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Until recently, the habitat of this sensual and beautiful plant was limited to warm countries with a mild climate. Now this royal person is conquering more and more territories. And the closer to the north it grows, the more trouble gardeners have in the fall. The harsh climate of the northern regions dictates its own conditions. And the lower the thermometer falls, the more attention the hydrangea requires in preparation for winter. In the Urals, frosts of -35˚С -45˚С are not uncommon. Tender shrubs can simply freeze.
But different varieties require a different approach when preparing hydrangeas for winter.
Types of shrubs
Each variety of this beautiful shrub requires special attention not only when growing, but also when caring for them in the autumn, and especially when preparing hydrangeas for winter in the Urals.
Swarthy hydrangea
A distinctive feature of the paniculate hydrangea is its violent flowering. For this reason, this variety is the leader among all flowering shrubs. And although hydrangea grows almost everywhere, in the Urals it needs to create special conditions of detention. At the slightest inconsistency with the requirements for care, the splendor of flowering comes to naught, and the color of the buds loses its brightness.
Hydrangea paniculata is extremely demanding on the composition of the soil, light and humidity. It is undesirable to plant this variety on a site with a close occurrence of groundwater.
Young seedlings must be “hardened” before planting in open ground. In the first year, they must be grown at home and only then transplanted to the site.
In the first 3-4 years, plants need to be helped to adapt to local climatic conditions, providing them with proper care and shelter for the winter. In the Urals, when growing shrubs, special attention is paid to protecting plants from severe frosts and gusty winds.
Representatives of this variety are also critical to such a type of care as timely and proper pruning. During the season, it is necessary to cut the bushes at least 2-3 times to form a lush crown.
Tree hydrangea
Tree hydrangea is famous for the beauty and unusual color of terry inflorescences. The shrub loves well-lit places, but blooms perfectly in full force in light partial shade. For him, the composition of the soil is important. The soil must be fertile and loose.
She feels very well in central Our Country and in the Moscow region. But in the Urals, tree hydrangea often freezes out. And although it often recovers well after wintering, flower growers do not recommend growing this variety in this region.
Large leaf hydrangea
This type of shrub is considered the most unpretentious and picky in care. Large-leaved hydrangea looks good on a personal plot, often designers use it in various compositions.
Extremely unpretentious, she has long won the recognition of gardeners. And, despite the excellent indicators of frost resistance, in the fall it is still desirable to pay a bit of attention to it and take the necessary measures to prepare hydrangeas for winter. In the Urals, special attention should be paid to such a stage of work as timely shelter.
Autumn work
Like most garden shrubs, hydrangea bushes need autumn care. What work will gardeners have to do in the fall?
- top dressing;
- pruning;
- Shelter hydrangeas for the winter.
It is very important to follow the recommendations of experienced flower growers. It is highly undesirable to skip any stage of preparing hydrangeas for winter, because not only the lush flowering of the shrub depends on this, but also its safety.
Feeding shrubs in autumn
Feeding hydrangea in the Urals for winter begins at the end of August. During active flowering, they gave a huge amount of nutrients to the lush inflorescences. By autumn, the plants are weakened and without your help they will not be able to endure severe frosts. Therefore, before preparing the hydrangea for the winter, it must be well fertilized.
In autumn, for feeding hydrangeas, fertilizers based on phosphorus and potassium should be preferred. Nitrogenous fertilizers must be discarded. They will provoke the growth of young shoots. You can fertilize shrubs with rotted manure or compost before wintering.
Fertilizers must be applied at least twice before the onset of frost. Between top dressing should take about 3-4 weeks. The method of feeding depends on climatic conditions. If the Indian summer turned out to be warm and there is very little rainfall, in this case, the fertilizer must be diluted in water according to the instructions and the bushes should be watered abundantly.
If, on the contrary, it rains very often, then it is better to use the dry method:
- Carefully loosen the ground under the bush at a distance of 50-70 cm
- Spread the dry granules evenly around the bush
- Lightly loosen the soil again, as if mixing it with fertilizers.
2-3 weeks after the secondary autumn top dressing, you need to stop pre-winter watering and you can proceed to the second stage of work on preparing hydrangeas for winter – pruning.
