Pinky Winky Hydrangea - a shrub created more than 10 years ago by breeders from Belgium, is considered the most valuable member of the hydrangea genus.
The bush owes its demand for unusually beautiful greenery and lushly blossoming inflorescences, which, with the advent of the autumn season, delight the eye with all kinds of colors.
A distinctive feature that is inherent in this particular type of hydrangea is a high level of shoot strength, which is able to keep heavy inflorescences at the flowering stage without the use of additional support. All kinds of stands often distort the appearance of the bush and the aesthetic appearance of the garden.
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Description
The hydrangea family is named after the sister of the prince of the Roman Empire - Hortense. The number of hydrangeas is more than 80 subspecies.
Pinky Winky - a medium-sized tree or shrub with a spreading crown. The plant reaches a height of 2 meters.
Such an unusual beautiful bush is considered perennial, its stem is quite elastic and powerful. Hydrangea leaves have an oblong shape, the edges are formed in the form of teeth. The color of the leaves is dark green. The leaves are slightly rough to the touch.
Inflorescences of the plant are formed in a conical shape. White flowers at the edges of the branches are collected in panicled shape. A characteristic feature of Pinky Winky is that the color of the flowers and their saturation can vary from white to pale pink. Inflorescences gain color long enough, and it varies unevenly.
The flowering period of Pinky Winky falls in July-September.
Regarding lighting, the bush is not too whimsical, therefore, it can grow even in partial shade.
To provide an acceptable environment for growth, it is important to control the humidity of the earth. It is necessary to irrigate hydrangeas once a week, loosen the soil - 2 times a season.
To this type of hydrangea touched the eye with rich bloom, the shoots of the bush should be cut by 2/3 annually.
For maximum comfort Pinky Winky needs moderate climatic conditions, but the bush can also tolerate severe frosts. The plant does not require shelter in the cold season, as it feels great at temperatures up to minus 30 ° C. If the bush is still young, you will have to take care of it for a period of cold weather. For this, it will be sufficient to cover the soil with dead wood, and the plant itself with a dense burlap.
Outdoor landing
Pinky Winky Hydrangea, like any other plant, requires careful preparation during the planting process. It is better to plant hydrangeas in early spring.
When the shrub is planted in the ground, the seedling is placed in a well-moistened pit (depth less than 50 cm), the bottom of which was previously covered with a mixture of peat, sand, humus and fallen needles.
Please note that the root system of Pinky Winky develops in width, so the hole for planting should be wide enough.
In order for the plant to take root well in a new place, it is necessary to fertilize the soil and soil. For these purposes, it is appropriate to use a mixture of sand, peat, coniferous litter and humus, which is placed on the bottom. You can also use mineral fertilizers by filling them in a hole. In this case, the neck of the root should remain above the ground.
Until the plant finally takes root, it must be regularly watered.
Site and soil preparation
In order to plant the hydrangeas of the Pinky Winky variety by all the rules, you need to make a recess in the ground 50 cm in size. Humus, overripe leaves and needles, sand and peat in equal proportions are laid at the bottom of the hole. Then set the seedling in the hole with fertilizer, fill it with earth and water it.
So that in summer hydrangea does not experience a moisture deficit, it is recommended to cover the soil around the shrub with dry grass or sawdust.
You can feed the plant with nitrate twice during the year.
How and when to plant?
According to the recommendations of experienced gardeners, it is better to plant Pinky Winky in the ground in the early days of spring. This is due to the fact that it is at the beginning of spring that sap flow in the bush does not yet begin.
Indeed, such a period for planting shrubs is optimal, because the plant has enough time to root well before the summer heat and gain strength before the harsh winter cold.
Pinky Winky Hydrangea Care
It’s not news to anyone that all plants need thorough care. But, in the case of Pinky Winky hydrangea, you need to be as careful as possible, because the bush needs not only regular watering.
For optimal growth, it is recommended to water Pinky Winky once a month; in summer, the amount of watering increases by 2 times. You also need to monitor the looseness of the soil, namely, loosen it three times per season. It is optimal that the depth of cultivation reaches 6cm. In addition, do not forget about fertilizing the plant with organic fertilizers.
Hydrangea care also consists in timely circumcision. It is best to carry out such a procedure in March due to the fact that inflorescences are formed on the shoots of the current year.
Please note that pruning should be carried out in March, because in April it will be too late, since hydrangea will already be actively developing.
If the plant is still young, strong shoots without damage to no more than 5 buds are subject to circumcision. In the case of adult shrubs, only hemp should remain after pruning - about 5-7cm. You need to cut off those shoots, the growth of which went inside the bush, as well as branches that go far to the sides (but not more than 1-2 buds).
