Hydrangea propagation - five main ways

About hydrangeas, we got acquainted with its types and varieties, with the requirements for growing these lovely flowers.

The question remains unanswered about how hydrangea breeding. Of course, the easiest way would be to buy a seedling in a nursery.

But, firstly, it is still an expensive pleasure; secondly, there is not always the variety that you like and, thirdly, the process of breeding hydrangeas is also a very exciting activity.

well, like this how does hydrangea reproduce? There are at least five ways to propagate it: by seeds, cuttings, layering, offspring, dividing the bush.

Let's get to know each of them a little.

We propagate by seeds

Hydrangea seeds do not require pre-sowing preparation, so they can be sown immediately in seedling boxes.

Seeds should not be planted in the soil. Immediately after sowing, cover the box with glass or plastic wrap. At the same time, of course, do not forget that the soil should be moist.

Shoots will appear in about 20 days. Then we grow the seedlings for two years and only in the third year they can be planted in a permanent place in our garden. By this time, our seedlings should be 30-40 cm high.

Keep in mind that only natural plants reproduce well with seeds. hydrangea, and varieties bred by breeders with this method of reproduction lose their acquired decorative qualities.

Since we will clearly be engaged in the propagation of varietal hydrangeas, we will consider the following methods in more detail.

The best way is with green cuttings

This way breeding hydrangeas is the most common among gardeners.

It is best to do green cuttings at the moment when the buds appear - this is approximately mid-July.

Let's define what it is - a green stalk. This is the leafy part of the stem with one or more buds.

I advise you to cut cuttings only from young plants. If you already have old bushes, then you must first carry out anti-aging pruning.

Also, note that cuttings cut from lateral shoots (grown on last year's growths) in the lower part of the crown take root better, but it should be well lit. Such cuttings have fairly developed large buds and no signs of any disease.

Another very important point is the preservation of moisture in the tissues in the cut cuttings, since the success of rooting largely depends on this. To do this, we cut off the shoots in the early morning, at which time all the tissues of the plant are still filled with moisture, and then, in the process of further work with the cuttings, we carefully monitor that they do not dry out.

We immediately put the cut shoots in the water in the shade and start cutting the cuttings as soon as possible. At the shoot, we cut off the green top with a bud, since it is not suitable for a cutting.

The remaining green part of the shoot is divided into several parts with 2-3 pairs of leaves. After that, we remove the lower leaves from the cutting, and shorten the upper ones by half and carefully place the cuttings in a solution of some root growth stimulator so that the leaves do not get into the solution.

It can be, for example, root, heteroauxin or zircon. We make the solution strictly according to the instructions and keep the cuttings in it for 2 hours, preferably in a dark place.

If you didn’t have any root former at hand, then I advise you to prepare such a solution: dissolve 1 teaspoon of honey in one glass of water. Honey contributes to the rapid formation of callus - a thickening at the end of the cutting, from which the roots grow.

Now you can start planting the prepared cuttings. We plant them with a mixture of peat and sand prepared in advance (2: 1), having previously moistened it. For better rooting, you can cover the cuttings with banks and a couple of times a week (in the absence of rain) we water them directly over the banks.

If the weather is very hot and dry, it is advisable to water the cuttings every day. Cuttings that you have not covered, it is advisable to spray twice a day.

Usually, after 25-30 days (approximately by the second half of August), the cuttings take root and new leaves appear on them.

The jars can already be removed from them, but it would be better to cover the seedlings with several layers of any covering material so that early autumn frosts do not damage our still very young plants.

For the winter, they also need to be well covered. We fall asleep seedlings with fallen leaves, then we install a low frame over them and cover it with covering material.

For better snow retention, you can additionally put spruce branches on top.

In the spring, already rooted cuttings are planted in the garden for further growth. We plant seedlings in a permanent place when they grow enough.

We propagate by layering

It is best to start propagating hydrangeas by layering in early spring, even before bud break.

First, we dig the soil around the bush, then carefully level it. We make radial grooves 1.5-2 cm deep and put one shoot from the bottom of the bush into them.

To prevent the branches from straightening, we pin them with specially made spears and lightly sprinkle with earth.

For a faster appearance of roots, the following technique can be applied: on layering in front of the first well-developed bud from below, we make a constriction from a thin soft wire in 2-3 turns, then when the shoot thickens, our constriction will be pressed into the bark and roots will appear in this place.

By the end of summer, several young shoots should form on each of our layers.

When they reach a height of 15-20 cm, they must be hilled, then every 7-10 days we repeat the hilling. And we do this until the height of the mound becomes 20-25 cm.

In October, we dig up the layers and separate the resulting shoots from each other. Their height by this time should be about 50 cm.

We dig in the seedlings, and in the spring we plant them in the garden. And only a year later they will be ready to land on a permanent place.

Reproduction offspring

Overgrown hydrangea also reproduces well. This method of propagation of hydrangea requires great attention and caution.

To do this, in the fall we remove the top layer of soil and very carefully, so as not to damage the roots of the mother bush, we separate the coppice shoot.

We plant the separated shoots in the garden and leave them there to grow, depending on the condition of the seedling, for one or two years.

We transplant and divide the bush

This method of reproduction is mainly used when transplanting hydrangeas.

It can be used for all types of hydrangeas, except paniculata. It is best to transplant hydrangeas in early spring.

We pre-water the bush abundantly, then we dig it out and carefully wash the roots from the soil.

Now you can divide the bush into several parts and immediately plant the delenki in a permanent place, cutting the ends of the shoots and roots.

I recently read about this method of hydrangea propagation, which Victoria Barabash shared with us, in a gardening magazine. Very affordable and original!

If you bought a hydrangea seedling in the fall, then it is just for you.

So, we cut off all the leaves on the seedling, cut off the unripened green shoots and take it out of the container.

Now it must be buried in a prepared trench. We make a trench of such a size that it is possible to lay a seedling in it obliquely, with the condition that the root ball will be lower and the branches higher.

First of all, we cover the roots with earth and compact well. Then we fan out all the branches of the seedling and also cover them with earth.

So that our seedling does not freeze in winter, we cover it with another layer of peat or humus from above.

As soon as the bright spring sun warms the earth, on the branches of our buried hydrangea, the buds will grow.

At first, new shoots will receive nutrition from a common root system, and in the future they will form their own roots.

At the end of summer, dug in this way, we dig up a bush of hydrangea and separate the resulting new shoots with their own root system.

So, having buried one plant, we can get ten new seedlings with well-developed own roots.

Now, dear readers, you have learned how hydrangea reproduces and you can successfully plant a few more varieties of this magnificent plant that you love on your site, or even replenish your budget by growing seedlings for sale.

I also suggest watching a very good video about the propagation of hydrangeas by cuttings in order to visually consolidate the information received.

See you soon, dear readers!