Reproduction of garden hydrangeas

If you have these beautiful bushes growing on your site, then you can propagate garden hydrangeas without much hassle. In this article, we will tell you in what ways you can propagate hydrangea, and you will choose which one is best for you.

You can propagate hydrangea: seeds, layering, dividing the bush, grafting, cuttings of green and lignified shoots.

Reproduction of hydrangea seeds. Gardeners propagate hydrangea with the help of seeds, which are sown in autumn in prepared soil in boxes and covered with glass on top. Sometimes you can use the lower heating for seed germination, but experience has shown that you can safely do without it, since hydrangea seeds come off at a temperature of 14 - 20 degrees Celsius. I note that the seeds of hydrangea are small, and do not germinate quite evenly, so it is not necessary to sow very rarely. The first shoots mainly appear in a month - one and a half after sowing, this explains the sowing of seeds in the fall. In the meantime, they will slowly develop all winter on the windowsills.

Seed propagation of hydrangea requires necessarily 2 picks: the first is made in the state of cotyledon leaves. The second pick - with sufficient lighting and a constant warm temperature in May. Picked hydrangeas in separate pots are taken out in the spring to the street for hardening. In the evening they clean the room. Take care that young plants are not blown by strong winds and direct sunlight does not fall.

Hydrangeas grown from seeds have been grown in pots for two years; in the summer they are put outside, in the winter they are transferred to cool and bright greenhouses. In the third year, the seedlings are transplanted into open ground to a permanent place and left for the winter. In order for the hydrangea to take root well and develop the root system, and if the first flower buds appear, they need to be cut off.

But most often gardeners produce propagation of garden hydrangea by cuttings, layering and dividing the bush. Cuttings need to be prepared from May to July, and if flowering was late, then cuttings can be taken in August. That is, at the beginning of budding in the spring, we cut cuttings from lignified, last year's shoots, they are also called winter cuttings. As well as cuttings from the green shoots of the current year, while removing the buds, such cuttings are called summer.

Technology for cutting hydrangea cuttings: mostly traditional - you need to cut the cuttings with a sharp knife without removing the cut surface. Usually a stalk is taken 6-7 cm long, with two internodes, that is, with two buds. Make the lower cut on an oblique, under the lower kidney - to make the cambium area larger, through which we will get more roots and a stronger root system. Remove the leaves from this internode completely. Make the top cut straight, just above the top internode. Shorten the leaves from the upper internode by half, this will reduce the evaporation of the necessary moisture from the cutting when roots appear.

It is preferable to root hydrangea cuttings in greenhouses, but there are gardeners who root cuttings in a glass of water. Ashy and paniculate hydrangeas are well rooted in water even without treatment with stimulants. But the petiolate, garden (large-leaved) and tree-like hydrangea take root much more quickly when cuttings are treated with indolyl - butyric acid at a concentration of 0.01% (for petiole and large-leaved) and 0.005% (for tree-like).

You can root winter, lignified cuttings from last year's shoots right in the open field like roses, covering them with a transparent film and constantly maintaining high humidity in the heat.

Rooting garden hydrangeas in boxes. It is necessary to cover the box with a layer of soddy soil or peat 5 cm high, and on top they fall asleep 2 cm high with a layer of river sand or washed perlite. Next, the cuttings need to be deepened at an angle of 1.5 - 2 cm, sprinkled with settled water at room temperature and covered with glass caps or film. Boxes should be placed in the light, but not in direct sunlight. At a temperature of 17 - 18 degrees Celsius, garden hydrangea takes root better. After a few days, 3 - 5 days, spray the cuttings. The rooting speed of hydrangea cuttings depends on temperature and humidity, but they take root in about 10 to 20 days. Then, after a month, the cuttings should be planted one at a time in pots (preferably peat) with a clod of earth, not particularly disturbing the roots. Also cover with glass or film.

When 4-6 first leaves appear on your hydrangea, then it can be transplanted into open ground directly with a pot if it is peat. If the pot is different, then try to destroy the earth ball less. For the first few days, be sure to water the plants sufficiently and mulch with peat soil. If flower buds appear, then remove them to give the plant more strength to develop the root system.

Since garden hydrangeas do not tolerate frost well and their apical buds that give flowers often freeze, it is better to dig out hydrangeas planted this year from a cuttings in November with a clod of earth and transplant them into large pots or boxes. You can store them in the basement. Then in February, hydrangeas in boxes should be taken out to a cool, then bright place. There they will start up new shoots, and with the onset of constant heat, they are transplanted to a permanent place where they will bloom.