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Hydrangea Tardiva is one of those representatives of the flora that easily becomes the pride of any site. With its luxurious blooms, hydrangea attracts all eyes. Paniculate species, which include Tardiva hydrangea, have a sweet honey aroma and very unusual inflorescences.
Description of Hydrangea paniculata Tardiva
Hydrangea Tardiva is one of the varieties of paniculate flowers that have a special appearance of inflorescences and a spicy smell. After reading the description and looking at the photo, everyone will want to have such a beauty in their garden. The height of the bushes is 2-3 m, and the size of the paniculate inflorescences of hydrangea is from 40 to 55 cm. The bright leaves have an oblong shape and sharp ends. Tardiva's inflorescences are cone-shaped. The flowers are pale white, turning reddish over time. The bushes also have a non-standard appearance; they are very decorative, which attracts the attention of many gardeners. In just one season they reach quite large sizes.
Hydrangea Tardiva in landscape design
To make paniculata hydrangea hydrangea paniculata tardiva look interesting and attractive, you need an appropriate background. For example, mackerel, in particular varieties with purple leaves, Canadian hemlock, yew, boxwood, tulip lyriodendron or ordinary birch.
Ideal neighbors for the Tardiva hydrangea variety are trees and shrubs
If hydrangea is planted in flower beds, it is surrounded by perennials, for example, anemone Japanese, paniculata phlox, astilbe or echinacea. For harmony, under the Tardiva hydrangea beds are placed such species as Horny Goat weed, allium flowers, apical pachysandra, hosta, heuchera, and also creeping tenacious. To give the composition grace and lightness, decorative grasses are added - sedge, miscanthus, foxtail pinnately and Imperata "Red Baron".
Tardiva can serve as a hedge decoration
Winter hardiness of hydrangea Tardiva
Hydrangea Tardiva comes from Japan. Initially, it was grown exclusively in China and Sakhalin. Perhaps this is what helped the plant acquire such a distinctive quality as high frost resistance. It allows you to cultivate hydrangea throughout Russia. In addition, it has a high immunity to diseases of the root system.
Features also include long flowering (usually until frost) and the ability to grow Tardiva in one place for up to 40 years.
Planting and caring for Tardiva hydrangea
Tardiva hydrangea is planted only at certain times of the year. In the north, planting is recommended at the very beginning of spring. In areas with a warm climate, Tardives are planted on autumn days.A prerequisite is that the ground must be sufficiently warmed by the sun's rays.
When planting several bushes of the Tardiva variety, it is important to maintain a gap of at least 2-3 m between them. This is necessary, since the roots tend to grow strongly and are located almost on the surface of the soil.
Hydrangea Tardiva is a honey plant, its strong aroma attracts insects
Selection and preparation of a landing site
It is very important before you start planting Tardiva hydrangea to take care of choosing a location. Professional plant growers advise choosing planting areas along walls or hedges. Lighting is of no small importance; it is desirable that there is no draft in the area and that the sun’s rays do not fall directly on it.
The planting site is prepared in advance. The recommended size is 50*50*60 cm. The bottom is covered with peat, the layer size should be 10 cm thick. To make the plant comfortable, it is important to regulate the acidity of the soil. Variations from low to medium acidity are acceptable. You can control the indicator in several ways:
- To increase the acidity level, sawdust, brown peat or pine needles are poured into the soil.
- Adding lemon juice to your irrigation water also helps raise the pH level.
- To reduce acidity, lime or ash is poured into the soil during digging.
Despite the fact that Tardiva hydrangea loves light, the best place for it to live is partial shade.
Landing rules
Having prepared a seat for the Tardiva hydrangea, it is placed in the hole so that the root collar remains approximately 5-6 cm above the soil. Holding the seedling at the desired level, the hole is filled with earth and watered.To eliminate the possibility of voids forming, which usually leads to drying out of the soil, the soil is well compacted.
Whether the Tardiva hydrangea has taken root can be determined after 2-3 weeks by the appearance of new leaves on the branches
Watering and fertilizing
The plant of this variety easily tolerates dry periods. Watering Tardiva hydrangea should be done once a week, combining it with fertilizing with mineral fertilizers. At least 30 liters of water are poured per 1 cubic meter.
The flowering of the bush directly depends on the watering regime of the hydrangea. If it is chosen incorrectly, the inflorescences will dry out. With constant precipitation, the amount of watering must be reduced.
Proper care of Tardiva hydrangea also includes timely feeding. Each time of year requires certain supplements:
- In early spring, fertilizers containing nitrogen are used as top dressing. To ensure abundant flowering of the bush, humus is added to the soil.
- During flowering, mineral fertilizers containing phosphorus and potassium are applied.
- To give the plant time to prepare for the pruning process, at the end of summer all feeding is stopped.
It is optimal to fertilize Tardiva hydrangea no more than once every 15 days.
