The variety of garden plants is striking in its beauty. One of the most popular in growing bushes is hydrangea, numbering dozens of varieties. Against their background, a large-leaved species (another name - macrophile) stands out with a special lush-flowering crown, characterized by a large leaf size and heavy inflorescences. This material discusses the features of its cultivation, varietal differences and the basic principles of care.
Characteristics of large-leaved hydrangea
Not all garden plants boast lush flowering, combined with easy care and frost resistance. Hydrangea, the name of which is translated from Latin as “a vessel with water”, belongs to their number, being an enviable culture for growing in private garden plots and park areas. Also widely used as a potted houseplant.
The species is a broadleaf bush with a round crown and a dense trunk, which lignifies over time. The main characteristic feature of the plant is its flowering - large-leaf hydrangea is able to produce up to 400 inflorescences in one instance. They can be painted in different shades (from white to purple), depending on the variety, forming lush shields with large flowers. The flowering period covers July - early autumn.
Video: Growing large-leaved hydrangea
Botanical description of the species
Large-leaved hydrangea belongs to plants of the genus Hydrangia. The shrub can reach a height and diameter of 3 m, and under natural conditions grow up to 10 m. The branches are brown or red in color, slightly pubescent and dark green elongated leaves with serration.
Cone-shaped panicles of inflorescences of cultivated varieties reach a diameter of 20 cm and can be located on stems up to 30 cm long. Simple and egg-shaped leaves are painted in dark green. The hydrangea fruit forms a box with 2–5 sections and numerous small seeds. 
Popular varieties of large-flowered hydrangea
Leaf hydrangea has many varieties that are cultivated by gardeners. The most popular of them:
- Red Sensation;
- Miss Hepburn;
- Nikko Blue;
- Countess Kozel.
Did you know? The saturation of hydrangea flowers can be controlled by changing the acidity of the soil. The more neutral the pH, the lighter the petals.
Red Sensation
Low frost resistant variety with beautiful red flowers. The name corresponds to the appearance - large inflorescences are able to decorate a park or a personal plot with bright flowering. Branches with panicles are so lush that a short bush can easily bend under their weight.
Red Sensation blooms twice a season - first on last year's branches, and then on the shoots of the current year.
Miss Hepburn
This is an average bush, reaching a height of 1.5 meters, with flowers of pink or purple color - depending on the acidity of the soil. The plant is used as a single decoration of the site. Dried inflorescences do not lose their color, in connection with this they are often used in floristry.
Nikko Blue
One of the few large-leaved varieties of hydrangea, which can grow not only in the garden, but also at home. The bush is quite high - up to 1.5 m and the same diameter. Flowers in dense spherical inflorescences are large and have a blue or blue color.
Countess Kozel
Another transcription of the name of the Kozel variety is “Kossel”. A plant resistant to cold, which is able to develop normally and bloom luxuriantly in early July. Its pink-white inflorescences reach a diameter of up to 25 cm and are supported by powerful stems. Large "balls" with flowers are complemented by large leaves that distinguish the variety with special beauty.
Outdoor landing
Before planting a seedling in a constant place of growth, it is necessary to determine whether the soil, lighting, and terrain are suitable for it. Its future splendor of flowering and a healthy appearance depends on this.
Important! TOthe mouth of hydrangeas cannot be planted under the crown of a tree, even if most of the day it will be in the sun. The fact is that a tree can “pick up” all mineral substances and moisture from the soil.
Landing time
You can plant a young bush both in spring and autumn. When spring planting, it is better to wait for the established warm weather. This usually happens in early May, when sunny days come after snowmelt and cold rains. And in the fall, a margin of time is needed to root the seedling and adapt it to a new growth site.
It is recommended to plant the bush in September, so that the first autumn frosts do not take the young plant by surprise and do not damage its aerial part.
Seat selection
Hydrangea can grow both in open areas and in partial shade. In the first case, leaves are smaller, but large inflorescences remain, in the second case, the foliage becomes larger and the flowers are smaller. The middle of a small slope, a gentle park descent or a plain, where there will be no stagnation of water after rains, is best suited.
Soil preparation and seedling
The plant prefers fertile, moderately acidic soil. In such conditions, it develops rapidly and most vividly demonstrates its best qualities in the form of large inflorescences and large dark green leaves. But hydrangea does not tolerate lime in the soil - it ceases to grow, after which it withers and dies.
For planting, choose a bush with a normally developed root system. Damaged branches and parts of the roots are removed with a sharp secateurs. Before planting, the seedling is immersed at the level of the root neck in a weak solution of potassium permanganate for 20-30 minutes. This procedure can be done twice - in the evening, and then in the morning, just before being placed in the ground.
Landing algorithm
Plant a plant in the same sequence as other flower shrubs. In this regard, hydrangea differs little from its "neighbors" in the garden.
The landing sequence is as follows:
- For two weeks, it is necessary to mulch the place for the seedling with a thick layer (about 10 cm) of sawdust or needles - this will preserve moisture in the ground.