Pruning hydrangeas in autumn
Autumn pruning of hydrangeas still causes a lot of controversy among experienced flower growers. Someone advocates mandatory pruning of shrubs, while someone, on the contrary, advises postponing this event until spring.
Considering the peculiarities of the climate of the Ural region, you need to heed the advice of experienced flower growers and take into account the peculiarities of preparing hydrangeas of one kind or another for winter.
In tree hydrangea, mandatory pruning is subject to:
- withered buds;
- Damaged, broken and weak shoots;
- The upper part of the shoots;
- Old and last year’s branches.
If there are too many branches, you should thin out the bush by cutting out part of the branches. Otherwise, over time, the abundance of flowering will gradually decrease.
Large-leaved hydrangea differs in that the flowers on it are formed on last year’s shoots. Therefore, this event should be approached with caution. Old branches and weak shoots are subject to obligatory pruning.
It is necessary to shorten the shoots of large-leaved hydrangea in the spring. The upper part of the branches often freezes slightly, and therefore, be sure to carry out sanitary pruning in the spring and cut off the frozen shoots.
Paniculate hydrangea should be cut in the same way as tree hydrangea. The following types of trimming are required for them:
- Thinning. A feature of this species is the violent growth of young shoots. If we exclude this stage of work on preparing hydrangeas for winter, in a couple of years the shrub will be large, but you won’t get flowers from it.
- Sanitary. It is imperative to cut out damaged branches.
- Anti-aging. Old branches are also subject to mandatory removal. They will bloom weakly, but they draw a lot of strength and nutrients from the roots.
Last year’s shoots are removed, leaving at least 2-3 pairs of well-developed buds on them. Old branches need to be cut at the root.
Do not forget to treat all sections with garden pitch after pruning. Pruning of hydrangeas in the Urals must be completed by early October.
Shelter of hydrangeas in the Urals
If in the southern and central regions the royal beauty easily tolerates frosts with light shelter, or even without it, then it is imperative to cover the hydrangea for the winter in the Urals. This is due not only to low temperatures, but also to reduced winter hardiness of plants.
The climate in the Ural region is famous for its low temperatures and piercing winds. Moreover, winter comes to these parts very early. It is very difficult to predict when the first frosts will come. Therefore, already in the middle – the end of October, all work on preparing hydrangeas for winter in the Urals should be completed.
Starting to shelter hydrangeas in the Urals, first of all, mulch the ground around the bush. The following materials are well suited for this:
- Peat or moss;
- sawdust, shavings;
- Lapnik;
- Dry foliage.
After that, you need to cover the branches of the bush to the maximum possible height. Tie off large shrubs with spreading branches with twine. Install a chain-link mesh or any other mesh base around the bush. Fill the resulting cylinder with dry foliage so that it completely covers the branches.
In order to prevent the leaves from scattering at the first gusts of wind, throw a large piece of lutrasil or burlap on the structure and secure it at the base.
A similar method of shelter will help the hydrangea to overwinter, and in the spring it will again delight you with the abundance and beauty of delicate inflorescences.
You will learn how to properly cut, cover and prepare a hydrangea for winter from the video.
Many gardeners who have been growing hydrangeas in the Urals for a long time prefer to send especially fastidious varieties to the basement for wintering. If the shrub is not too large, it is transplanted in the fall into a large pot, watered and placed in a dark, cool place. Air humidity should not exceed 60-70%, and the temperature in the room should not be lower than +2˚С +5˚С.
Hydrangea transplantation into open ground is carried out in the spring, as soon as frosts pass and the earth warms up to + 7˚С + 10˚С.
As you can see, preparing a hydrangea for winter in the Urals is not at all difficult. These activities do not take much time.
spring work
With the advent of spring in the Urals, it is necessary to remove the shelter from the bushes in early – mid-April, gradually removing layer by layer. Otherwise, the overwintered hydrangea will inevitably die during return spring frosts.
First, remove lutrasil, after 7-10 days it will be possible to free the shrub from foliage. And only then remove the rest of the covering material.
Conclusion
In autumn, in preparation for winter, hydrangea requires more care than during the entire growing season. How carefully you follow the rules for caring for flowers depends on their flowering, the health of the shrub as a whole and the preservation of varietal characteristics. But in the summer, shrubs strewn with bright multi-colored inflorescences will become a source of pride, because it is not so easy to grow and maintain hydrangea in the Urals!