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Until recently, the habitat of this sensual and beautiful plant was limited to warm countries with a mild climate. Now this royal personage is conquering more and more territories. And the closer to the north it grows, the more trouble gardeners have in the fall. The harsh climate of the northern regions dictates its conditions. And the lower the thermometer drops, the more attention hydrangea requires in preparation for winter. In the Urals, frosts of –35˚С –45˚С are not uncommon. Tender shrubs may simply freeze.
But different varieties require different approaches when preparing hydrangea for winter.
Types of shrubs
Each variety of this beautiful shrub requires special attention not only when growing, but also when caring for them in the autumn, and especially when preparing hydrangea for winter in the Urals.
Paniculata hydrangea
A distinctive feature of paniculate hydrangea is its prolific flowering. For this reason, this variety is the leader among all flowering shrubs. And although hydrangea grows almost everywhere, in the Urals it needs to create special conditions. At the slightest discrepancy in care requirements, the splendor of flowering disappears, and the color of the buds loses its brightness.
Hydrangea paniculata is extremely demanding on soil composition, light and humidity. It is undesirable to plant this variety in an area with close groundwater.
Young seedlings must be “hardened off” before planting in open ground. In the first year they must be grown at home and only then transplanted to the site.
In the first 3-4 years, plants need to be helped to adapt to local climatic conditions, providing them with proper care and shelter for the hydrangea for the winter. In the Urals, when growing shrubs, special attention is paid to protecting plants from severe frosts and gusty winds.
Representatives of this variety are also critical of this type of care, such as timely and correct pruning. During the season it is necessary to prune the bushes at least 2-3 times to form a lush crown.
Tree hydrangea
Tree hydrangea is famous for the beauty and unusual color of its double inflorescences. The shrub loves well-lit places, but blooms to its full potential in light partial shade. The composition of the soil is important for him. The soil must be fertile and loose.
She feels very good in central Russia and in the Moscow region. But in the Urals, tree hydrangea often freezes out. And although it often recovers well after wintering, flower growers do not recommend growing this variety in this region.
Large leaf hydrangea
This type of shrub is considered the most unpretentious and easy to care for. Large-leaved hydrangea looks good on a personal plot; designers often use it in various compositions.
Extremely unpretentious, it has long won the recognition of gardeners. And, despite the excellent frost resistance indicators, in the fall it is still advisable to pay a little attention to it and carry out the necessary measures to prepare the hydrangea for winter. In the Urals, special attention should be paid to such a stage of work as timely shelter.
Autumn work
Like most garden shrubs, hydrangea bushes require autumn care. What work will gardeners have to do in the fall?
- Feeding;
- Trimming;
- Sheltering hydrangeas for the winter.
It is very important to follow the recommendations of experienced gardeners. It is extremely undesirable to skip any stage of preparing hydrangea for winter, because not only the lush flowering of the shrub, but also its safety depends on this.
Feeding shrubs in autumn
In the Urals, they begin to feed hydrangea for winter at the end of August. During active flowering, they gave a huge amount of nutrients to the lush inflorescences. By autumn, the plants are weakened and without your help they will not be able to withstand severe frosts. Therefore, before preparing hydrangea for winter, it needs to be well fertilized.
In the autumn, to feed hydrangeas, you should give preference to fertilizers based on phosphorus and potassium. Nitrogenous fertilizers must be abandoned. They will provoke the growth of young shoots. You can fertilize the shrubs with rotted manure or compost before wintering.
Fertilizers must be applied at least twice before the onset of frost. About 3-4 weeks should pass between feedings. The method of feeding depends on climatic conditions.If the Indian summer is warm and there is very little precipitation, in this case the fertilizer should be diluted in water according to the instructions and the bushes should be watered generously.
If, on the contrary, it rains very often, then it is better to use the dry method:
- Carefully loosen the soil under the bush at a distance of 50-70 cm
- Scatter dry granules evenly around the bush
- Lightly loosen the soil again, as if mixing it with fertilizer.
2-3 weeks after the secondary autumn feeding, you need to stop pre-winter watering and you can begin the second stage of work on preparing the hydrangea for winter - pruning.
Pruning hydrangeas in autumn
Autumn pruning of hydrangeas still causes a lot of controversy among experienced gardeners. Some people advocate mandatory pruning of bushes, while others, on the contrary, advise postponing this event until spring.
