Hydrangea can decorate any garden. Of all its varieties, Schneebol is of particular interest. But before you start cultivating such flowers, you should study their botanical features and care rules in more detail.

Grade description

The Latin name of the variety is Hydrangea m. Schneeball. The plant is a perennial beautifully flowering bush with a decorative purpose. The adult specimen reaches 1–1.5 m in height. Shoots upright, bright green. Leaf plates are ovoid, large.

Snow-white flowers are collected in racemose inflorescences. In diameter they reach 15–30 cm. In diameter they reach 8–8.5 cm. Appear on last year's shoots. Flowering lasts from late June to late September, depending on weather conditions. In winter, the plant discards leaves, but at the same time does not lose its decorative effect.

In terms of soil composition and moisture, this variety, like all other varieties of hydrangea, is quite demanding. The soil on the site should be highly fertile. Acidity does not matter. Vegetation is not too demanding on lighting. It develops well both in open sunny areas and in partial shade.

The main difficulty in cultivating hydrangea is to maintain shoots during the winter from freezing. Otherwise, next year you can not wait for flowering. The variety under consideration tolerates a decrease in temperature to –23 ° С. This means that in conditions of the middle lane, mandatory shelter for the winter will be required.

Important! Although in many sources hydrangea is described as a shade-tolerant plant, when grown in a temperate climate, it requires the brightest spot. The vegetation is of southern origin and can be planted in the shade at home, in a colder climate only partial shade is allowed.

The second factor that presents difficulties in growing hydrangeas is their relatively low resistance to fungal diseases and spider mites. But if you pay enough attention to preventative treatments, you can avoid problems.

Landing rules

Planting should be carefully planned. Manipulation is carried out in the spring, when the soil is warmed up to + 10 ° C, and the risk of return frosts passes.

Place on the site should be selected the brightest, protected from draft. In the autumn, the soil is dug up to a depth of 30 cm. Then, disinfection with a 3% solution of copper sulfate is carried out. For 10 l of water add 300 g of powder. This amount is enough to process 10 m² of area. About a week after disinfection, another cultivation is performed at a similar depth.

Did you know? In the language of flowers, hydrangea symbolizes gratitude and sincere intentions.

Step-by-step landing process:

1. In the evening, before planting, water the plant (they are sold in containers).
2. Dig a hole with a depth and width of 0.5 m. If you plan to plant several plants, then between them and the rows leave a distance of 1 m.
3. At the bottom of the recess, place expanded clay or pebbles - about 10 cm.
4. Do not use the soil from the pit when planting. It should be replaced by a mixture of sand, peat, turf and leafy soils (1: 1: 1: 1).
5. Remove the top layer of earth from the container with the plant. Carefully remove the seedling from the container. Spread young roots braiding over a lump of soil.
6. In the pit, form a mound of fertile substrate.
7. Place the plant in the hole, align with the root neck - it should be at the same level as in the pot.
8. Fill the voids with soil. Pour hydrangea with 5 liters of water.
9. Mulch the trunk circle with a mixture of peat and compost (1: 1). The layer height is 7–10 cm.

Care Features

Hydrangeas will require painstaking care. Throughout the season, the main focus should be on watering and fertilizing. Closer to winter, you need to take care of a reliable shelter. If all agrotechnical requirements are correctly met, then the plants will not only bloom profusely, but they will also eliminate the risk of developing diseases and spreading pests. To enhance the decorative characteristics of the plants resort to forming scraps.

Watering and feeding

The soil in the near-stem circle should be constantly moist.

Watering schedule:

• with sufficient rainfall - once a month;
• in drought - once a week.

For each instance, 20 liters of water are consumed.. In the autumn period, watering is also carried out. Stop them 2 weeks before the onset of cold weather. If there are a lot of plants on the site, it is advisable to organize a drip irrigation system, which will direct the dosed water directly to the root system.

Considering that vegetation requires frequent watering, and it is characterized by long flowering, it will require a lot of fertilizers - water quickly flushes nutrients, and abundant flowering reduces immunity.

Important! For feeding hydrangeas, you should not use wood ash, since it deoxidizes the soil, which will negatively affect the growth and development of plants.

Nutrition schedule (dosages are calculated for one plant):

1. In the phase of kidney swelling - 20 g of urea is diluted in 10 l of water or the same amount of dry matter is introduced into the trunk circle to a depth of 5 cm.
2. In June, before laying the buds - potassium humate (make the solution according to the instructions) and 20 g of superphosphate.
3. 2 weeks after the second top dressing, a slightly pink solution of manganese. Fertilizer will also be reliable protection against pests.

Instead of the above three top dressings, you can spend only one in the spring. To do this, use a complex fertilizer of prolonged action.

For these purposes, such dressings are suitable:

• "Hydrangea and rhododendrons" company "Pokon";
• "ASB Greenworld" for hydrangeas.

In the first year after planting, at the end of the season, watering should be carried out using Fundazole. It is diluted in a proportion of 1 g of powder per 1 liter of water. This is enough to process one plant. This approach will provide protection against fungal infections.

Soil loosening

When growing the variety of hydrangeas in question, you should carefully monitor the condition of the soil. This will help strengthen plant immunity and reduce the risks of developing diseases or pest attacks. After each irrigation and rain, it is necessary to loosen the soil to a depth of 5–7 cm. If a drip irrigation system is organized in the area, then this manipulation is performed after every rain or every 2 weeks. Immediately after loosening, the soil is mulched. This approach plays the role of additional fertilizer, and also allows you to save moisture in the soil for a longer period.

As mulch you can use:

• peat;
• sawdust;
• compost.

A combination of all three elements in equal shares is possible.

Pruning

The first 3 years after planting, the plant needs only sanitary scraps, which involves the removal of damaged branches growing inside the crown, as well as inflorescences. The latter can be removed from hydrangea in spring and autumn, but it is better to leave it for the winter. This will protect the kidneys. During this period, the bush grows root mass, takes root, so there will be no abundant flowering, and this is normal.

From the 4th year of life, plants on the site all the shoots are shortened to 2 or 3 buds. This approach ensures the development of several peduncles on one shoot at once. From the 6th year of life, plants on the site begin to conduct anti-aging manipulations. They suggest the removal of 2 or 3 of the oldest shoots. Cut them to the root in the spring. The main thing is that the number of shoots removed does not exceed 1/4 of the total mass.

Pruning is carried out by a well-sharpened secateurs disinfected in alcohol. At the end of the work, the slices are dusted with Fundazol.

Winter preparations

The process of preparing for winter is a very important event that allows you to preserve the decorativeness of the plant for many years.

Step-by-step briefing on the work:

1. In mid-September, 1/3 of the bottom to free shoots from the leaves. 2 weeks before the frost, bare the branches to half.
2. A week before frosts, spruce bushes with peat - a consumption of 10 kg per 1 m².
3. When the temperature drops below zero, lay spruce branches around the plants. Bend the branches to the shelter and pin them with staples.
4. 3 days after the described procedure, cover the bushes with non-woven material.
5. After another 3 days - sprinkle the plants with dry foliage.
6. If severe frosts are expected, then on top of the leaves you still need to lay a ruberoid or film.

The removal of the shelter should be carried out gradually. Each layer is removed every 3 days.

Growing hydrangeas is not an easy task, because the plant is quite demanding in care. But this more than compensates for its beautiful appearance during flowering.