Hydrangea paniculata Dharuma (Daruma): description, planting and care

From the beginning of summer to the onset of autumn, Daruma paniculate hydrangea pleases with its flowering. The shrub plant is distinguished by its decorative effect and rapid growth, for which it has gained popularity among gardeners and owners of country houses. Demanding on soils and growing conditions. If you neglect the rules of planting and care, paniculate hydrangea Daruma may lose its decorative effect.

Description of hydrangea paniculata Daruma

Panicled hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata) is a deciduous shrub with a fan-shaped arrangement of branches. Hydrangeas are fast growing and can reach a height of up to 3 m.

Daruma is considered the shortest shrub in its family. Its height does not exceed 150 cm, which allows the use of ornamental shrubs in landscape compositions and even in interior design.

Distinctive features of the plant:

• erect strong shoots are dark red or red-brown;
• medium-sized flowers (no more than 2 cm in diameter) are collected in small openwork inflorescences of a paniculate cone-shaped shape;
• dark green ovoid leaves have a reddish tint;
• cream-colored flowers at the beginning of flowering in a short time acquire an intense pink color;
• the height of the shrub with a vertically arranged fan-shaped crown does not exceed 1,5 m.

Hydrangea of ​​this species can become the center of a flower arrangement

In the southern regions with a subtropical climate, the height of Daruma paniculata hydrangea can reach 2,5-3 m. The plant can be shaped depending on the composition: it can be a lush bush or a small tree with a beautiful crown.

Hydrangea Daruma in landscape design

Due to the duration of flowering and high decorativeness, paniculate hydrangea (paniculata dharuma) is in demand in the preparation of landscape compositions. It lends itself well to the formation of a bush by pruning.

Hydrangea Daruma is used to create hedges, English flower beds, dividing garden areas, compositions with other plants.

The most common options for using plants in landscape design:

1. The combination of shrubs with conifers. They have the ability to increase the acidity of the soil, and also create partial shade, which has a positive effect on the decorativeness of the plant.
2. To create mixborders, it is good to make compositions from hydrangeas with bergenia and boxwood. Especially good for the barberry plant.
3. For hedges, designers suggest using either hydrangea planted around the perimeter of the site, or in combination with juniper.

Winter hardiness of hydrangea paniculata Daruma

In the conditions of severe winters, the hydrangea paniculata took root well. There are several types of this plant. Daruma differs from its counterparts in the color of flowers and the shape of the inflorescences.

All types of paniculate hydrangea class are suitable for growing in the middle lane. But at the same time, young plants require preparation for the winter season.

Hydrangea paniculate Daruma is recommended for design solutions in central Our Country, as this species is frost-resistant. Mature plants perfectly tolerate the winter cold, characteristic of the climatic zone of the middle zone.

After planting, the plant should provide shelter for the first 2 years before the onset of frost. In cold regions, such protection will be needed annually.

Planting and caring for hydrangea paniculata Daruma

The decorativeness of the plant depends on the correctly chosen site for planting and the quality of the soil. Hydrangea paniculata Daruma prefers shade and partial shade. Dislikes direct sunlight.

When planting, you can not deepen the growth bud, it must be on the surface

If you plant a shrub in places open to the sun, the flowers quickly lose color, become pale, a dirty brown unattractive shade appears. Daruma hydrangea is demanding on soils, but unpretentious in care.

In order for the Daruma paniculate hydrangea to take root well on the site and for many years to be a decoration of the garden, you need to familiarize yourself with the simple rules for choosing a place and the procedure for planting, watering and feeding, and preparing for the winter season.

Selection and preparation of the landing site

For abundant long flowering and good growth, the soil for planting must have an acidic environment. Heavy loams with neutral acidity must be prepared in advance.

The best place to plant will be partial shade and the absence of drafts. It is best to plant young plants in the spring to allow them to get stronger and adapt to new conditions over the summer.

Autumn plantings are possible only in the southern regions – where there is no threat of early frosts and sudden changes in temperature.

Rules of landing

Having chosen a landing site, proceed to the preparation of the pit. Its depth depends on the size of the root and is at least 40 cm. The width is about half a meter.

Having dug a hole, 2 – 3 buckets of soft water, purified from lime, are poured into it. Leave overnight.

A third of the volume of the landing pit is filled with a mixture of sand with humus or peat. The root system is placed in a hole so that the bud remains above the soil surface, and the plant is located strictly vertically.

Cover with earth and tamp tightly. After planting, the young hydrangea should be plentifully watered with soft water.

Watering and top dressing

To provide the plant with lush flowering and health, it is necessary to create:

• regular watering;
• top dressing;
• pruning;
• loosening the soil in the root zone.

Watering should be done more than 2 times a week in hot weather. Hydrangea Daruma is responsive to watering and fertilizing. It is better to use soft water. If this is not possible, tap water should be allowed to settle.

Proper hydrangea care will ensure lush, long-lasting flowering.

In order for the branches of the shrub to be flexible, gardeners are advised to spray and water with a weak solution of potassium permanganate. This procedure is carried out three times during flowering.

Hydrangea paniculata Daruma is responsive to fertilization. For top dressing, organic and mineral compounds are used. You can start the procedure already in early spring after sap flow.

