Hydrangea Bretschneider: all about the ornamental shrub

Hydrangea is a flower known and loved by many gardeners for a long time. It grows in almost every well-groomed courtyard, and its flowering pleases the eye of the owners and bystanders. But what if you love this family of flowers so much, but want something new and different? Well, then this article is especially for you.

One of the most unusual, but no less beautiful species of the hydrangea family is the Bretschneider hydrangea. Its name in Latin is Hydrangea bretschneideri. The homeland of this species is considered to be Beijing, where it was first discovered in 1883. The hydrangea was introduced to Europe in 1920, where new frost-resistant varieties were bred from the garden hydrangea. This marked the beginning of the cultivation of hydrangea not only as a home flower, but also as a garden culture.

Among gardeners, hydrangea is in great demand due to its unpretentiousness, endurance, longevity, beautiful and long flowering. Cut flowers dry well and can be used in bouquet arrangements, both simple and dry.

This is a perennial ornamental shrub, reaching 4 meters in height, although liana forms are also found. The crown of the bush is round, up to 3 meters wide. This species is distinguished by its endurance in winter and arid conditions. The leaves are dark green and oval-oblong in shape with notches. The outer side of the leaves is smooth, and the inner side is fluffy.

Flowering lasts from July to August, but the remains of flowers fall off only in late autumn. Every year, starting from 5-6 years, Bretschneider's hydrangea blooms with faint-smelling inflorescences - "umbrellas" with a slightly convex shield about 13-15 cm in diameter. Flowers located in the middle (bisexual) fall off much earlier than those located on the periphery (sterile). At the end of flowering, around September, fruits appear in the form of dry bolls. Shoots are straight, erect, grow stiff closer to winter.

The color of the leaves and flower petals changes throughout the flowering season. The leaves turn from green closer to autumn to brown-brown, and the white flowers acquire a purple-red hue.

Despite the many advantages of hydrangea, do not forget that all its parts contain a cyanogenic glycoside, which is poisonous to humans. It is necessary to behave quite carefully, do not allow parts of the plant to get into food, prevent contact with children and pets.

Bretschneider ground cover hydrangea sometimes called the "Purple Queen" due to the color change to purple hues, and sometimes "mixed pubescence"... Another name - Himalayan - it received in connection with the most popular place where it grows - on the Himalayan slopes and highlands of China.

Western European nurseries today offer two varieties of this type of hydrangea: Snowcap and Jermyn's Lace.

For planting hydrangeas in open ground, an open and well-lit area is suitable. If it is assumed that there will be no regular watering, then it should be planted in partial shade, because the leaves from the strong sun can burn out. The plant prefers a permeable soil, well loosened and moist. If you are going to grow hydrangeas with white, pink or red inflorescences, then the soil should be slightly acidic, and for varieties with blue flowers, more acidic. Poorly tolerates winter dampness and strong windiness.

To plant a seedling in open ground, first you need to dig a hole somewhere 30x30x30 cm, where to add a mixture of mineral and organic fertilizers, turf mixed with sand and a little peat. Fertilizers for this flower should contain magnesium and iron. The root system of the plant is shortened slightly before planting. The soil is moistened and a young hydrangea is planted at a shallow depth. The soil around a large bush in the future is mulched with peat or humus.

If you decide to expand your garden with new bushes, then seeds or sprouts are used to propagate this type of hydrangea. It is very difficult to propagate bushes by layering, dividing a bush or undergrowth, therefore these methods are rarely used. Let's analyze each of the types separately.

• When growing new flowers from seeds, you need to buy them first or collect them from a faded plant in advance. In May, you can already sow seeds at home in a pot or in a greenhouse. After 30 days the seeds will hatch and each year they will grow by 15-30 cm. Every year the soil in which the new plant grows should be changed. Over time, the grown seedlings can be planted in open ground.

• When growing hydrangeas from cuttings, you don't need to put in a lot of effort. An adult plant is taken or its tip, if the plant is grown at home. If the plant grew in the garden, then you should use a young sprout with 2-3 formed buds from the base of the bush, the leaves of which reach at least 5 cm in length. Plants are planted at a distance of 4–5 cm from each other and 2 cm deep into a pot filled with sand. Greenhouse conditions are created by covering the seedlings with a package. Even without pretreatment with growth stimulants, it grows rather quickly. After 10-15 days, the rooted cuttings are transplanted into separate pots and the tops are cut off so that the branches later form a bush. The lateral shoots of the root should also be cut, leaving only a couple of the strongest shoots.

In order for Bretschneider's hydrangea to grow healthy and bloom thickly, it should be looked after. In general, she is not picky. Sometimes you need to spray the plant to keep the humidity high. In the fall, on the hydrangeas planted in spring, faded, outdated, wilted or frostbitten twigs are pruned to a formed area with buds. This must be done before the onset of the period of sap flow, but if time is lost, then pruning can be done in the spring, while the leaves have not yet blossomed. The frost resistance of these plants makes it possible not to cover them for the winter.

Hydrangea tolerates excess moisture as badly as insufficient watering. In spring and autumn, watering should be constant, about 2-3 buckets of water per week. For irrigation, soft rainwater is recommended. In winter, watering is not needed, only when the soil is completely dry.

During the period of active growth (early spring), hydrangeas are fertilized every week. For adult bushes, liquid mixtures of organic matter and mineral components are used. For plants with blue inflorescences, heather dressings are used.

Growing decorations for your garden can be complicated by a variety of pests and diseases. Their manifestations can be varied: wilting of plant parts, the appearance of spots, rotten areas, growth retardation, a decrease in flowering intensity, and others.

Of the pests most often spoiling the Bretschneider hydrangea, the following can be distinguished.

• A spider mite, due to which the foliage turns yellow and becomes covered with a marble pattern, is shedding flowers. Help: thiophos (5–7 g per 10 liters of water).
• Green leaf aphid, which interferes with the normal growth of the plant, shoots grow with defects, inflorescences and leaves fall off prematurely. Help: anabasine sulfate solution (15–20 g per 10 liters of water).

Diseases troubling the hydrangea.

• Chlorosis. Causes blanching foliage. It occurs when the amount of lime that is allowed for growing hydrangea is exceeded. Help: potassium nitrate or ferrous sulfate in solution (40 g per 10 liters of water).
• Downy mildew - the reason for the formation of yellow oily spots on the leaves on both sides, as well as on the stems. Help: copper soap solution (15 g of copper sulfate + 10 g of soap per 10 liters of water).

A perennial and stable flowering plant becomes a decoration of the gardens of many professionals and amateurs. Bretschneider ground cover hydrangea is used as an independent plant and in company with coniferous, evergreen and deciduous ornamental shrubs. Looks great with viburnum, hawthorn and mountain ash Kene (white-fruited). You can grow it as a hedge.

For the types and varieties of hydrangea, see the next video.