from mid-July to September. The cone-shaped inflorescences are painted in two shades - the top is white and the bottom is purple. The inflorescences themselves are not so dense, so you can see the beauty of each flower. The leaves turn a rich yellow hue in autumn.

Hydrangea Pinky Winky

• Hydrangea Pink Diamond - this variety gained popularity in Europe due to the height of the bush. The average length of hydrangea is 2 meters. In Russia, these representatives are also planted, but mainly in large areas.

Hydrangea Pink Diamond

• Hydrangea Sunday Fries is notable for its spreading crown, which is quite difficult to “collect” into a bush and give the necessary shape. However, this variety is also popular in Russia, because its inflorescences tend to change shade from pale green to pink.

Hydrangea Sunday Fries

• Hydrangea paniculata Silver Dollar is a spreading bush with a maximum height of one and a half meters. Cone-shaped inflorescences are pale yellow. During the flowering process, the yellow color is completely lost and turns into pure white.

Hydrangea paniculata Silver Dollar

• Hydrangea paniculata Phantom - the variety belongs to the late representatives, because its flowering is observed only from mid-August to early October. The height of the presented shrub reaches approximately 2 meters. The crown of hydrangea is spreading, and the flowers are white with a soft lilac tint.

Hydrangea paniculata Phantom

This is just a small list of all available varieties. Some representatives have not even “reached” Russian gardeners yet, since they have just been bred and are only being tested in planting in their country.

Hydrangea paniculata in landscape design

Hydrangea paniculata, due to its loose conical inflorescences, brings airiness to the landscape. Its cultivation next to mock orange, lilac and spirea is justified, since its lush inflorescences replace the withered flowers of these shrubs. Combinations of hydrangea paniculata with clipped plantings of boxwood, spirea or cotoneaster are effective: this combination can enliven any corner of your garden. And climbing varieties of paniculata hydrangea will help create decorative verticals on the site, for which hydrangea is planted near the walls of buildings or large trees, away from drafts. Such plantings attract the eye not only during the flowering period, but also in the fall, when the hydrangea leaves acquire a variegated color.

Recently, growing paniculata hydrangea in large tubs or containers in well-fertilized, moisture-absorbing soil has become popular. In this case, you can ensure that inflorescences of different colors open on one bush. To do this, you need to divide the soil in the flowerpot into two parts with a partition and plant a hydrangea in each. When watering one half, iron salts are added to the water so that the inflorescences turn blue. Aluminum alum will help enhance the blue pigment. When watering the other half, simply use settled water.

Hydrangea propagation

Hydrangea paniculata Candlelight - description

This plant can be propagated by cuttings, dividing the bush, or grown from seeds.

Cuttings

Cuttings can be taken from April to June. To do this, you need to select green annual shoots at least 10 cm long from the crown. They should be cut at an angle of 90 degrees. At the bottom of the cuttings, you need to remove the leaves and treat them with a growth stimulator.

Then the cuttings are planted in a previously prepared soil mixture in a greenhouse. Then, after planting in open soil, the plant is covered.

Propagation of hydrangea by cuttings

In large-leaved varieties of hydrangea paniculata Unique, winter cuttings can be done. In October, the mother plant is dug up and planted in a pot. The temperature in the room where the hydrangea is located fluctuates around 2 degrees. By early January it rises to about 10 degrees.

In February, young shoots ripen. Cuttings are taken from them.

Important! The cuttings should have 2 internodes.

The lower leaves of the cuttings are removed, and only half of the leaf plate remains in the upper ones. Cuts from the lower leaves must be treated with a plant growth stimulator. Then the cutting is planted in a pot with soil. It is necessary to cover it with a plastic jar or bottle.

By dividing the bush, layering

Hydrangea Unicum propagates by dividing the bush in autumn or spring. It needs to be dug up and divided into several parts so that each has a kidney. Then they are planted. The planting technology is the same as for the purchased plant.

When propagating by layering, shoots up to 1 year old are bent and dug in. Approximately 20 cm of shoot should be left on the surface of the ground. In spring or autumn the next year, the shoot is separated from the mother bush and replanted.

Growing from seeds

Seeds are planted directly in open soil.

Growing hydrangea from seeds

Before this, the bed is dug up. The seeds need to be scattered randomly, trampled down and sprinkled with sand.

Rules for care and cultivation

Caring for paniculate hydrangea does not require much effort. It just needs to be watered and fed on time. It is also advisable to trim the branches once a year, then it will produce luxurious flowers (but we will dwell on this in more detail).

How often to water hydrangea? In hot weather, twice a week is enough; in rainy weather, water less often. But you still need to water - precipitation does not penetrate the soil deeply enough to nourish the roots. An adult shrub needs 30–50 liters of water at a time. It should be at room temperature.

To ensure that the soil does not dry out and that the roots have enough air, do not forget to loosen the soil, but not very deeply. And if you sprinkle it with mulch, then you can loosen it less often.

Now about fertilizer. Ideally, hydrangea is fed three times:

1. In early spring, when the snow melts and the air warms up to about +6℃.
2. May-June, before flowering begins.
3. Late summer or autumn.

Hydrangea does not like too much nitrogen. It is applied only in the spring, as part of a complex fertilizer. But there should still be no more than 10% nitrogen there. Then nitrogen is no longer needed; potassium-phosphorus fertilizers will be sufficient.

Before pouring mineral fertilizers into the soil, you need to water the soil abundantly, otherwise you will burn the roots. Follow the dosage indicated by the manufacturer.

You can also spray the hydrangea foliage, but not in sunny weather, otherwise the leaves will get burned. It is better to process them in the evening. For this purpose, the concentration of fertilizers is halved.

Finally, the key point for panicle hydrangea is pruning. With it you can adjust the size and number of flowers, as well as the timing of flowering.

• Hydrangeas produce fresh shoots from every bud, so if you don't prune them, you'll just end up with a bunch of tangled branches. All energy will be spent on their growth, so there will be few inflorescences, they will become smaller and paler. Such bushes are not very beautiful.
• Some people cut off dried shoots in the fall, others leave dried flowers - this is a matter of aesthetics and personal preference. There is a plus in autumn pruning - the branches will not break under the weight of snow.
• In spring, old shoots are cut off at any time after the snow melts and before the first buds bloom. The only thing is, don’t do this during the period of sap flow (this is clear from the juice on the cut). Either you need to catch it before it starts, or then wait until it passes.
• The later you prune your hydrangea, the later it will bloom. Therefore, sometimes they also do this: they cut off some of the shoots, for example, in April, and the rest in May. Then on one bush some branches will bloom first, and then others, and the flowering as a whole will last.
• Last year's branches are shortened by a third. Dying, dried parts must be removed completely.

Most varieties of paniculate hydrangea that we sell are winter-hardy enough for the Moscow region. But you can also take care of the plant and cover it before the onset of frost. To do this, the branches are tied and bent to the ground, litter and spruce branches are poured on top, and covered with film or agrofibre.

The measures listed are usually enough to make the hydrangea feel good. Planting and caring for it in the open ground does not take much effort and time from the gardener. It rarely needs to be replanted. Although experts recommend changing the planting location every five years, in practice, hydrangeas grow well for decades without replanting.

But let's say you needed to make changes to your landscape design. Or the hydrangea bloomed poorly, and you just now realized that you chose the wrong place. How to transplant it according to all the rules?