Taking into account the peculiarities of the climate of the Ural region, you need to listen to the advice of experienced flower growers and take into account the peculiarities of preparing hydrangeas of one type or another for winter.
Tree hydrangeas require mandatory pruning:
- Withered buds;
- Damaged, broken and weak shoots;
- The upper part of the shoots;
- Old and last year's branches.
If there are too many branches, you should thin out the bush by cutting out some of the branches. Otherwise, over time, the abundance of flowering will gradually decrease.
Large-leaved hydrangea is distinguished by the fact that its flowers are formed on last year's shoots. Therefore, this event must be approached with caution. Old branches and weak shoots are subject to mandatory pruning.
The shoots of large-leaved hydrangea need to be shortened in the spring.The upper part of the branches often freezes, and therefore in the spring, be sure to carry out sanitary pruning and cut off the frozen shoots.
Paniculate hydrangea should be pruned in the same way as tree hydrangea. The following types of pruning are required for them:
- Thinning. A special feature of this species is the vigorous growth of young shoots. If you exclude this stage of work on preparing the hydrangea for winter, in a couple of years the bush will be large, but you will not get flowers from it.
- Sanitary. Damaged branches must be cut out.
- Rejuvenating. Old branches are also subject to mandatory removal. They will bloom weakly, but they draw a lot of strength and nutrients from the roots.
Last year's shoots are removed, leaving at least 2-3 pairs of well-developed buds. Old branches need to be cut at the root.
After pruning, do not forget to treat all cuts with garden varnish. Pruning of hydrangeas in the Urals must be completed by the beginning of October.
Hydrangea shelter in the Urals
If in the southern and central regions the royal beauty easily tolerates frosts with light shelter, or even without it at all, then it is imperative to cover hydrangea for the winter in the Urals. This is due not only to low temperatures, but also to the reduced winter hardiness of plants.
The climate in the Ural region is famous for its low temperatures and piercing winds. Moreover, winter comes to these parts very early. It is very difficult to predict when the first frost will occur.Therefore, already in the middle - end of October, all work on preparing hydrangea for winter in the Urals should be completed.
When starting to cover hydrangeas in the Urals, first of all mulch the ground around the bush. The following materials are well suited for this:
- Peat or moss;
- Sawdust, shavings;
- Lapnik;
- Dry leaves.
After this, you need to cover the branches of the bush to the maximum possible height. Tie large shrubs with spreading branches with twine. Install a chain-link mesh or any other mesh base around the bush. Fill the resulting cylinder with dry leaves so that it completely covers the branches.
To prevent the leaves from being scattered at the first gusts of wind, throw a large piece of lutrasil or burlap over the structure and secure it at the base.
This method of covering will help the hydrangea to overwinter, and in the spring it will again delight you with the abundance and beauty of delicate inflorescences.
You will learn from the video how to properly trim, cover and prepare hydrangea for winter.
Many gardeners who have been growing hydrangeas in the Urals for a long time prefer to send particularly finicky varieties to the basement for the winter. If the bush is not too large, it is transplanted into a large pot in the fall, watered and placed in a dark, cool place. Air humidity should not exceed 60-70%, and the room temperature should not be lower than +2˚С +5˚С.
Hydrangea is transplanted into open ground in the spring, as soon as the frosts have passed and the ground has warmed up to +7˚С +10˚С.
As you can see, preparing hydrangea for winter in the Urals is not at all difficult. These activities do not take much time.
Spring work
With the arrival of spring in the Urals, it is necessary to remove the cover from the bushes in early - mid-April, gradually removing layer by layer. Otherwise, overwintered hydrangea will inevitably die during the return of spring frosts.
First, remove the lutrasil, after 7-10 days it will be possible to free the bush from foliage. And only then remove the rest of the covering material.
Conclusion
In the fall, in preparation for winter, hydrangea requires more care than during the entire growing season. Their flowering, the health of the shrub as a whole, and the preservation of varietal characteristics depend on how carefully you follow the rules for caring for flowers. But in the summer, shrubs strewn with bright multi-colored inflorescences will become a source of pride, because growing and preserving hydrangea in the Urals is not so easy!
