Tips for hydrangea care - location and properly planting

• The best location
• Best known hydrangea species
• substratum
• Plant hydrangeas properly

Hydrangeas are so popular because they have a big advantage: as original forest dwellers they like to grow in partially shaded spots. At these locations, where many flowering plants would not show a colorful leaf, hydrangeas show a wealth of magnificent flowers - with pleasingly simple care. Hydrangeas get along with fairly low-light locations, but plants and care are easy: Great plants for those who want to see lots of large flowers in their garden, even in low-light locations:

The best location

The frugal hydrangeas accept, indeed like, locations in partial shade, even with a lot of shade where many other plants would not show a single petal.

Most of them, including the parents of today's cultivars, developed as undergrowth in forests, where they were rarely lit by the sun. With hydrangeas, you can easily turn all the areas of the garden into flowering landscapes that are otherwise greened by professionals with all sorts of relatively unknown plants.

Hydrangeas grow best even on the often overgrown places under deep-rooted trees or higher shrubs, where a canopy protects them from the midday sun, pattering rain is scattered and the soil is little stressed = compacted. The location should always be a little sheltered from the wind.

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Best known hydrangea species

Within the approximately 80 hydrangeas, the location requirements differ a bit depending on the home conditions, here the location-compatibility of the most popular hydrangea species:

1. Hydrangea species for fully shaded locations

• Hydrangea arborescens, forest hydrangea
• Hydrangea macrophylla, farmer hydrangea, garden hydrangea
• Hydrangea petiolaris, climbing hydrangea
• Hydrangea quercifolia, Oak-leaved hydrangea
• Hydrangea serrata, plate hydrangea

2. Hydrangea species for partially shaded locations without midday sun

• Hydrangea arborescens, forest hydrangea
• Hydrangea aspera, velvet hydrangea
• Hydrangea macrophylla, farmer hydrangea, garden hydrangea
• Hydrangea paniculata, panicle hydrangea
• Hydrangea petiolaris, climbing hydrangea
• Hydrangea quercifolia, Oak-leaved hydrangea
• Hydrangea serrata, plate hydrangea

3. Hydrangea species for sun locations

• Hydrangea paniculata, panicle hydrangea
• Hydrangea quercifolia, Oak-leaved hydrangea

tip
If your (new) garden does not yet have an old tree population and has only sunny locations to offer, you do not have to do without hydrangeas if you choose the right species / variety. However, you must then ensure that these hydrangeas never suffer from thirst.

Impressions

substratum

This soil may resemble a bit of a forest floor, so rather wet, but well permeable to water, good humushaltig, like slightly loamy. The nutrients - compost, manure, mulch, green manure - can be given in advance (at the latest) in the fall, so hydrangea come clear with any soil that can hold moisture and is well ventilated. Also with well-enriched sandy soil, in Berlin and Brandenburg z. For example, many magnificent hydrangeas grow.

Much has already been written about the pH value of the correct hydrangea soil, it is often said that hydrangeas need "acid soil". Well-informed gardeners then get a shock, healthy garden soil is not sour, but it's not that bad: These articles are from the days when bright blue hydrangeas should decorate our gardens in large quantities.

As the trend is clearly towards the natural garden and bright blue hydrangeas do not really seem so natural, the blue hydrangea have become rather rare - and most gardeners are well informed today about soil qualities and have little desire to their garden soil for ununsaturated flower colors (or for Plants for extreme locations such as some rhododendrons) to artificially acidify and thus worsen. Normal hydrangeas have normal soil requirements, a garden soil with normal pH values ​​between 6 and 7 is always right for them, and they even tolerate quite a lot of acid or basic erosion.

tip
Some varieties of hydrangea bring the natural plant blue to flower in certain soil conditions (pH 4.5 - 5), which, however, have nothing to do with a healthy garden soil, and aluminum sulfate should also be added. If you do not want to do without a healthy garden floor or blue hydrangeas, you should put the "Blue Babies" in a bucket.

Plant hydrangeas properly

Planting hydrangeas is really not a feat, this is how it works:

• The best time is towards the end of spring
• Specifically, if it is safe to expect no more frost
• Any late frost can severely damage a plant that is not yet rooted
• Dig out planting hole, about twice as big as pot / root ball
• Compressor soil should be loosened around and at the bottom of the planting hole
• Not only because of unwanted waterlogging, the roots also grow more easily in the ground
• Before inserting the root ball is soaked for about 15 minutes (in the water tub / bucket)
• Then the hydrangea is placed in the same height as in the pot in the ground
• Never plant deeper than the earth's surface, this hinders the root ventilation
• Fill the planting hole, press on the ground, sprinkle, if necessary fill up with soil after a few days

If necessary, you can plant hydrangeas until early fall. The more in the summer, the more you have to pay attention to adequate irrigation; in the fall it is important that the hydrangea has enough time to root before the first frost.