Pruning hydrangea variety Tardiva
As soon as the flowering period ends, pruning must begin. To be able to form the desired shape of the bush, dry branches and wilted inflorescences are removed. All thin shoots are shortened so that they have 4 buds. Pruning can also be done in the spring, or rather at the very beginning, before the buds swell. At this time, the branches that thicken the bush are thinned out. Remove branches damaged during the winter.To completely renew an old plant, it is pruned to the very root. Professional plant growers advise cutting off all hydrangea buds in the first season. This ensures lush hydrangea blooms next season.
Preparing for winter
Despite the high susceptibility of Hydrangea Tardiva to low temperatures, it requires shelter for the winter. If severe frosts are expected, then it is necessary to protect the bush itself from them. To begin with, it is wrapped with a special covering material. The next step is to install a mesh frame around the bush. Its size should be such that the distance to the bush is maintained at approximately 25-30cm. Dry leaves are poured into the frame and wrapped in polyethylene.
To prevent the roots from freezing, the bottom of the trunk is “wrapped” with a layer of humus, pine needles or dry leaves
Reproduction
To propagate Tardiva hydrangea bushes, several options are used. Each of them is simple and accessible:
- By layering. This method is only suitable for propagation in early spring. To do this, dig a hole about 15-20 cm deep near the hydrangea. Select a young shoot located closest to the root system. Place it in a hole and cover it with soil. Watering is done as the soil dries. As soon as the first leaves appear, the shoot is separated. To allow the seedling to grow stronger, it is left in the same place for another 20-30 days, and then transplanted.
- Dividing the bush. This propagation method can be used after the hydrangea has bloomed. The bush is dug up and divided into parts. It is important that each one has a growth bud. All obtained parts are planted in a pre-prepared planting hole. The soil in the pit is mixed with mineral or organic fertilizers.
- Cuttings. Harvesting cuttings of Tardiva hydrangea begins in the summer. The ideal choice would be young shoots that have not yet become woody. They are placed in water for three days, and after that the leaves are removed from the entire lower part. To ensure rapid formation of the root system, the cut is treated with a growth stimulator. Place the cuttings in a container with soil, which must first be mixed with sand and peat. Cover with film or other material that will help create a greenhouse effect. The container itself with the cuttings is located in the basement. Until planting, the cuttings are periodically watered. Transfer to the ground is carried out when the roots are formed and become strong, usually by the end of August.
Diseases and pests
This type of plant does not get sick very often. Usually, diseases can be explained by fairly simple and obvious reasons - poor seedlings, incorrectly chosen planting site and improper care.
Common plant diseases:
- Chlorosis. Occurs in plants when there is excess lime in the soil and a lack of iron. The manifestation of symptoms in Tardiva hydrangea is that the leaves dry out and turn yellow. The veins remain green. If the cause of the disease is unknown, then treatment begins with softening the soil. Aluminum sulfate is used for this. The dosage ranges from 2-5 kg/m3, depending on the alkalization of the soil. As a preventive measure, rainwater or water softened with peat or ash is used for irrigation. Reduce soil fertilization with minerals.
If the problem is a lack of iron, then use preparations with ferrous sulfate
- Tardiva hydrangea can get burned from the bright summer sun. This can be noticed by the appearance of translucent white spots. Shading is used as a treatment.
In affected areas, leaves become thinner and sometimes dry out
- White rot. Infection can occur from plant debris from neighboring plantings. Symptoms include darkened shoots on the plant, rotting of the stem near the ground, and a white coating on the leaves. Treatment is approached in a comprehensive manner: all sore spots are cut off and the sections are sprayed with a steep solution of potassium permanganate. Then the plants are treated with special preparations; they can be replaced with copper sulfate or Bordeaux mixture.
At the white bloom stage, the plant is removed so that the disease does not spread to other plants.
- Gray rot. Signs of the disease are dark drying spots and holes on the leaves. First, damaged areas of the hydrangea are removed.
Pure flower and Fundazol are used as treatment
- Septoria. Appears in the form of brown round spots.
Treat the plant with copper sulfate and copper oxychloride
- Aphid. This pest can be washed off with regular soapy water. If the remedy does not help, use insecticides.
The insect attacks hydrangea in entire colonies
- Snails. They eat the leaves and buds of the plant. They are destroyed using special chemicals, which are placed in containers and placed around the diseased hydrangea bush.
Externally harmless snails can cause significant damage to hydrangea plantings.
- Spider mite. At the initial stage, a soap solution is used. If this does not help, treat the plant with ascaricides and insectoacaricides.
It appears in Tardiva hydrangea by the appearance of yellow spots on the reverse side of the leaf.
Conclusion
Hydrangea Tardiva is an excellent choice for decorating the site.Thanks to its brightness and beauty, magnificent flowering and chic bush shape, this plant is used both in serious landscape design projects and in small home plots.
