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Surprisingly tender hydrangea Angel Blanche can transform even the most modest garden plot. The main feature of the shrub, with contours resembling a fountain of flowers, is the gradual change of its shades by inflorescences: from white to pink, and then to red.
Description of Hydrangea Angel Blanche
“Angels Blush” in English means “blush of angels”. And indeed, the pale pink inflorescences in their appearance resemble the flushed cheeks of an innocent girl.
The full name of the culture is panicle hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata) Angels Blush. A multi-stemmed shrub with proper care can reach 3 m in height and increase in volume up to 2 meters, while maintaining the correct rectangular shape.
Shoots of culture – standing upright with a reddish tint of bark. Differ in fast growth and average thickness. Leaf plates, pointed at the ends, have the shape of an ellipse 10-12 cm long. The color of the leaves is bright green.
The inflorescences are cone-shaped, collected in fluffy panicles up to 23-25 cm long. The flowering period begins in July with a white-cream shade, which gradually changes to pink and by the last month of flowering (October) to dark red.
Flowering continues from late July to November
Hydrangea paniculata Angel Blanche in landscape design
Hydrangea looks organically both in single and in group plantings. With it, separate landscape compositions are often created. The pliability of culture to shaping and pruning allows the designer to play with the size of the shrub and its shape.
Blooms are great for cutting.
An upright plant is often used as a flowering hedge to divide the garden into zones. When planted alone, hydrangea Angel Blanche is planted on lawns, depending on the preferences of this species for lighting.
Designers use panicled hydrangea to create and English style gardens. In the first case, planting takes place next to the trees, in the second – inside the landscape composition with the same color during the flowering period.
Almost all types of hydrangeas are sensitive to the composition of the soil. In slightly alkaline soil, the inflorescences acquire pink hues, in soil with high acidity – blue tones.
Hydrangea Angel Blanche is often placed in the center of the composition, planting herbaceous crops along the edges. Also, this shrub is often placed at the entrance to the garden or on the site.
Unpretentiousness in care and an interesting appearance make the shrub popular with landscape designers who combine Angel Blanche with conifers, boxwood, bergenia, and juniper.
Ephedra oxidize the soil, so planting next to them is very useful for any kind of hydrangea. The combination of dark green coniferous crops and pale pink inflorescences looks very harmonious.
Bergenia blooms earlier than hydrangeas (from April to May), however, in the summer, its leaves acquire a reddish tint, which goes well with pink-red hydrangea inflorescences.
The combination of Angel Blanche and juniper is popular. Both plants are often used to create original hedges. Moisture-loving culture allows you to plant it near artificial or natural reservoirs.
Flowering begins first with white, then pink flowers, and by autumn they turn dark red
Hydrangea is often used to create a natural landscape garden style. This is possible due to the ability of culture to tolerate shade well. Angel Blanche, randomly planted, makes the design of the site less monotonous and boring.
The color of the inflorescences depends on the acidity of the soil.
Winter hardiness of hydrangea paniculata Angels Blush
Hydrangea of this species is characterized by high winter hardiness, so it can be safely planted even in the middle lane. The culture is able to withstand low temperatures down to -25-30 ° C.
In severe winters, young plants require shelter. Otherwise, freezing of the shoots is possible.
Planting and caring for hydrangea paniculata Angel Blanche
Hydrangea Angel Blanche can decorate any corner of the garden with its appearance. However, before planting, it is necessary to take into account the requirements of the shrub, both for the landing site and for the composition of the soil.
Selection and preparation of the landing site
The site for paniculate hydrangea should be well lit. Although the shrub blooms best in partial shade. Therefore, a place near the fence or next to the trees is ideal for planting. As far as direct sunlight is concerned, it will not harm the plant, and may still affect the brightness of the chameleon color of the inflorescences.
The lush color of hydrangea Angel Blanche will provide fertile red earth loam. But on sandy soil and calcareous soil, the plant weakens. The shrub shows the most beautiful shade of inflorescences on acidic soils, therefore, if necessary, coniferous compost, sawdust or brown peat are added to the soil.
Rules of landing
The time of planting determines the year of flowering of Angel Blanche hydrangea. In the southern regions, planting is carried out in March. In this case, the shrub pleases with lush flowering in the middle of summer. In the northern regions, plants are planted in April. By this time, the soil warms up enough and the hydrangea takes root well and has time to take root.
