Methods for propagating hydrangea paniculata
If interest in small shrubs rises, it is likely that attention will be paid to a small one and a half meter plant. How panicle hydrangea reproduces, what are the conditions for caring for it, what this plant loves and “does not welcome” - you need to know in all its subtleties in order to enjoy a healthy bush with large inflorescences over time.
What does this type of hydrangea look like and how is it different?
A low Far Eastern plant is found in the wild nature of the Kuriles, on Sakhalin, as well as in countries such as China and Japan. They are full of overgrown oak forests and forest edges. Over time, becoming a cultivated shrub, hydrangea attracted the attention of gardeners and designers. This is one of the few shrubs that will be a real decoration in the garden.
Inflorescences (length up to 30 cm), decorating it on fresh, not last year's shoots, will become a real fairy tale. The flowers of the plant are diverse. Bisexual rather small, throwing off the petals after pollination. Sterile flowers are easy to distinguish, sometimes their diameter reaches 3 cm, they stay longer on the bushes. And the color gradually changes from the original cream or greenish-white hue to delicate in pale pink tones and even greenish-red.
It is easy to distinguish a paniculate variety of a shrub from others. It grows quickly, and large-sized planted leaves dot the straight spreading branches.
Among the common varieties are the following:
- "Matilda";
- "Brussels Lace";
- "Kiushu";
- "Grandiflora";
- "Unique".
Each of them differs in the size of flowers, the ratio between fruiting and sterile flowers, the duration and form of flowering, the presence or absence of a smell.
Hydrangea Care Requirements
This moisture-loving plant is frost-resistant (withstands up to minus 25 degrees Celsius), grows quickly, loves fertile lands, high humidity not only in the air, but also in the soil.
Hydrangea paniculata, with sufficient care and proper reproduction, can be a long-lived shrub. The age of some plants of this species reaches 60 years.
Even waterlogged soils are suitable for hydrangeas. For the shrub to flower and be strong, the ground must be moist within 1.5 meters around it. Acidic soil with a lot of clay is the best option for the plant, and if the soil is alkaline, there is a threat of chlorosis on the sheets. Acidification of the earth is carried out in the usual way - with ferrous sulfate or ammonium sulfate, as well as with the help of coniferous litter or ordinary peat.
No less important than soil fertility and good lighting for this bush is protection from drafts or winds. Therefore, the best option is to plant near buildings, fences, hedges. Given that the hydrangea is not afraid of polluted air, it has become a favorite plant in the private sector of the city, near roads and central avenues.
The rapid recovery of the shrub after freezing, the absence of danger before the cold winter - makes this plant a favorite among gardeners. Even young shoots damaged due to a cold snap are able to recover in the warm season.
Hydrangea is pruned in early spring, like many other species. Or do it in the winter. Too late, in the warm period of time, when spring is already in full swing, it is no longer possible to cut it. This can make the plant weak and not resistant to disease. The absence of beautiful inflorescences on a bush is far from the only negative consequence that is possible after unprofessional care.
In order for the shoots to be strong, paniculate hydrangea requires watering with a weak solution of potassium permanganate. For 12 liters of water take only half a gram.
Given the plant's love for fertility, panicle hydrangea needs constant feeding.
Feed monthly with organic fertilizers, but not earlier than 14 days after fertilizing with minerals. Flowering is pampered with liquid mineral fertilizers once every 2 weeks. In August, the addition of top dressing is stopped.
Known methods of reproduction
In order to decorate your territory or garden completely, you need to know all the secrets of these shrubs. Hydrangeas reproduce not only by division, but also with the help of offspring, layering and cuttings, as well as seeds. The positive thing is that pre-sowing preparation is not required for them. Sow immediately in the moist soil of the boxes, which are usually used for seedlings. Top covered with glass or PE film for about 3 weeks. Seedlings grow for a long time. You can plant them in a place in the garden only when they are 2 years old and they are more than 30 cm high.
Propagation by cuttings:
Hydrangea cuttings are another type of propagation that is carried out in the middle of summer. In July, when buds are formed, green cuttings should be cut from the lateral shoots of a young plant and planted, having previously been treated with a solution to form roots. In order to properly propagate, you should select only those shoots that have formed in the lower part of a well-lit crown, because their buds are much larger than those of their counterparts. The whole process should be done with wet cuttings, preventing drying out. Therefore, this type of reproduction is carried out in the early morning.
Natural filling of fabrics with moisture is the first key to success.
Propagation by cuttings will be “excellent” if the cutting is fast, and the cut shoots will “await their fate”, settling in pre-prepared water.
First, remove the top on which the bud is located. Then divide what is left of the shoot on the basis that each cutting should have 2-3 pairs of leaves. The cuttings are certainly immersed in a solution to stimulate root growth, but the leaves should not come into contact with the liquid. If you need a root former, but there is no time to get it, the best folk method is a honey solution of 1 teaspoon of honey and 1 cup of pure water. The thickening at the ends of the cutting will go faster, and strong roots will appear from there. In order for panicled hydrangea to go through the entire process of propagation by cuttings “perfectly”, you should prepare a peat mixture, where there will be 2 peat parts, and 1 sand part.
Given the plant's love of moisture, it is necessary to moisten the soil before planting. In order for the cuttings to take root better, they should be covered with banks. If there is no rain and the weather is good, then watering is carried out directly on the banks once every 3 days, if it is dry and hot, then every day. Not covered cuttings are additionally sprayed twice a day. The cuttings will take root, be able to grow new leaves and become stronger in about a month. Then there will be no more need for banks, but protection will have to be used.
Several layers of material for shelter will be a heater against the early frosts that occur in the fall. Insulation for the winter should be a real protection. It is carried out as follows: fall asleep with foliage, cover with any material over pre-installed frames. Considering that winters can be cold, with heavy snowfalls, this entire structure can be laid out on top with spruce branches. Seedlings are transplanted to their permanent place when they reach a minimum height of at least 30-35 cm.
Reproduction by layering:
Breeding hydrangeas by layering occurs in a different way. The soil around the plant should be dug up, leveled, then grooved along the radius. Their depth is about 2 cm, so that no more than one shoot from the lower part of the plant can be laid in a weeded groove. To counterbalance the straightening twigs, horns and earth are used, which are sprinkled. Usually the roots appear in front of the first well-developed bud, if counted from below. There you can put a constriction, for example, from a soft wire.
Layering by the end of summer will give young shoots, which should be constantly, every 1–1.5 weeks, spud. They start when the height of the shoots exceeds 15 cm, and continue until the height of the mound itself reaches 20-25 cm. As practice shows, it is not difficult to propagate this plant with seedlings from layering. It is only necessary in October to separate the shoots that have reached half a meter in height, among themselves and drop the seedlings for the winter in order to plant them in the garden in the spring. The next year they can be allocated a permanent place.
Reproduction by offspring:
The hydrangea paniculata bush propagates well and by offspring. All types of breeding require knowledge and care, but this one is especially. After removing the top layer of soil, the shoot of the shoot should be separated so as not to damage the root system. The offspring should be planted in the garden and left there for growing, which will take 12 - 24 months.
As you can see, panicle hydrangea has different ways of reproduction. The main thing is that the gardener wants to increase the number of bushes of his favorite plant in the garden or make it another kind of small income. Despite some difficulties in caring for and growing new bushes, this plant is becoming more and more popular, especially in central Europe.
