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Young hydrangea: preparing for winter
When preparing for winter, the characteristics of the variety should be taken into account. But in any case, a young hydrangea needs a reliable shelter from frost. An important role in this matter is played by the climatic features of the region where it is grown.
Preparing young hydrangeas for winter
Regardless of the type of plant, its frost resistance and other features, you need to prepare it for the cold in advance.
A young hydrangea needs shelter – its flowering next year depends on it
To protect the shrub from freezing, we first carry out the following activities:
- From the middle of summer, we refuse nitrogen fertilizers, we switch to fertilizing with phosphorus and potassium.
- We stop watering the plant in advance – from September;
- We remove the leaves on the lower shoots – after that they will begin to woody.
Before the arrival of frost, remove all the leaves. Only the upper ones remain – they will protect the apical buds.
You need to know exactly the type of shrub that grows on the site, and when preparing for the cold weather, take into account its individual characteristics:
- Paniculate and tree-like hydrangeas form flowers on new shoots, and buds are laid in the lower and middle parts of them. Therefore, freezing of the tops of the stems will not affect the development of the plant.
- Large-leaved varieties form buds on new shoots, and they will bloom only next year, so they need to be preserved in winter.
These nuances must be remembered when building a shelter for a plant.
How to shelter young hydrangeas for the winter?
There are several options for how you can protect the hydrangea shrub from the cold:
- First, we prepare heavy boards – we drive nails into them. We tie the branches with a rope, and tie its ends to nails. Small young plants can be pressed to the ground with bricks, after having laid spruce branches on the ground. Sprinkle on top with dry leaves and put a special covering material.
- We spread coniferous branches on the soil. Gently press the hydrangea shoots to the ground and install metal brackets. To gradually accustom them to a horizontal position, first we put supports at the base, gradually moving them to the tops of the trunks. We put needles on top, then lutrasil covering material, the next layer – peat and sawdust, then coniferous branches again.
- We wrap the shrub with a covering material – lutrasil or spunbond. We install a metal mesh around the bush at a distance of 25 cm – it will serve as a frame. We fill the resulting cylinder with dry foliage, and put a layer of roofing material on top or cover it with polyethylene.
Young plants must be covered, especially in regions with frosty winters. As the shrub grows older, its endurance increases, and then, when preparing frost-resistant varieties, you can limit yourself to mulching the soil with peat.