The best time for planting is early spring and autumn (September)
Hydrangea is transplanted to a permanent place at the age of at least 4-5 years. Since by this time the root system of the shrub is growing significantly, the place is chosen based on its parameters.
Step by step landing algorithm:
- Make a planting hole with a depth of 50 cm in diameter, and with a highly developed root system – 80 × 80.
- Pour at least 3 buckets of water into the pit and leave for 6-8 hours so that the water is absorbed and the soil is moistened to the maximum.
- Make a substrate from peat, compost, fertile soil and sand in a ratio of 2:1:2:1.
- Add top dressing to the mixture in the form of superphosphate (65 g), potassium sulfate (25 g) and carbamide (25 g).
- Immediately before planting, it is necessary to cut the roots and shoots of one year of life, leaving no more than 5 pairs of buds on each.
- Plant the shrub in the hole, carefully straightening the roots and filling everything with a substrate.
- Mulch the soil in the near-stem circle of the plant.
Watering and top dressing
A plant of this species requires intensive watering and soil moisture. Under normal climatic conditions, the bush is watered once every 1-6 days. The amount of water needed is 7-22 liters per 25 bush. In a particularly dry period, the volume is increased to 1 liters. Wet soil should be at least 30 meters around the crop.
The plant loves moist soil and frequent watering.
Since Angel Blanche is a fast-growing species, it also requires appropriate feeding. In the spring, green fertilizers rich in nitrogen are used, which affect the growth rate and future foliage of the bush. Also at this time, the plant is actively watered with mullein infusion, nettle decoction. Mineral fertilizers are applied 2 times a month during the formation of inflorescences. In autumn, mineral complexes are introduced to help the culture endure the winter.
Trimming
Pruning a shrub has several functions:
- Stimulates growth.
- Eliminates weak and diseased shoots.
- Corrects the outer contours of the bush, forms a crown.
Stimulating pruning is carried out in the spring before flowering. If everything is done correctly, then it has a beneficial effect on the duration of the flowering period and the number of inflorescences.
Sanitary pruning is carried out in autumn at the end of flowering and immediately after winter. Its main goal is to remove diseased and frozen branches, to improve the plant.
Pruning stimulates the growth of hydrangea and further forms an even crown.
Preparation for winter
Despite winter hardiness in the middle lane and in the northern regions with Angel Blanche hydrangea, preparatory work is carried out before the start of the cold period.
Immediately after pruning, the soil in the near-trunk circle is cleaned of leaves, branches and insects that have left for the winter. Water-charging irrigation is carried out, after which the soil is mulched. Compost, peat, sawdust, spruce forest or rotted manure are used as mulch. The thickness of the mulching layer should not be less than 20 cm.
Reproduction
Hydrangea Angel Blanche propagates in 2 ways: layering and cuttings. The blanks for the latter are the shoots left after pruning.
Hydrangea is propagated by cuttings, dividing the bush, seeds or grafting.
Cuttings are cut in the first decade of the summer month, when the shoots contain a large amount of moisture and tolerate outside interference more easily. Each cutting 10 cm long should have 3 to 5 buds. Planting material is soaked in a growth stimulator for at least 2 days.
It is more difficult to propagate hydrangea by layering. Young side shoots are bent from the main shrub, pressed to the ground (without breaking) and the ends of the shoots are tied to special pegs. Part of the “mundane” branches are sprinkled with a substrate of compost and fertile soil. Over time, the branches develop their own root system and can be transplanted.
Diseases and pests
Hydrangea Angel Blanche has good immunity to diseases and pests. The most common problem on a shrub of this species is powdery mildew. The best way to deal with it is Bordeaux liquid, made from copper sulfate and slaked lime.
Bordeaux liquid is used against powdery mildew
As for pests, the hydrangea is most often attacked by aphids. You can cope with this problem with a folk remedy – tincture of garlic (250 g of chopped cloves per 10 liters of water mixed with 50 g of grated laundry soap).
Tincture of garlic copes well with aphids on hydrangeas
Conclusion
Hydrangea Angel Blanche is an amazingly beautiful shrub that is often used to create landscape design compositions. Planting and caring for a crop are simple, but we must not forget about a number of nuances that accompany the agricultural technology of this plant.
Reviews of Hydrangea Angel Blanche
On the network you can find many reviews about hydrangea. Users share their characteristics of their favorite species, as well as the features of caring for them.
