How to plant a climbing hydrangea and care for it yourself

It should be noted right away that planting a climbing hydrangea is not particularly difficult, it takes no more effort and time than the rest of the garden pets. It is enough to observe a few rules for the plant to take root well, grow and bloom profusely. Given the resistance of hydrangea to frost, this plant is especially valuable for cultivation in places with cool climates, where winters are quite cold. It is still advisable to cover young, fragile shoots for the winter, at least for the first couple of years. Then the hydrangea will gain strength and cope on its own.

Advice

Covering shoots for wintering, you can put boards under them, and sketch spruce branches on top.

Hydrangea, growing, covers the surfaces with a solid green carpet. It looks very beautiful on fences, walls of houses and gazebos. Thanks to the adventitious roots, the hydrangea clings to any vertical surface, actively grows upward and in width. Depending on the variety, the length of the vine can reach 25 meters. In addition, the plant variety affects some other parameters, for example, frost resistance. Therefore, before planting a hydrangea on your site, you need to familiarize yourself with the list of varietal characteristics.

Leaves can vary in color and shape. There are light green, dark green, non-colored, for example, with dark or white veins, with a transition from the darker middle of the leaf plate to its light peripheral part. Inflorescences are a thyroid panicle. The flowers are predominantly white or white-pink. With the help of special coloring additives, they can be given almost any shade. The flowering period is in June or July.

Reproduction and planting rules

Climbing hydrangea propagates, like most plants of this type, in several ways. The rarest of these is seed propagation, which is used for breeding purposes. The most common ones are cuttings, division, propagation by layering. Each of these methods is pretty simple.

In the case of reproduction by division, a young shoot should be separated from the main plant, the stem of which should be shortened to two or three internodes. Lower the rhizome into the hole, cover with soil, water abundantly for a month. The optimal time for this procedure is spring.

Cuttings are made by cutting off a part of a stiff shoot and then germinating it in a container with soil. Caring for the cuttings consists in its regular watering and treatment with root formation stimulants. The stalk must be covered with a film and placed in a place with diffused light or in partial shade. The soil should contain peat, sand and humus. When the stalk is strong enough, the film should be removed.

Layering is perhaps the simplest. It is necessary to prepare the soil a little by loosening and moistening it. Then press one of the lower shoots to the ground, cut it at the point of contact and sprinkle with peat, water abundantly. Over time, root shoots are formed at the incision site, which will subsequently develop into a full-fledged root system, and the cuttings will become an independent plant.

Climbing hydrangea is not a very whimsical plant, so planting it does not require special knowledge, and its care does not require excessive effort. It is only necessary to take into account a few nuances, properly prepare the soil and ensure that planting is carried out at the optimal time for this, which, of course, is spring.

So, planting a climbing hydrangea requires compliance with the following conditions.

1. The soil is moist, well loosened, the nature of the environment is rather acidic.For a balanced soil composition, sand and peat should be added to the ground in equal proportions.
2. The landing site is not too shaded, but also not in full sun. Diffused light is preferred. This will ensure timely, abundant flowering.
3. The rhizome should be distributed as much as possible along the horizontal plane, the root collar should not be deeply buried - a couple of centimeters is enough.
4. Planting ends with abundant watering. Mulching is desirable.

Advice

After planting the hydrangea in the hole, the soil must be pressed with your hands, compacting it so that there are no voids in the soil - thanks to this, the roots will receive moisture evenly.

If you follow these simple conditions and provide minimal care, the hydrangea will take root pretty soon and begin to grow rapidly. It should be noted that it uses any vertical surfaces, including fruit and ornamental trees, as a support. Therefore, in order not to subsequently free other garden plantings from the shoots of this plant, it is necessary to plant the hydrangea in such a way that it grows where it was intended. In addition, the moisture-loving hydrangea in this case may not withstand the competition in the struggle for water.

Care advice

As already mentioned, caring for climbing hydrangea does not require a lot of time and effort. The basic rule is timely and sufficient watering. Hydrangea loves moisture and should be watered abundantly, at least once every ten days. In extreme heat and drought, even more often. It is useful to mulch the soil using peat, for example. Mulching will keep the soil hydrated and nourish the plant further.

Hydrangea growth should be regulated by pinching the shoots in the direction in which it needs to be limited. If the surface that was supposed to be covered with shoots is not too high, but spreads mainly in width, then it is necessary to stimulate the plant to grow in this direction, pinching the vertical shoot. If, on the contrary, you want to achieve maximum growth upward, then you should allow the hydrangea to climb to the height available to it. If necessary or in the absence of other supports, such as walls, it is worth providing it with supports. This process is more likely not leaving, but modeling, therefore, it is carried out as needed or at will.

However, the removal of damaged, dried and frozen shoots during the winter is a care, and a must. This not only positively affects the appearance of the plant, but also allows live shoots to grow freely. If this is not done on time, among other things, dry lashes will intertwine with young growth, after which it will be difficult to separate one from the other. The fact is that the hydrangea is so strongly attached to the support that it literally grows into it, and, intertwining with dead shoots, forms a continuous carpet over time.

You can supplement your care for this favorite of gardeners, for example, by making various fertilizers and feeding. This is especially true during planting and during the period of active growth. Bird droppings diluted in water in proportions of 1:10, as well as various mineral compositions, are suitable for this. You can also use ready-made fertilizers specially designed for this type of plant.

Climbing hydrangea will respond with gratitude even to such a modest and unpretentious care. Over time, it will braid and cover whatever the gardener wants. During flowering, it will bring joy not only with its appearance, but also with its aroma, attracting bees to itself. It is difficult to find a more unpretentious, modest in care and effective "pet" in this category of garden plants. If there are elements on the site that you want to beautifully and reliably cover, and there is also a need to make zoning, then planting a hydrangea can solve these problems.