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During the flowering period, the hydrangea looks like a majestic queen in bright, festive attire. Not every gardener can grow this splendor on his site, because she is famous for being finicky in growing and caring for. And often from such seemingly simple nuances as the proper care of hydrangea in the fall, depends not only on its violent flowering, but also on the safety of the bushes. And sometimes it is a pity for their labors and efforts, when, when spring comes, the hydrangea bushes begin to rot or even die. To prevent this from happening with such beautiful plants, you need to know and apply in practice simple rules for caring for hydrangea in the autumn.
What care does hydrangea need in the fall
Despite the fact that the distribution area of hydrangeas is very wide, from the southern regions to the northern ones, in autumn these delicate shrubs require a special attitude towards themselves and a little attention and care.
The homeland of hydrangea is the Asian countries - Japan and China. But given that the climate there is significantly different from the harsh climatic conditions in our country, it is quite natural that you need to take care of the hydrangea with special diligence. How to do it correctly and what kind of care this heat-loving and light-loving plant requires in the autumn, you will learn from this article.
All preparatory work includes four stages:
- Pre-winter watering of hydrangeas;
- Correct autumn feeding of shrubs;
- Pruning hydrangeas in the fall;
- Shelter bushes for the winter.
Each of these stages requires adherence to the timing and rules of care.
Pre-winter watering
With the onset of autumn, many gardeners stop watering hydrangea shrubs, naively believing that the moisture contained in the soil is quite enough, and plants do not need it during this period. But this is a misconception, because of which many plants die in the winter. Indeed, before the onset of frost, their root system did not have time to absorb the maximum amount of moisture and nutrients. By the beginning of autumn, the underground part of the plants is very weakened, because during the flowering period it gave a lot of strength to such lush and delicate flowers. And before the onset of frost, she needs to restore balance.
It is for this reason that such a trifle as pre-winter watering is very important for shrubs. How to properly care for hydrangea if you don't know the needs of this sensitive plant? After all, all shrubs of the type "Hortensia" react sharply to a lack or excess of moisture, and this is reflected immediately in the flowering next summer.
Autumn watering of hydrangeas is necessary if there is no rainfall for a long time and the soil under the bushes is dry enough. Make sure that there is always moist soil under the bushes. Watch the thermometer before watering the plants. As soon as the night temperature begins to drop below + 5˚C + 7˚C, the volume of water must be reduced. And when the thermometer drops to 0˚С at night, watering should be stopped.
If, on the contrary, there is too much rainfall in autumn, then in this case watering is not required. In particularly rainy weather, it is imperative to protect the shrubs from waterlogging. This can be done by building a kind of wigwam of sticks and lutrasil over the bushes, or by covering the soil under the bushes with a film. With excessive waterlogging, the root system can freeze out during severe frosts.
Autumn feeding
Top dressing is an important stage in preparing hydrangeas for winter in the fall. Like many abundant flowering shrubs, it does not just need it, it requires additional care. In the autumn period, the vegetation of the plant does not stop; on the contrary, there is an active growth of the root system and the accumulation of nutrients. However, it is important to remember that autumn feeding involves the introduction of only phosphorus-potassium fertilizers.
From the second half of August, fertilizing with nitrogen content should be abandoned. Causing the rapid growth of shoots in the autumn, they cause irreparable harm to hydrangeas. Not only will the shrub not be able to fully prepare for winter and recuperate after a violent flowering, young shoots will weaken it even more and the plant will inevitably die or lose its ability to bloom.
Fertilizers based on phosphorus and potassium are preferably applied twice: at the end of August and in the middle of September. For feeding shrubs, it is better to choose the dry method, that is, scatter the granules around the hydrangea bush. The amount of fertilizer depends on the size of the hydrangea bush: for large shrubs, you will need at least 2 handfuls of top dressing, for small ones, one is enough.
Spread the required amount of fertilizer around the hydrangea and mix it thoroughly with the soil. Make sure that the granules are not scattered too close at the base of the bush - in a concentrated form, they burn the plants.
