Hydrangea Bombshell paniculata - description
Content:
A lush plant from the hydrangea family has up to 80 species. At home, in China and Japan, it looks more like a small tree.
Origin
Hydrangea Bombshell (Latin name for Hydrangea paniculata "Bombshell") was recently bred by Belgian breeders. Its author was Alex Frederic Shoemaker, who worked on the new variety for several years, and registered it in 2010.
The plant is perennial, small in size, on average from 90 to 150 cm in height. Hydrangea Bombshell blooms from early June until frost. Panicles with inflorescences have a wide-conical shape, in them you can count up to 30 sterile flowers with a diameter of 3 cm. Among the large flowers there are also small fruiting ones. The panicle itself reaches 20 cm in height and up to 15 cm in width.
Lush bombshell bushes
To the description of the Bombshell hydrangea, you can add that the flowers change their color: at the beginning of summer they are creamy, a little later they are white with a green tint, and by autumn they become pinkish-white. The leaves can also be either light green or emerald green. It depends on the composition of the soil.
In summer, the flowers are creamy, in autumn, pinkish-white
Open ground transplant
The acquired plant must be planted carefully, observing certain conditions. Since this perennial with high winter hardiness, it is better to plant it in early spring, but late autumn is also suitable.
Seat selection
Hydrangea paniculata - decoration of the garden with the right choice of place. It is important to meet certain criteria. This should be a well-lit place without direct sunlight. In the shade, the plant will also feel bad, it will lose brightness. A draft-free garden area is fine.
Planting process
Before planting, the soil is dug up and loosened, all weeds are removed. The hole is dug in proportion to the roots of the plant, up to a depth of about 70 cm.
The soil is moisturized and left overnight. The next day, fertilize the pit with a mixture of peat - 2 parts, sand - 1 part, humus - 1 part and fertile land - 2 parts.
Abundant watering is required immediately after planting.
Propagation of hydrangea by cuttings
Reproduction
Hydrangea can be propagated by cuttings and seeds. The first option is simpler and therefore more popular.
Cuttings
For cuttings, young shoots with a length of about 10 cm are cut at right angles. The lower leaves are removed and the finished cuttings are left in the Epin solution at the rate of 8 liters of water per 100 g. solution.
After a week, the shoots are planted in pots with loose soil, and six months later they are planted in a permanent place and covered with coniferous branches.
Seed propagation
This is a rather time consuming method. The seeds are harvested at the end of the season and germinated in moisture-soaked material. When the seeds open, they are transferred to seedlings in a loose substrate, the same as for planting in open ground. The right time for rooting is February-March. After three years, full-fledged bushes are obtained.
Hydrangea care
Bombshell is very capricious and demanding, so a beginner grower needs to know some features. It is necessary to observe the watering regime and feed on time.
Watering mode
With proper and abundant watering, the panicle bombshell hydrangea will delight with exuberant flowering until late autumn. In dry season, the soil is moistened once every 5 days, then it must be loosened. To prevent the soil from cracking, use mulch.
Top dressing
They feed 3 times during the season. Organic feeding is needed in the spring for active growth of the bush and vegetation. After the buds appear, it is advisable to apply fertilizer from a mixture of potassium salt, superphosphate and urea. Another potassium-phosphorus fertilization is required during the flowering period.
Features of the content during the flowering period
To maintain abundant and long flowering, experienced flower growers recommend observing certain requirements: regular watering, pruning, fertilization and protection from diseases and pests. Diseases usually appear due to improper grooming.
The causes of the appearance of diseases and pests of the paniculate bombshell are different. The most common problems are:
- Chlorosis. If the leaf plates turn yellow, and the veins remain dark, this indicates chlorosis. Other signs are: deformation of buds, twisting and reduction of leaves, drying of shoots.
- Powdery mildew. With this disease, the leaves turn yellow, and a purple or gray bloom forms on their back. Young shoots may not survive the winter. They treat powdery mildew with fungicides.
- Gray rot. It appears more often after prolonged rains, but it can also form due to the density and shade of the paniculate Bombshell. At the same time, the shoots become watery and soft.
- White rot. The root is affected, the plant does not receive the necessary substances in sufficient quantities, the shoots darken, and the shrub dies over time. Fight gray and white mold preferably with fungicides.
- Septoria is easily recognized by the brown leaves, which then fall off. The plant is treated with copper sulfate or oxychloride.
Features of the content during the rest period
During the dormant period, the plant needs care. Cut off old inflorescences to strong buds, otherwise the next flowering will be poor. Both too old and excess shoots are cut off. To make the plant easily tolerate pruning, do it in spring or autumn.
Pruning a bush and forming a lush crown
So that the hydrangea bush also pleases the eye with lush panicles next year, they cut off old and weak branches and leave about 10 healthy shoots.
Spring pruning is desirable before the buds swell. For paniculate bombshell, this is a must. Otherwise, the bush may not bloom and develop poorly.
Old bushes in the fall are cut under a stump. Such a plant will rejuvenate in two years. For a future lush crown, you need to leave space around the bush at a distance of 1.5 m.
Preparing for winter
Despite the frost resistance, the hydrangea called bombshell paniculata must be prepared for wintering. The root system of the plant develops in breadth, so it needs shelter. It can be dung or spruce branches. You can also insulate the roots with dry leaves, laying them around with a thickness of no more than 20 cm. The branches are bent to the ground and also covered.
Landscape designers have found new scope for imagination
Landscape designers have acquired, thanks to the panicled Bombshell, new scope for imagination. They use it both in single bushes and in groups. Best of all, this plant gets along with coniferous neighbors. The curvy beauty will feel good next to the cuff, astilba and hosts.
Gardeners love to emphasize the size of the site with the help of hydrangea, the panicles of which fall under the weight of the flowers, and the bush turns into a large white ball. Airy snow-white bushes will be in harmony on the site of any style. They will revive a boring landscape, give it lightness and mood.
With careful handling, Bombshell will delight its owner for many years.