Pruning is necessary not only for the beauty of the bush itself, forming an attractive crown and shape, but also for the active growth of hydrangea.
Watering and feeding
Pinky Winky hydrangea can be called a hygrophilous plant.If the bush does not receive the required amount of moisture, the flowering intensity and the size of the inflorescences will be much less.
To prevent this situation, it is recommended to mulch. The purpose of the procedure is to maintain an optimal level of humidity in the root system, as well as to protect the roots from exposure to high temperatures.
Hydrangea should be watered abundantly, especially in the heat. If the summer months turned out to be excessively sultry, you need to provide Pinky Winky with 15-20 liters of water per week.
Pruning
Fully formed pinky winky hydrangea shrubs require regular pruning. Young bushes also need care, not only sanitary purposes, but also crown-forming.
With the help of plant pruning, it is possible to avoid thickening of the crown, form the necessary shape of the bush, and also create conditions for the active growth of new shoots.
After the winter, pruning starts from the frozen affected branches, delving deeper into the bush. Large branches around the perimeter of the shrub leave, only slightly shortened by a couple of buds.
How to care for hydrangea in autumn, winter?
Before the first frosts come, hydrangea needs to be covered so that the plant can overwinter safely. It is very important that the young shoots at the tips do not freeze.
You need to start preparing the shrub for the winter from the first autumn months. First, the leaves are removed, fed, and then covered.
Depending on the temperature indicators that are observed in the region in winter, shelter methods can be selected. For example, in a warm area, a plant is usually spud.
But, if the winters are too harsh, it is better to choose some other way from the proposed ones:
- strew the bush with peat and cover with a film;
- tie with ropes and gently pull it to the boards with nails laid on the ground, fixing the plant to them;
- cover with lutrasil, and on top install a wire frame metal mesh (as a rule, the inside of the frame is filled with dry leaves), covering it with roofing material.
Pinky Winky hydrangea propagation
To propagate Pinky Winky, it is customary to use layering or cuttings.
To propagate the bush by layering, you need to choose a strong shoot, bend it to the soil and fix it, falling asleep on top of the ground. After a year, the layering should take root, after which it can be transplanted to a permanent place. This procedure is recommended to be done in the spring or in the early days of autumn.
Carrying out pruning of shrubs, cut shoots can be used for cuttings, but, it must have at least 3 internodes. For propagation, the lower parts of the prepared cuttings are treated with agents that stimulate plant growth, and seated in containers with soil. It is recommended that 2 parts of the cuttings be in the ground, and 1 part above it. Top cuttings need to be covered with polyethylene. For planting, you can use those cuttings that showed the first shoots from the moment of planting in the soil.
You can also plant hydrangea by dividing shrubs. But, it is better to postpone such a procedure until the fall or spring.
Protection against diseases and pests
It is immediately worth noting that with properly organized and conducted care, the risk of hydrangea disease is minimized. But, if the bush is in too wet soil at a low temperature, a fungus can develop that can affect not only leaves and shoots, but also inflorescences.
Pinky Winky can also be harmful to aphids, especially at high humidity levels.
Slugs, spider mites and snails bring a lot of headache to gardeners.
If it was not possible to protect the bush from the disease or pests, Pinky Winky will need treatment with Bordeaux fluid. If the treatment fails, fungicidal substances can be used.
In the case when hydrangea is affected by aphids, folk remedies are effective. To combat aphids, an infusion of garlic or tobacco is often used.
Unfortunately, it is impossible to get rid of snail and slug by some means. In this case, only the collection and destruction of pests will help.
Use in landscape design
If you want to decorate your garden or territory near the house, Pinky Winky hydrangea is an amazing choice! Such a hydrangea will look especially harmonious, regardless of the time of year, because at each of the stages of growth, the shrub is good and attractive in its own way. Lush inflorescences, changing their color, will delight the eye until the onset of the first frost.
Since hydrangeas can be used to make bright accents, the bush fits harmoniously into the landscape, where decorative trees and bushes are used.
You can often see hydrangeas around ornamental ponds, in mixed flower beds, as a living and flowering hedge, etc. Pinky Winky looks no less profitable in a classic-style landscape.
But this does not mean at all that it is impossible to use this type of hydrangea for decoration of a personal garden. Such an attractive bush will be a bright "spot", alluring and bewitching the neighbor's eye.
In general, Pinky Winky will look harmonious everywhere. Alternatively, with this kind of hydrangea, you can decorate the entrance to the house or disguise an unsightly fence. Having planted such a shrub near a gazebo or bench, you can create a romantic and cozy atmosphere.