Hydrangea pruning rules
Preparing hydrangeas for winter includes pruning in the fall. Despite the fact that many gardeners prefer to leave this stage of work for the spring, experienced gardeners still advise to cut the shrub in the fall.
Spring pruning is not only undesirable for shrubs, moreover, it is destructive. In the spring, active sap flow begins in the stems of hydrangea. By pruning the stems during this period, you expose the plants to a double danger:
- Pathogens and pests can easily penetrate into open sections.
- A lot of sap flows out through the open sections in spring, which is so necessary for the growth and development of plants.
But it must be remembered that not all varieties are subject to mandatory pruning. Pruning is contraindicated in some types of hydrangeas. The thing is that the peculiarity of flowering of different varieties differs significantly. In some species, buds with peduncles are laid and developed on last year's shoots. Such shoots should overwinter, only after that the shrub of this variety will bloom violently.
And other varieties of hydrangea contain flower stalks on annual shoots. It can be safely cut by removing old branches and rejuvenating the bushes. Therefore, in the fall, before tackling a pruner or garden shears, you should figure out how to prepare a hydrangea for winter and what type of hydrangea grows on your site, as well as the peculiarities of its flowering.
An experienced florist will tell you how to properly cut a hydrangea, depending on the variety, in the video
Autumn pruning of hydrangeas is:
- Solid (or radical)
- Cosmetic.
Radical pruning is carried out annually in the fall. Those types and varieties of hydrangeas that bloom on the shoots of the first year of life are subject to pruning. Thorough pruning is done to:
- Free the bush from last year's old branches. There are not so many flowers on them, but they pull on a lot of nutrients.
- Free up space for the active growth of young shoots. Too thickened shrubs bloom less and less every year.
- The root system of uncut bushes is strongly and quickly depleted, which also negatively affects its flowering.
- After a few seasons, the bushes will become so overgrown with young shoots that later it will be much more difficult to cut them.
Cosmetic pruning has a different purpose - to clear the bushes of damaged, weak and diseased shoots. Thinning of the shrub is allowed, that is, when pruning, part of the young growth is removed, provided that there is too much of it, as well as excess branches and shoots that strongly thicken the hydrangea bushes.
When pruning hydrangeas, unnecessary, broken or diseased branches and shoots are cut as low as possible to the ground, at a distance of 5-7 cm from the surface. All work should be carried out only with a sharp and perfectly clean garden tool.
Up to 3-4 years of age, young bushes are subject to only cosmetic pruning. But more mature shrubs need to be gradually rejuvenated from year to year. Very old branches are not removed all at once. Such a total cleaning will only harm the bushes. Remove old and low-flowering branches every fall, but no more than 2-3 branches at a time.
Competently carried out work in the fall to prepare hydrangeas for winter determines the lush flowering of a healthy bush next summer.
Shelter in the fall
Do I need to cover hydrangea bushes in the fall? Experienced gardeners differ on this point. Some argue that hydrangeas can do without shelter, others, on the contrary, claim that without proper care, these beautiful flowers can freeze and die. Both are right.
The decision whether to cover the hydrangea in winter, as well as which method of shelter to choose, must be made based on several factors:
- Features of regional affiliation.
- Features of climatic conditions in each region of Russia.
- The variety and type of hydrangea that grows in your garden.
- Humidity.
Few people take into account the last factor when preparing hydrangeas for winter. And it is nevertheless important no less than the rest of the points.
You will learn about the basic rules and methods of shelter, as well as what materials to choose, from the article. "Whether to cover the hydrangea in winter"
Conclusion
Many gardeners do not risk growing hydrangeas due to misconceptions about her finickyness. As you can see from this article, caring for hydrangeas in the fall is not difficult at all. In this case, it is important to comply with the terms and rules of care. And then these delicate, colorful bunches will bloom magnificently all summer and on your site.
