7 Key Tips for Planting Hydrangea and Its Initial Care

Choosing a healthy seedling

All beautiful hydrangea bushes start with a small seedling. Its condition determines how well the plant will take root in a new place and delight you with large inflorescences. Therefore, we immediately remember the basic rules for choosing a seedling:

• You need to buy in nurseries and chain garden stores.
• You need to choose seedlings with a closed root system. The pot will allow you to keep the hydrangea until the frosts completely recede.
• To check the root system, the plant is carefully pulled out of the container along with the earthen lump. The roots should be healthy, moist, without dry shoots, traces of rot or mold.
• The optimal size is 2-4 even strong shoots.
• For greater certainty, you can wait until the end of May or the beginning of July and buy a plant that is already vegetating.
• The hydrangea’s health is indicated by symmetrical, elastic, rich green leaves.

The ideal place for hydrangea

Hydrangeas are not the most capricious flowers, but their location plays a key role. Here you will have to accept it and plant it not where you want, but where the plant will be best.

• For paniculate varieties, you need to choose a place with a partial shade regime. In strong sun, it becomes smaller and degenerates, but it is also bad without light.
• Similarly, with tree hydrangea – the plant loves moderate sunlight without scorching direct rays. Ideally, the bushes should be planted near shrubs and trees that will create the necessary protection for them.
• Petal (creeping) species tolerate shade best. They grow well near walls and high fences. Good soil permeability is important for hydrangea.

Planting hole size

For active growth and flowering of hydrangea, nutritious soil is required. To grow it in areas with poor soil, it is necessary to thoroughly fertilize the planting hole. For a young seedling, prepare a depression measuring 30×30 cm, 40-50 cm deep.

For developed plants, a wider hole will be required. The pit is enlarged if the soil has to be conditioned by adding sand, humus or a nutrient mixture. Between adjacent holes, a distance of 1.5-2.5 meters is maintained so that adult plants do not interfere with each other.

The right fertilizer when planting

Suitable soil is rare, but it can be adapted so that the hydrangea takes root and starts growing right away. Sand or broken brick is poured into the bottom of the hole for drainage.

The remaining volume is filled with a substrate of excavated soil, humus and high-moor peat. This composition will allow you to grow hydrangea even in a clay place with poor soil. Recommended proportions: 2 parts of turf soil and humus, and 1 part of clean sand and peat.

Before planting the seedling, the soil ball should be lightly shaken so that the roots straighten out and grow faster. The plant is deepened into the prepared nutrient “cocktail” to the level of the root collar.

Frequency and abundance of watering

For their love of moisture, hydrangeas were given the name Hydrangea (vessel with water), so be prepared for frequent watering. The bushes should not be planted in an area where the owners only visit on weekends. For watering, you need settled, lukewarm water from the tap or collected rainwater.

When planting, only spray the bush. In the next 2 weeks, water the plant every 2-3 days. Then simply keep the soil moist, preventing it from drying out. To protect against drying out, the surface around the hydrangea is slightly compacted and mulched with bark, sawdust or pine needles.

Protection from pests and diseases

2-3 years after planting, hydrangea bushes do not require pruning, and the substrate rich in nutrients is enough for the full development of the plant. But the flower can suffer from pests.

Wet soil promotes the development of rot and fungal diseases. If a whitish coating, rusty spots or causeless wilting of foliage appears, you need to remove all damaged parts and treat the hydrangea with a fungicide.

Insecticides help against insect pests. To combat diseases due to improper care, make adjustments: replace hard water, reduce the amount of fertilizers.

Preparing for winter

Many varieties of hydrangea are acclimatized for countries with cold climates. For successful wintering, young plants must be insulated. The roots may not be affected, but the young shoots will die from frost.

In the southern regions, hilling is enough, and in the northern regions, you need to cover with spruce branches, peat and film. You can also place the plant in a rigid frame and cover it with dry leaves or wrap it in hay or straw.

If you figure it out, taming the capricious hydrangea is not at all difficult. We have divided the first year of life from planting in open ground to wintering into simple recommendations that will help you grow a beautiful flowering bush from a small seedling.