Many gardeners pay attention to a variety of hydrangea - Bobo paniculata. What is its uniqueness and attractiveness? Let's find out.
Material Content:
Panicled Hydrangea bobo - description
Hydrangea bobo is a relatively young species. The birthplace of this species is Belgium. She gained wide fame by winning the award of the prestigious Florall exhibition in 2011 in Ghent. The main qualities of hydrangea are its unpretentiousness and frost resistance. This is what gardeners loved, both amateurs and professionals. The compact look complements the list of qualities of this flower. You might think that the flowers are in a vase, but this is their natural appearance. Flowering lasts all summer from July to September. The hue of inflorescences collected in lush cones can vary from a pleasant pistachio color to pale pink.
Outdoor landing
Site and soil preparation
For abundant and beautiful flowering, it is better to choose a place for planting where there is no strong sunlight or it will be scattered. Also, seedlings should be protected from strong drafts. The soil for hydrangea bobo should be slightly acidic. Then it will not allow the plant to hurt and will provide everything necessary for good growth. If your site has soil with insufficient acidity, then this can be corrected by adding brown peat, soil with needles or sawdust.
Lime, chalk, ash and other “deoxidizing agents” for this plant are very harmful.
How and when to plant?
The best time for planting hydrangea is autumn, then the bush will be able to take root before the frosts come. In northern areas, it is better to plant in the spring.
Before planting, the seedlings are prepared, the tips of the roots are cut, and the shoots are shortened to 2-5 buds.Growing seedlings are planted in a permanent place in the open ground at the age of 4-5 years.
The distance between the seedlings is better to choose 0.7-1 m. For a pit, a depth of 30-45 cm will be sufficient, with a drainage layer at the bottom. After a few years, the bush is thinned out if necessary, so that the distance is about 2.5 m. This is considered an optimal location.
Care for hydrangea bobo
Watering and feeding
Hydrangea care is not complicated, it is not whimsical and therefore does not require daily watering. It is enough to water it once a week. When watering, you can add fermented infusion of cow manure. But at the same time, the plant does not tolerate soil compaction and therefore, loosening is required at least once every three months. It is useful to mulch with peat and a compost layer of 5 cm.
At the initial stage of the growing season, it is advisable to make green fertilizer (for example, from young nettles) diluted in a proportion of 1 liter per bucket of water. And in the period of budding under the bush make a complex of mineral fertilizers. Feeding can be repeated after 2 weeks.
Hydrangea does not tolerate neutralizing fertilizers. Therefore, you can not feed with chalk, lime or dolomite flour.
Pruning
If you want to get a beautiful plant of the correct shape, you need to prune correctly and on time. To do this, at the beginning of March each year, all shoots must be shortened to 3-5 buds. Remove all damaged, dry or diseased branches. And to rejuvenate the plant, you can cut to the state of a hemp 6-7 centimeters long.
How to care for hydrangea in autumn, winter
The plant easily tolerates winter and moderate frosts, if properly and on time to prepare. In autumn, you need to feed with mineral fertilizers, and in September to reduce the number of irrigations. When the first frosts come, it is necessary to break off the lower leaves, and with the first frosts - almost all the leaves. Leave only at the top to protect flower buds.
The first 1-2 years, you can cover the root system with foliage or peat. Also in the autumn, hilling is carried out to a height of 10 cm. You can wrap the plant with paper or cover it with a cardboard box.
Propagation of hydrangea bobo
There are several basic methods of reproduction.
For reproduction, you can use shoots that are cut in the spring. Cuttings are harvested with 4-5 buds, left for 2 days in a solution that stimulates root growth (honey, nettle or purchased products), and planted to a depth of two buds in loose soil with sufficient acidity. In a darkened place moisturize, not allowing the soil to dry. When the first leaves appear, the dimming can be removed.
Cuttings can be carried out in a short time. This is done in the spring, when there is still enough water in the shoots, and the leaves no longer evaporate moisture too quickly. For the middle lane, the optimal time is about a week in mid-June. If the spring is early, then you need to cuttings a little earlier. Better to take cuttings from the bottom of the trunk. It is desirable that there were no flower buds on it and it was no more than 10 cm long.
It is advised to tear off the shoot with your heel and not cut off with sharp tools. Too long "heel" must be cut to the desired length - about one and a half centimeters.
Next, you need to land and shadow, as mentioned above. After 20-30 days, the roots will develop enough for the cuttings to grow. They are abundantly watered with water and with a large lump of land transplanted to a permanent place.
Division of the bush is also often used as a simple and sure way of reproduction. To do this, dig a bush and divide it into several parts. The main thing is that in each part new growth buds remain. Otherwise, the bush will not take root and die.
The method of "breeding bends" is also very popular. Most often they make bends in May. To do this, it is necessary to bend the young branches of the bush and press them to the ground. In the part of the shoot, which is near the ground, you need to make an incision obliquely. A small sliver is inserted into the incision for faster formation of new roots. This place is sprinkled with peat and watered abundantly. After the own roots appear at the branch, the sprout is separated and transplanted.
Protection against diseases and pests
The main reason for the weakening and soreness of the plant remains unfavorable conditions and insufficient care for it.
The first negative factor is sunshine or lack of water. If the temperature in the sun goes beyond 30 degrees, hydrangea inflorescences begin to fade. It must be remembered that this species loves partial shade and does not tolerate direct sunlight. With heat, watering should be done more often, about a day later.
Unsuitable soil and improper top dressing can also cause hydrangea to wither or dry out. The soil should remain weakly acidic and in no case alkaline. At the beginning of the season, nitrogen fertilizers are used, in the middle of summer - potash and phosphorus, and in the fall - phosphate.
From ticks, fungus and chlorosis, treatment with chemicals for prevention helps. This is the most proven way. It is also used in the spring before the growing season and treatment with copper sulfate (100 g per bucket of water) so that copper sulfate does not burn the leaves. But it perfectly disinfects the ground under the bush.
A mixture of lime and copper sulfate is also used - Bordeaux liquid, it prevents the appearance of fungi. There are many alternative options for bardos fluid: Oxychom, Topaz, Fitosporin Spark and many other more modern drugs. As a rule, modern drugs are less harmful to the soil and the environment than older counterparts.
Use in landscape design
Hydrangea bobo is a very popular novelty. Duration of flowering and compact appearance is simply created for use in narrow flower beds. Great for terraces and borders. Her neat inflorescences will decorate any parks, personal plots, house beds along the paths. Often can be seen in flowerpots and on balconies in containers, if it is not possible to land in the open ground.
