Of all varieties of hydrangea, large-leaved refers to the most capricious and requiring a thorough shelter for winter plants. The remaining varieties, such as paniculate and dendritic, tolerate winter well and without shelter. But if you doubt what kind of hydrangea grows on your site, it's better to cover it for accuracy. How to keep a large-leaf hydrangea in winter and when it's time to cover for the winter - learn from our article.
Hortensia large-leaved - care for the winter
Large-leaved hydrangea or macrophylla requires a reliable shelter for the winter, otherwise you will not have to wait for it to blossom luxuriantly. But for the sake of its extraordinarily beautiful appearance during flowering, gardeners are ready to make every effort to preserve its flower buds.
There are several options for sheltering large-leaved hydrangeas. For the first, you must cut out all the thin and crossed shoots and remove all the leaves left on the plant. Then the bush should be divided and tied branches, the same in the direction, bend them to the ground and fasten in this position.
Since hydrangea branches are flexible, fractures should not be feared. We cover the bent bushes with agrospan, lutrasil and any other non-woven cloth. From above, all this should be sprinkled with a thick layer of dried leaves and covered with a film, thus preventing blotting. In conclusion, the resulting design should throw a piece of the old palace. Also it is not necessary to be afraid, that under such cover the bush forbids.
For the second variant of covering the large-leaved hydrangea for the winter, we need to do the following: after preparing the bush (removal of leaves and inflorescences), it is necessary to pour a few buckets of garden soil under it. Next, we set around a few low wooden boxes, lay on them shoots hydrangeas and fix them in the cracks of the supports. We cover all this with several layers of agrospan or other similar material and cover it with film.
Covering time for large-leaved hydrangeas
Precisely, when to cover a hydrangea large-leaved for the winter it is impossible, since it depends on the region of your residence. Stop the watering of the plant is necessary since September, and you can remove leaves just before the onset of frost. You can shelter in the period of significant frosts, but without waiting for a thorough frosting.
Usually this period falls on the middle-end of October. But if at that time it is still warm enough, the hydrangea can not be covered completely, and finish the shelter only after the temperature has dropped to below zero.