There are several types of dressings for hydrangeas:

1. During the formation of the leaves, top dressing is carried out with the following composition: for 10 liters of water – 1 tbsp. l. potassium sulfate and urea. For watering one plant, 5 tsp are needed. composition.
2. During the period of setting the buds, they are fed with organic matter: slurry is diluted with water in a ratio of 1:10, adding potassium and phosphorus preparations to the solution.
3. In autumn, after flowering is completed, they are fed with this composition: for 10 liters of water, dilute with a tablespoon of superphosphate and potassium sulfate.

A time-tested recipe for plant nutrition without the use of chemicals per 200 liters of water:

• vial of iodine;
• copper and iron sulfate – 1 tbsp. l;
• manganese and boron – 1 tsp each;
• chalk – 1 kg;
• dandelion, wormwood and celandine grass, finely chopped into a pulp.

The resulting solution is well mixed, left for 7-10 days. 2 liters of this solution is diluted with 10 liters of water. Sediment can be laid out on the root system.

Pruning Hydrangea Daruma

In order for the plant to please with a lush color, it is necessary to prune. Without it, the flowers become small and inconspicuous.

The pruning procedure helps to rejuvenate the plant and stimulate new shoots. This makes the hydrangea more lush and allows you to get rid of diseased and dry branches.

Hydrangea paniculata is usually cut in early spring before sap flow. In the middle lane, this period falls on the beginning of April. To determine the optimal time for the procedure, observe the growth buds. As soon as they swell, you can start pruning with the simultaneous formation of a bush.

The optimal time for pruning is until the end of April in the middle lane. Accordingly, for the southern regions, the period is shifted by 1 – 2 weeks, as well as for the northern regions.

Sanitary pruning is possible in autumn: removal of diseased and dried branches. It is not recommended to form a bush in the autumn.

Trimming types:

1. Shaping – trimming, allowing you to give shape. Before the third year, it is important to form the skeleton. To do this, in 1-2 years, the skeletal branches are cut to the ground, and the shoots growing inward are removed. In the 3rd year, 3 buds are left on the skeletal branches.
2. Regulatory is carried out for thinning the crown, which ensures further lush flowering.
3. Anti-aging involves the removal of shoots older than 3 – 4 years.
4. Sanitary – removal of diseased branches.

With a strong defeat, cardinal pruning will save the plant

Branches that have undergone freezing are cut to healthy wood.

Preparation for winter

The key to the preservation of hydrangeas are the rules for preparing for the winter period. Before sheltering for the winter, the following manipulations should be carried out:

• stop watering in the autumn;
• cut the inflorescences and remove the foliage;
• stop the nitrogen supply, you can feed fertilizers based on potassium and phosphorus.

Before shelter, the plant must be sprinkled with earth mixed with peat. This will protect the trunk circle from freezing. The plant must be bent to the ground, using wire brackets for this purpose.

From above, cover with plastic wrap or covering material, then spruce branches. Press the edges of the film (material) around the trunk circle with the help of weights, which can be stones, bricks and other improvised materials.

Reproduction

A plant that has taken root on the site can be propagated. There are 3 ways to propagate hydrangeas:

1. cuttings. To do this, you need to cut the cutting with 2 internodes during the swelling of the kidneys. The lower end is cut at an angle of 45 degrees, the upper should be straight. They are lowered into a container with a soil mixture by 3 – 4 cm, covered according to the principle of a mini greenhouse. 2 months after rooting, you can plant hydrangea in the ground.

   

2. Air layers. This method is the easiest for beginner gardeners. A healthy strong shoot is bent to the ground, fixed with a hairpin, and added dropwise. This place is heavily watered. After a year, you can separate the shoot from the root and plant it in a new place.
3. Propagation by seeds at home is a laborious and lengthy process, the result of which cannot be relied upon. Young planting material will have to wait up to 2,5 years. Seeds are scattered on the surface of the soil in a container, compacted and moistened with a sprayer. Cover the container with transparent glass or film, which must be removed daily for airing for 1 to 2 hours. After the emergence of seedlings (this will happen no earlier than in 1,5 months), they dive. Feed with nitrogen-containing mixtures.

Diseases and pests

Despite good survival and ease of care, paniculate hydrangeas, like all plants, are susceptible to damage. Most often these are diseases of viral or fungal etiology.

Gardeners face the following diseases:

• powdery mildew;
• white and gray rot;
• septoria.

In the fight against such ailments, fungicides are used. To protect the Daruma hydrangea from powdery mildew, a soapy solution mixed with the composition of copper sulphate is used. Apply to spray plants.

Pests and how to deal with them:

1. Snails. They are usually removed by hand. But you have to do it daily. You can use snail repellents, which are laid out around the perimeter of the trunk circle.
2. Spider mite. Destroy the pest with insecticidal preparations.
3. Aphids are the most dangerous pest for Daruma hydrangea. Spraying is carried out with soapy water, cold water or Tamrek, Commander preparations.
4. Gall nematodes lead to withering of the leaves of the plant, threatening the root system. To prevent the reproduction of the pest, before planting, the roots of the hydrangea should be treated with copper sulphate. An adult plant is protected as follows: special preparations are introduced into the soil.

Conclusion

Hydrangea paniculata Daruma is a wonderful flower for creating compositions in the garden and greenhouse. All summer the plant pleases the eye with lush color. To prolong the life of hydrangea paniculate Daruma, you should familiarize yourself with the rules of planting, care and reproduction, and follow them.

Hydrangea paniculata reviews Dharuma