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Hydrangea paniculata Summer Love is a perennial shrub with beautiful flowers and an interesting name that can be translated as “summer love.” The peculiarity is numerous, lush inflorescences in the form of large panicles, which, with proper care, are formed in large quantities. Due to the high winter hardiness of the plant, it can be used for planting both in Central Russia and in regions with a more severe climate - the Urals, Siberia and the Far East.
Description of hydrangea Summer Love
Hydrangea Paniculata Summer Love is truly one of the most beautiful varieties. It is an elegant, compact bush that grows on average up to 80-100 cm, less often up to 1 m.
The root system is superficial: the tissues quickly absorb water and nutrients, due to which the bush grows very actively. Therefore, it can bloom already in the first year after planting.Numerous white and light pink flowers are united in lush panicles that appear in large quantities from mid to late summer. The length of the inflorescence is up to 30-35 cm, they are spherical and cone-shaped in shape.
The crown of the Summer Love hydrangea is spherical, the branches are strong, it grows quite densely, the foliage is dark green. In this case, the leaves have an oval shape, their tips are pointed, but during flowering they are practically invisible. The small height of the bush allows us to classify the Summer Love hydrangea as a low-growing species. However, there is evidence that in favorable climatic conditions the shrub can grow into a small tree up to 2 m high.
Summer Love hydrangea inflorescences literally dot the bush, which is guaranteed to attract attention to it
Hydrangea paniculata Summer Love in landscape design
Summer Love is a completely self-sufficient flower that can be successfully used in single plantings. At the same time, this beautiful hydrangea also looks good in compositions with other flowers, as well as shrubs and perennial herbs. It can be used in landscape design in different ways:
- Single plantings in the garden.
- Single plantings on the lawn next to the house.
- Planting Summer Love hydrangea along the paths.
- A living row of several hydrangea bushes.
- Planting in flowerpots on the site.
Summer Love also looks good as part of mixborders and hedges. In the latter case, the bushes are planted as close to each other as possible at a distance of 70-80 cm.
Winter hardiness of hydrangea Summer Love
There is evidence that paniculate hydrangea Summer Love can withstand even extreme frosts down to -35 degrees. Its young shoots will certainly be damaged under such conditions. But in general, the bush successfully recovers from the winter cold and continues to bloom actively.
Therefore, such hydrangea can be grown in almost any region of Russia:
- middle lane;
- Northwest;
- South;
- Ural;
- Southern Siberia;
- Far East.
If the region regularly experiences extremely cold winters, and the temperature can drop below -30 degrees for several days, the bushes should definitely be covered and their roots should be mulched.
Planting and caring for hydrangea Summer Love
Caring for a flower is not so difficult, but to ensure constant and lush flowering, hydrangea needs to be regularly watered, fed and periodically pruned. Another important point is the choice of landing site.
Selection and preparation of a landing site
Almost all types of hydrangea need plenty of sunlight, so they are usually planted in open areas. Summer Love is no exception, but she also does well in light partial shade (especially in the southern regions).
When choosing a location, you should pay attention to several features:
- If possible, the place should be protected from strong winds and drafts;
- the soil is quite fertile with a moderately acidic reaction (optimal if pH = 5.0);
- it is better to place the shrub at higher elevations, where less precipitation accumulates;
- if groundwater comes close to the soil, you will need to first lay drainage from small stones.
Before planting, the area should be dug well, since hydrangea prefers loosened soil. If the soil is not fertile, additional fertilizing is necessary.
Landing rules
The optimal planting time is considered to be the beginning of October (for the southern regions) or April (for all others). Before planting, it is necessary to prepare a layer of fertile soil, which will subsequently cover the seedling. According to the experience of gardeners, the following composition is considered optimal:
- leaf soil (2 parts);
- peat (1 part);
- sand (1 part);
- humus (2 parts).
The landing technology is as follows:
- First you need to dig a hole of the same depth and diameter - 30 cm each.
- When planting several seedlings of Summer Love hydrangea, a minimum spacing of 1 m should be maintained.
- The plant is placed in the center and covered with soil so that the root collar is slightly visible.
- Then water generously (5-10 l).
Immediately after planting hydrangea, it is advisable to loosen the soil well so that as much air as possible can reach the roots.
Watering and fertilizing
The flowering of hydrangea depends on the subsequent care of the seedling. The rules for watering and fertilizing are simple, but they must be observed constantly, and not from time to time:
- Hydrangea Summer Love, like many other species of this shrub, is very fond of. Therefore, normally (in the absence of precipitation) it should be watered at least once a week (1 bucket of water for a young bush, 2-3 for an adult).
- If the weather is too hot, watering is increased to 2 times a week.To keep the soil moist, it is better to mulch it with pine needles or sawdust.
- Feed 3-4 times per season. In April, you can give complex or nitrogen fertilizer. In June and July (the period of bud formation and first flowering) - potassium and phosphorus. A similar composition can be added at the end of August.
In the absence of precipitation, water the hydrangea every week.
Pruning Hydrangea paniculata Summer Love
Summer Love can grow without pruning, but in this case the bush will gradually lose its beautiful shape, and flowering will not be as abundant. Therefore, every spring (until the beginning of April) it is necessary to carry out a sanitary and shaping haircut:
- remove old and damaged branches completely;
- trim well-developed branches, leaving 2-3 buds;
- thin out the crown if necessary.
Preparing for winter
Preparations for winter are carried out during the period of active leaf fall (late September - early October). The layer of the tree trunk circle is mulched with pine needles, sawdust, peat to a height of at least 5-7 cm. You can also cover 20-30 cm with earth. Young seedlings need additional covering with spunbond, burlap and other available materials.
It is better to cover young bushes of Summer Love every autumn
Reproduction
Hydrangea Summer Love is quite easy to propagate at home. Classic methods are used for this:
- By layering – the lower branches are bent and dug in at the end of March, and then at the beginning of October they are separated and transplanted to a new place.
- Cuttings – in spring or summer, apical shoots with 2-3 pairs of leaves are taken, treated with a growth stimulator and grown in fertile soil (can be in cups). A month later they are transplanted into pots, and the following spring - into open ground.
- Dividing the bush – dig up the entire bush, divide it into 2-3 parts (each should have several powerful shoots) and plant it in a permanent place.
Diseases and pests
The Summer Love variety is resistant to diseases and pests, but periodically the shrub is exposed to fungal infections:
- leaf spot;
- gray rot;
- powdery mildew.
It is also often home to common pests - aphids, leaf rollers, spider mites and others. To avoid this, you should treat with any fungicide and insecticide in the spring. If necessary (signs of damage appear), repeat the procedure at another time.
To treat Summer Love, you can use Bordeaux mixture, Topaz, Skor, Fitosporin-B. These drugs effectively destroy fungi. To eliminate aphids and other pests, you can use a solution of wood ash, baking soda, ammonia, as well as insecticides (Aktara, Iskra, Fitoverm).
As a folk remedy for treatment and prevention, spraying the Summer Love hydrangea bush with a weak solution of potassium permanganate 1-2% is often used.
Conclusion
Among flowering shrubs, Hydrangea paniculata Summer Love stands out for its beauty. This is a very attractive, almost exotic flower that will easily decorate both a small garden and a large flower garden. The plant takes root well even in regions with extreme climates and is not too demanding to care for.If you provide the bush with regular watering and fertilizer, it will bloom for several weeks in a row.