- 2-3 days before planting, dig a planting hole with dimensions several times larger than the rhizomes of the seedling - usually 80 cm deep and of the same diameter.
- Lay 10-15 cm of “Vermiculite” or broken brick on the bottom - this is necessary for the normal removal of excess water, both irrigation and rain.
- To lay a bucket of humus or peat - this will increase the nutritional value of the soil.
- In the early morning or at sunset, set the seedling vertically in the pit and sprinkle it with soil.
- Gently ram the ground and pour 1-2 buckets of warm water.
Care
Further care for the young plant consists of watering, fertilizing, forming a crown and preparing for wintering.
Watering and fertilizer
The approximate amount of water for each bush of hygrophilous hydrangea is 20 liters per week as the soil dries. It is possible to determine the need for irrigation by checking the soil moisture, making 2-3 cm digging. If the earth has dried out at this level, then you can water the shrub with settled and warm water - this will have a beneficial effect on the development of the seedling.
For fast growth and lush flowering, hydrangea should be fed every two weeks with aluminum-potassium solutions (up to 5 g per 1 liter of water under the bush).
Did you know? If you add fertilizing on one side of the root zone or divide into fertilized sectors around the plant into sectors, you can get flowers of different colors on one bush.
You can also bring under the trunk a weak infusion of mullein according to this scheme:
- in early spring to strengthen the seedling and accelerate branching;
- in June for pouring buds;
- in mid-summer (July or early August) to prolong flowering and the formation of new buds in the repairing varieties.
First-year seedlings need to be watered once a month with a weak solution of potassium permanganate. This helps fight putrefactive bacteria and fungi.
Trimming and Shaping
Each gardener decides independently whether to cut the bush, because there are different pros and cons of this procedure. The plant does not require pruning, as it forms new buds in the axils of the old shoots. This occurs in both repair and normal varieties. In this regard, the formation can disrupt the second flowering in the first, and the formation of buds next year in the second.
Park varieties that do not need the formation of large inflorescences, as well as long and lush flowering, are recommended for pruning. If they are used as an element of landscape design, then you can remove any branches - both thickening shoots and unevenly growing young and damaged old ones.
Last year's branches are correctly pruned in early spring before the sap flow in them, and young ones can be corrected by forming a bush in the warm season.Winter preparations
At the end of autumn, hydrangea should be prepared for winter frosts. First-year plants are pruned at a height of about 8 cm above the ground. After that, they are sprinkled with dry litter of needles, foliage, sawdust or peat to the entire height, and covered with a plastic film on top, which is pressed against the gusts of wind by logs or stones.
1- tilted shoots, 2 -cocking, 3- spruce branches, 4- lutrasil, 5- stone
Breeding methods
Reproduction of this unpretentious plant is carried out by all known methods for garden shrubs:
- cuttings;
- layering;
- by seeds;
- division of the rhizome.
Cuttings
Young, not yet lignified shoots are cut in the autumn to a length of 10-15 cm, removing the lower leaves, deepening the cuttings in a container with peat 2-3 cm and leaving them in a heated greenhouse or on a windowsill for the whole winter. In the spring, their rooting is checked and transferred to a greenhouse or already in open ground.
Layering
In the autumn, a strong lower branch of the bush is bent into a previously prepared and peat-fertilized furrow in the ground, reinforced in this position with metal or plastic brackets and covered with earth.
Layers may appear as early as next summer or autumn, but they do not need to be touched yet. After a year, each shoot that appears will take root, which will be enough for a transplant. Each seedling is cut and planted in its place for growth.
Seeds
Seeds collected at the end of flowering are dried, stratified in peat for 2-3 months, washed in a solution of potassium permanganate and planted in the greenhouse in early spring until germination of viable sprouts. In early May, the greenhouse can be opened, seedlings planted in a greenhouse, and in areas with a warm climate - in moist soil.
Dividing the bush
Dividing the bush is the fastest way to get a new and already adult plant. To do this, carefully dig out the already developed hydrangea and remove its root system from the ground. The root, together with the stems growing from it, is divided into several parts (preferably two). After that, each part is added dropwise into pre-prepared wells.
Diseases and their treatment
Hydrangea suffers little from diseases, but can be affected by downy mildew or chlorosis. In both cases, the leaves are lightened with their further drying and falling. Powdery mildew is treated by washing the leaves with an aqueous solution of laundry soap.
You can add a pinch of copper sulfate to a liter of liquid. Chlorosis affects those bushes that grow in the soil, where there is too much limestone. Hydrangea does not need to be planted in such places, but if this has already happened, it is necessary to artificially increase the acidity of the land by regular application of humus and peat.
Pests and the fight against them
The only serious parasite for the plant is the spider mite. The remaining insects can only accidentally get hydrangea from other plants or garden tools. The tick sucks juices from the fleshy parts, after which the foliage crumbles. Against the pest, both for prophylactic and therapeutic purposes, insecticides are used - Neoron, Actellik, Fitoverm.
With proper and fairly simple care, hydrangea becomes a real decoration of a park or garden. This plant can participate in landscape design both singly and in a group. It also looks good in mixed color and size compositions.
