Hydrangea Nikko Blue - description, planting and care
Content:
Hydrangea macrophylla Nikko Blue has a striking appearance. Due to the long flowering period, it serves as a decoration for gardens, personal plots, parks.
Description, characteristics
Hydrangea Nikko Blue is a shrub up to 1.5 m high. The leaves of the plant are large, bright green, with jagged edges. The inflorescences are lush. At first, the flowers are white, but later they change color. In soil with low acidity, they are blue, otherwise they are bright blue.
The flower got its name because of its unique blue-blue color.
The variety blooms from June to late August. Hydrangea does not tolerate cold, frosts below 18 ° C are fatal for it.
If the soil has neutral acidity, the plant blooms with pink balls.
Hydrangea Niko Blue large-leaved: planting and care
Prerequisites for growing a flower:
- lack of drafts;
- distance from other plants at least one meter;
- humus fertile soil;
- partial shade in the afternoon.
The shrub is planted in late spring or in the first half of autumn. The well is filled with organic fertilizer. If the soil is clay, the bottom of the hole is laid out with a layer of pebbles or expanded clay.
Sequencing:
- Dig a hole 60 * 60 cm.
- Fill up drainage and fertilizer. Drizzle with water (10 l).
- Put a seedling in the center, cover it with earth.
- Water again, put last year's needles, sawdust on top.
Mulching will keep the soil from drying out
The large-leaved hydrangea Niko Blue loves moisture. Watering is carried out from spring to late autumn. The main thing is not to overdo it. The roots will rot from excess moisture.
For the first time, the flower is fed when the foliage blooms. Nitrogen fertilizer is used. Then the plant is fed before flowering, this time using a potassium-phosphorus composition.
After flowering, you can start pruning. Long branches are shortened, and old, damaged shoots are cut off at the root.
Hydrangea must be protected from the cold. At the end of autumn, the land is huddled, covered with peat. The branches are bent and covered with a greenhouse film.
Reproduction
Hydrangea breeding methods:
- Seeds. The resulting seedlings dive. After 2 years, the seedlings are transferred to open ground.
- By division. Part of the bush is separated and transplanted.
- Layers. After flowering, a strong shoot is added. In the spring it sprouts. The cuttings are separated from the mother plant and transplanted.
- By cuttings. The cuttings are deepened into the soil mixture by 2 cm. In the spring, the sprouts are placed in separate pots. The next year they are transferred to the garden.
Diseases and pests
Niko Blue is susceptible to disease and often suffers from insect attacks. Problems that may arise:
- The foliage turns yellow. The reasons are excessive watering, drafts, wind.
- Gray rot. Spots appear at the bottom of the stem, then spread throughout the branch. Gradually, holes are formed in their place. The only way out is to immediately remove the plant.
- Powdery mildew. The foliage turns yellow and withers. In this case, fungicides will come to the rescue.
- Insects (snails, ticks, slugs, aphids). If an attack is detected, it is necessary to treat the plant with special solutions for pest control.
The fact that the plant is sick can be determined by the white bloom on the leaves.
Nikko Blue in landscape design
The shrub is used for landscaping:
- as a component of a hedge;
- as a bright accent in the foreground of the site;
- to separate the zones of the garden;
- for decorating the entrance to the building.
Nikko Blue is a spectacular large-leaved shrub. This is a very beautiful but whimsical plant, and it is not easy to care for it. It does not tolerate cold well, breaks down from gusts of wind, does not differ in strong immunity and winter hardiness.
