Features of caring for room hydrangea at home

Hydrangea belongs to the flowering family, the Hortense family, and has about 90 species, which are shrubs, vines and low trees. These are perennial plants distributed in the tropical and temperate zones of the planet and reaching two meters in height. Hydrangea is able to bloom from spring to autumn, which is why it is very popular for growing on a site or at home. Large-leaved hydrangea is usually grown at home.

This plant was first discovered at the end of the 17th century. on the island of Mauritius by a French expedition. It included Prince Karl Nassau-Siegen of Germany, who throughout the expedition extolled the beauty of his sister Hortense. In her honor, an unknown exotic plant was named. True, later European botanists renamed it to a more suitable, in their opinion, name - Hydrangea. If you translate this from Greek, it turns out: "a vessel with water." After all, hydrangea, like all tropical plants, is very hygrophilous.

Hydrangea throws many straight, highly branched shoots ending in large caps of bright pink, red, white and blue inflorescences. In fact, its flowers are small and have colorless petals, and fabulously beautiful rhomboid petals belong to the bracts of the plant. The color of the petals depends on the composition of the soil: on acidic soil they acquire a blue tint, on alkaline soil they are pinkish or lilac, and on neutral soil the inflorescences turn white or cream. This unique quality of the plant is due to its ability to accumulate aluminum. Currently, varieties with a two-color color of inflorescences differing in smooth transitions from white to blue or pink are bred for keeping at home.

What should be the temperature in the room?

The usual room temperature at home, which is about + 18–22 ° C, is quite comfortable for the plant. Only a sharp change in temperature and drafts are disastrous for him. In summer, the flower can be put in the open air, in the shade. For example, to a balcony facing the north side, or to a site where the sun does not fall.

Tip

Hydrangia is a deciduous plant, so with the onset of winter begins to drop leaves. Do not think that she died and that she must be thrown away!

In winter, when hydrangea enters a state of rest, it is best to clean it in a cool dark room with an air temperature of 6–9 ° C. To do this, at home, a basement, an attic or a glazed veranda is quite suitable. Special care for it is not required, however, you need to make sure that the soil in the pot does not dry out, and occasionally water the plant. It must restore its strength spent on flowering. Otherwise, the next flowering period will come only in a year. Around February-March, hydrangia can be transferred to the house. But if the room is too hot, she will begin to drop leaves.

Lighting

Although hydrangea needs good lighting, the scorching rays of the summer sun are poorly tolerated by it. If you put a flower pot on the windowsill, its leaves may begin to discolor. Therefore, the best care will provide a place about 4 meters from the window, where direct sunlight does not reach. But in February, when the plant wakes up from hibernation and begins to produce buds, it must be placed in the sunniest place - on the windows facing south.

Watering

In summer, indoor hydrangea needs abundant watering, in autumn and spring - in more moderate.Particular care must be taken when watering in the winter. Excess moisture can lead to decay of the roots and death of the plant. Hard chlorinated tap water at home does not like the flower. To provide him with good care, water him with filtered or well-settled water. And you can freeze water, thaw it, wait until it reaches room temperature, and use it for irrigation.

Tip

If the soil is not acidic enough, the leaves of the plant begin to turn yellow. Therefore, it sometimes needs to be watered with acidified water. For this, 5 drops of lemon juice are dissolved in a liter of water.

If you live outside the city, you can collect rainwater and water the plant with it. And do not forget that care for hydrangea includes its frequent spraying, as its native environment is characterized by high humidity. If the leaves of the plant begin to turn yellow, this indicates that the air in the room is too dry. For the same reason, a flower pot at home cannot be placed near a battery.

Fertilizers

Beginning in February, when indoor hydrangea releases new shoots, proper care for it consists in feeding it with organic fertilizers and minerals once every half a month. You can buy a comprehensive fertilizer designed specifically for flowering plants. Additionally, you can water it with a weakly concentrated solution of potassium permanganate. Lack of nutrients can cause hydrangia to stop growing and produce buds. In winter, she does not need to be fed.

Tip

To stimulate the release of buds, the plant can be sprayed with a solution of gibberellin - 0.1 g per liter.

If you want inflorescences of different shades to bloom on one bush, fertilize each half of the soil in different ways.

For blue color, select the appropriate plant care:

1. add peat, sawdust or coniferous soil to the soil;
2. water this side of the pot with a solution consisting of 8 g of potassium alum dissolved in a liter of water;
3. add iron salts to the soil (according to gardeners, even an ordinary iron nail that can be buried in the ground will do);
4. You can spray the flower with a solution of 50 g of aluminum citrate and 1 liter of water.

And in the other half of the soil add lime, chalk or ash, then the inflorescences will acquire a lilac or pink hue.

Transfer

Caring for a flower at home consists of replanting it every year - in autumn, when flowering ends, or in early spring. To do this, you need to take a wide pot, because the roots tend to grow in the horizontal direction, and not down. It is believed that around the circumference the roots occupy the same space as the terrestrial part of the plant. In any case, in terms of volume, the new capacity should be 1.5 times the previous one.

Tip

When transplanting, you do not need to fill the root of the flower’s neck with earth, it should be located flush with the soil.

At the bottom you need to lay a thick layer of drainage. After that, indoor hydrangea is placed in a new pot with the same soil, and the voids are filled with fresh soil. For soil, take half a sand, one part peat, one part leafy soil and two parts sod. Adding humus is not recommended. Additionally, the soil can be covered with a layer of peat from above to prevent the rapid evaporation of moisture. If you provide hydrangea with good home care, it will delight you with its beauty and surprise your guests.

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