Preparing for the winter of hydrangea growing in the open field

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-12 17:37

For a beautiful and abundant flowering of hydrangeas, you should prepare it for wintering with full responsibility, otherwise you will not be able to see a lush bush in the summer. If you follow certain rules, a hydrangea growing in an open field will thank the hostess with powerful bushes with a multi-colored palette of inflorescences. How to do this correctly, you should find out in advance in order to be in time for the cold weather.

Correct pruning

Breeders offer many varieties of outdoor hydrangeas that tolerate wintering well without the need for shelter. Some of them can only be sheltered in very harsh winters.

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To do this, you just need to follow the rules for pruning bushes. It should be borne in mind that, depending on the variety, the branches will have to be shortened either very shortly, or very little.

Therefore, correct pruning serves as the basis for the formation of a bush and preparation for abundant flowering, both in summer and next year.

For large-leaved varieties of hydrangea, pruning of shoots is done very insignificantly. This is due to the fact that flower buds are laid on last year's branches. Therefore, you should not cut short the shoots of this year, it is they that will provide abundant flowering to the bush. Hydrangea tree-like and paniculate, on the contrary, gives flowers on young shoots, so pruning is done by shortening old branches, thereby stimulating the active growth of new shoots.

Pruning can be both autumn and spring. For plants that form new flower buds on old branches, pruning is done very little in the fall. The overgrown shoots of last year should be cut off, older and damaged branches can be completely removed.

Hydrangeas, which give flowers on young shoots of this year, make pruning more radical, removing all damaged, dry and old branches. For such pruning, a more suitable time is spring, during the beginning of the growing season of the bush.

Bush shelter options

Hydrangea has always been considered a thermophilic plant. Today, varieties have been bred that can endure wintering without shelter. However, for better preservation of the bush, it is better to provide it with a reliable shelter for the winter. Mostly frosts affect the delicate flower buds located at the tips of the branches, therefore, the shelter of the hydrangea growing in the open field should be made of high-quality and warm material.

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Preparation of bushes for subzero temperatures can be carried out in two ways.

The bush is inspected and all weak, thin and malformed twigs are removed. All leaves are removed from the bush; there should also be no branches or leaves under it. If the bush is large, its crown is divided into several parts along the directions of the branches, tied together and bent to the ground.

Hydrangea twigs are very flexible and difficult to break. The connected stems are laid on the ground and secured for reliability.

To insulate the bush, it is covered with lutrasil or other non-woven material, a thick layer of dry leaves collected from healthy trees is poured on top. It is necessary to lay a film on top so that the precipitation does not wet the foliage. All this shelter is insulated with burlap or household unnecessary things: a carpet, an old blanket, bags.

The second method also involves preparing the bush for wintering by removing all the foliage from the bush, trimming unnecessary branches. The root zone is sprinkled with garden soil and low wooden boxes are placed around the bush, on which the connected branches of hydrangea are laid and fixed.

After that, the plant is completely covered with agrofibre or other material, and covered with plastic wrap on top. In the spring, one should not rush to de-preserve the bush so that repeated frosts do not harm it.

You can use spruce branches for wintering hydrangeas. For this, a bush is prepared, clearing it of excess branches and leaves. Then they huddle it up and spread the earth around it with spruce branches. A tilted hydrangea vine is fixed on it, covered with a thick layer of spruce branches on top, after which the entire structure is covered with a non-woven covering material and fixed on all sides from being blown away by the wind.

Instead of spruce branches, you can prepare a frame and use any covering material folded in several layers.

Is it worth digging up the bushes

Some varieties do not tolerate frosty winters, their root system freezes and the bush dies. However, gardeners do not give up on the cultivation of hydrangeas in their garden. They simply dig up the bushes growing in the open ground for the winter and send them to the basement for the winter. In order for the plant to overwinter well in new conditions, the room is prepared in advance: they put things in order, dry well, treat them from mold, fungi and all kinds of parasites.

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To prevent the buds from growing ahead of time, the temperature regime should be observed: no more than 3 ° C. The humidity should also not be too high, otherwise there is a risk of plant decay. To reduce the level of humidity, the room must have access to fresh air. If there is no vent, you can reduce the moisture level by using quicklime placed in the basement in open containers.

The hydrangea bush should be placed in a pot or other container. This must be done in order to be able to water the bush in winter. Irrigation should not be frequent and abundant, you should just barely moisten the root system to maintain vital activity.

If the hydrangea bush was purchased in winter and its size is very small, then the plant can be left to winter on the windowsill. If it has live foliage and the presence of inflorescences, then the windowsill should be light, and watering should be sufficient for active growth and flowering. Additional lighting will not hurt either.

If hydrangeas growing in the open field ensure proper wintering, then in spring and summer it will thank the splendor of the bush and many colorful balls. How to prepare a flower for cold weather, you should find out in advance in order to do all the procedures on time.

Bonus

Taking into account all of the above tips and rules for preparing hydrangeas for winter, we can conclude:

1. All varieties of hydrangea require plant shelter for winter.
2. It is necessary to cut the bushes so that the flower can safely endure the cold.
3. It is also important to prune any damaged branches.