How and when to plant hydrangeas ?
Properly performed hydrangea planting gives a better chance for the bush to adopt in a new place. In an inadequately prepared position, the hydrangea will bloom poorly and may become ill. See how and when to plant hydrangeas to provide them with the best conditions for growth and enjoy their beautiful flowers for many years!
When to plant hydrangeas?
In fact, it is difficult to determine the best time to plant hydrangeas. Hydrangeas are sold in pots and can be planted in gardens from spring to late fall (April to November). However, it is worth to remember that hydrangeas do not tolerate low temperatures very well. It is better to plant hydrangeas in early summer, so that they have plenty of time for good rooting and acclimatization in a new place.
Planted in spring hydrangeas require regular and plentiful watering throughout the growing season. The fall planting date for hydrangeas helps to reduce the frequency of watering, but creates the risk of the bushes freezing over.
When choosing this planting date, you need to carefully protect the hydrangeas for the winter.
Best time to plant Hydrangeas is on cloudy days in the early morning hours, because then there is not threat of sudden change in temperature.
Store hydrangeas in a shade, shelter them from sun from the moment of purchase. Until you are ready to plant them you must water them regularly. It will prevent root ball from drying out.
Planting a hydrangea step by step
1. Preparation of the substrate for hydrangeas
An extremely important procedure when planting hydrangeas is careful preparation of the substrate. The soil for the cultivation of hydrangeas should be fertile, permeable, well-aerated and provide the plants with sufficient water at all times.
Before planting hydrangeas, preapre the site. You must remove all impurities and weeds, especially those with deep roots.
You should acidify soil with too high pH (above 6.5). Use acidic peat, pine bark or acidifying fertilizerz. The ideal pH for hydrangeas is ranging from 4.5 to 5.5. Good thing is that acidifier allows you to quickly bring the soil pH to the desired level. So you can be use it just before planting the hydrangea.
Light, highly permeable soils, poor in nutrients and humus should be enriched with compost, composted manure or peat substrate at a dose of 40-60 kg per 10 m² of substrate.
The addition of organic matter increases the water capacity of the substrate, enriches it with nutrients, improves its compactness and creates favorable conditions for the development of the hydrangea root system.
Just before planting hydrangeas, it is worth adding TerraCottem to the ground, which contains a hydrogel, fertilizer and substances that improve soil structure.
The first of these ingredients – a hydrogel – increases the water capacity of the soil, thanks to which the soil remains moist for longer and the hydrangea is less prone to drying out.
In the case of heavy and compacted soils, the preparation of the site for the cultivation of hydrangeas should start a year earlier. To loosen the soil structure, mixed it with a dozen or so cm layer of pine bark, gravel, fibrous peat or compost. Then in autumn dig it 20-30 cm deep.
2. The technique of planting hydrangeas
To plant a hydrangea in the garden, dig a hole that is the same depth as the pot and twice its diameter. At the bottom of the hole put a layer of manure or compost, acid humus and garden soil, a few centimeters wide.
Mix components with each other with ratio of 1: 1: 2. If you plant hydrangeas on heavy soil, cover the bottom of the hole with a layer of drainage of several centimeters made of coarse gravel, vermiculite or small pebbles.
When you notice that root ball is dry. You should immerse pot with hydrangea in water. When soil around root ball is sufficiently wet, gently knock the plant out of pot. If there is a dense lump you must gently loosen it. If you see long and damaged roots now is the time to remove them. Trimming the roots increases their growth, which makes the newly planted hydrangeas take on better.
Plant hydrangeas as deep as they grew in the container. Only on sandy and very loose soils plant them 3-4 cm deeper. The density of planting hydrangea bushes depends on the strength of their growth. Dwarf varieties of hydrangeas are planted with a spacing of 50 x 50 cm, and strong-growing ones 100 x 120 cm.
Climbing hydrangeas – plant them 30 – 100 cm from the wall or fence on which they will climb. To make it easier for plants to climb the wall, you can install hooks, use bamboo poles or a mesh.
You should also look into Hydrangea Annabelle. this shrub is very popular due to its decorative values.
3. Hydrangea care after planting
After planting the hydrangeas, the soil around the bushes is compacted, forming a characteristic basin in which water will collect. Then the hydrangeas should be watered abundantly, preferably with rainwater, so as not to raise the pH of the substrate. When the water soaks into the soil, fill in the resulting losses of soil, revealing shallow roots.
Spread a 6-10 cm layer of mulch around the planted hydrangeas. Mulching the soil helps to keep it moist, keeps the roots cool in summer and protects them from frost in winter. Additionally, organic mulch increases the humus content in the substrate and improves its structure.
For mulching hydrangeas, compost pine bark, conifer sawdust, a mixture of bark and peat or oak leaves are used. You can also plant low, shallow-root, turf-covering ornamental plants around the hydrangea, such as periwinkle, common ivy or Japanese marsh. They will fulfill the same role as the litter.
