Indoor decorative hydrangea , growing at home in a pot, is much smaller in comparison with street. But at home it blossoms very beautifully - large flowers of different colors. To maintain its maximum decorativeness and good flowering, it is necessary to observe certain conditions for care.
How to care for a hydrangea in a pot?
For those who do not know whether it is possible to grow a hydrangea at home in a pot, it needs to be explained that although in the wild there are more than 80 species of this plant, among which there are bushes and small trees, domestic hydrangea in the process of "domestication" than a garden, because at first people began to grow her at home, and only then they transplanted into the garden. By the way, on the street hydrangeas can also be grown in pots.
So, the main points of care for a hydrangea in a pot are:
- Lighting and temperature . The plant should stand in a well-lit area, but without direct sunlight. On the windowsill, the leaves of the hydrangea will have spots, and in the shade they will develop poorly. It is optimal to put a pot with a plant at a distance of 3 meters from the solar window. As for the temperature regime, it is necessary to maintain it at + 18 ... 22 ° C. And no drafts.
- Watering . Hortensia is extremely hygrophilous, its second name is hydrangea, which translates as "a barrel of water." Especially abundantly need to water the flower in the summer. In spring and autumn, watering should be more moderate, and during the winter rest, water hydrangeas should be very carefully so that the decay does not happen. Water is best melt water, pre-acidified with lemon juice (5 drops per 1 liter of water). In addition, hydrangeas need frequent spraying.
- Top dressing. The plant needs fertilizer with mineral and organic fertilizers in the summer. Also, to speed up flowering and increase the decorative effect of flowers, hydrangeas are sprayed with gibberellin solution. During flowering, it is desirable to add a little potassium permanganate to the water for irrigation. In winter, hydrangeas should not be fed.
- Transplantation . Without an annual transplant the hydrangea will gradually grow old, the size of the flowers will decrease, the shoots will stretch and curl. It is better to transplant it in autumn, after the flowering period ends. The pot for transplantation should be wider, because the roots of hydrangea grow not in depth, but in width. A mixture of peat, sand, turf and leaf earth is suitable as a substrate in the ratio 1: 0.5: 2: 1. At the bottom of the pot should be a good drainage.