Fans of shrubbery plants will be interested to learn about one sort of tree hydrangea, which has the unusual name of Bounty. Her description, cultivation, as well as recommendations for preventing possible problems are discussed in detail in the article.

Description of hydrangea bounty

This tree-like variety of hydrangea looks very similar to Annabelle.

Bounty has the following symptoms:

• the bush is compact, rounded in shape, about 1 m high and up to 1.5 m in diameter;
• the crown is dense and branched, with fairly stable shoots that do not need additional support (even after the rain they retain their original shape);
• large, green, heart-shaped leaves have a small serration along the edge of the plate;
• flowers (mostly sterile) are collected in dense spherical inflorescences, ranging in size from 15 to 30 cm. Their color at the beginning of flowering is light green, with time becoming creamy white;
• profuse and prolonged flowering (from July to mid-autumn) begins at the age of 3-4 years.

Landscape design application

Bounty is widely used in landscaping and is used both in single and in group plantings.

Did you know? Hydrangea is able to accumulate aluminum salts, which it absorbs from the soil. This fact contributes to the appearance of blue and blue color inflorescences.

It looks spectacular and beautiful in any version:

• as a border along paths or alleys;
• in the center of the flower bed, surrounded by stunted and (or) ground cover plants;
• in the background in landings with lower specimens;
• near the entrance to the building or near terraces;
• along fences and hedges;
• in a single copy or in a group against a green lawn.

Landing

Before acquiring a tree-like hydrangea, you need to familiarize yourself with the specifics of its planting.

Prerequisites for Growth

For good growth and abundant flowering of hydrangeas, it is necessary to create suitable conditions:

• preference is given to fertile, loose, moistened areas with a neutral or slightly acidic environment. It grows well on loams and peat substrates;
• the landing site should be sufficiently lit. In the southern regions, it is better to choose shaded places, and in the north you can plant in sunny areas;
• in group landings, one should not forget about enough space for each copy (you must not thicken the landings);
• It is advisable to choose places protected from strong winds.

Landing time

Planting hydrangeas can be done at a time when the earth is already warming up and the threat of spring frosts will pass. Usually this occurs at the beginning - mid-May. Planting can also be carried out in the autumn, 2-3 weeks before the onset of frost (early October), so that the seedlings have time to take root. In the northern regions, spring is considered the most suitable time, and in the south, both spring and autumn planting are allowed.

Soil preparation and seedling

For planting the Bounty, you can use the following soil compositions:

• 2 parts humus and leaf soil, as well as 1 part sand and peat;
• sheet, turfy earth and sand (4: 2: 1);
• sand, peat and humus in a ratio of 1: 2: 2.

Important! If the buds are removed during the first 2 years, the plant will direct its efforts to building up the roots and the aerial parts, which will favorably affect the quality and size of inflorescences in the future.

To accelerate the survival rate of young seedlings, ready-made mixtures for rhododendrons are often added to the soil composition. And in order to retain moisture, it is recommended to include moistened hydrogel granules in it.

As for the preparation of the seedling before planting, the recommendations are as follows:

• strongly dried, broken and very long roots must be cut. The main number of roots should be the same in length. In container specimens, the roots are also straightened and pruned a little looking out from an earthen coma;
• the roots of seedlings with an open root system (ACS) immediately before planting should be soaked in a solution of “heteroauxin” (for 2-3 hours) to optimize rooting;
• plants with ACS can be placed in a 2% potassium permanganate solution. An earthen lump of container plants is impregnated with water (or a solution of potassium permanganate).

Landing algorithm

The process of planting hydrangea bounty consists of several step-by-step actions:

1. Prepare a landing hole with dimensions of about 50 × 50 × 50 cm. Do not make it too deep, since the roots grow mainly in the sides.
2. If necessary, fill the bottom with a drainage layer of crushed stone or gravel.
3. Set the seedling roots in the hole. In plants with ACS, evenly distribute the root system along the recess. Plants with an earthen lump are easy to install in the pit.
4. Fill the roots with the prepared soil mixture and slightly compact. Care must be taken not to deepen the root neck (it should be at ground level).
5. Pour the seedling with water (about 10 l).
6. Mulch the near-trunk territory with a layer of peat, compost, wood chips or bark 10–15 cm thick.

Given that hydrangea roots grow predominantly in breadth and extend beyond the crown, it is necessary to adhere to a distance between adjacent specimens of at least 1.5–2 m.

Care

The main agrotechnical methods of caring for the Bounty are timely watering, feeding and loosening.

Watering and mulching

As already mentioned more than once, hydrangea is a very hygrophilous culture, therefore watering is an essential condition for care and consists in fulfilling several requirements:

• during the hot period, up to 15 liters of water are poured under the bush at a time once a week;
• with regular precipitation, irrigation is carried out once every 2 weeks in the same volume (15 l);
• with an excess of rainfall, several waterings per season will be sufficient;
• Autumn moisture deficiency negatively affects winter hardiness, therefore, in dry weather, additional water must be added before wintering;
• sometimes it is useful to add 2-3 g of potassium permanganate to water for irrigation;
• for irrigation it is better to use soft water (rain) or, in extreme cases, a distant tap water;
• irrigation activities are carried out in the morning or in the evening.

Mulching the trunk circle will reduce moisture evaporation and reduce watering. In the role of mulch, compost, peat, bark, sawdust or wood chips are suitable. The layer thickness should be at least 10 cm. Care must be taken so that the mulching materials do not come in contact with the plant stem, but are at a certain distance from it. This technique will also reduce the number of loosening (up to 2-3 per season).

Top dressing

Hydrangea grows rapidly and uses many nutrients for flowering, so timely nutrition is important for it.

Usually, 3-4 entries are sufficient for a season:

• at the beginning of the growing season (early May) on 1 m², a mineral complex of urea (1 tbsp.), superphosphate (2 tbsp.) and potassium sulfate (1 tbsp.) is used. This composition can be supplemented with organics (mullein infusion in a ratio of 1:10) at the rate of 10 l for each plant;
• after 2 weeks, the previous feeding is repeated;
• before flowering, potassium-phosphorus fertilizing is carried out. For it, 60 g of superphosphate and 40 g of potassium sulfate diluted in 10 l of water are used (volume per 1 bush);
• during a period of abundant flowering, top dressing can be repeated.

Fertilizers (especially organic) should not be abused, as this will do more harm than good.

Trimming and Shaping

In order to give the bush a decorative effect and improve flowering, sanitary, shaping and anti-aging pruning is used. Sanitary measures are carried out in order to remove damaged, diseased or frozen branches. The purpose of forming pruning is thinning the crown and giving it the desired shape, since in highly thickened bushes the inflorescences become smaller and the decorative look is lost. For old bushes, rejuvenation is carried out by removing old branches, which leads to stimulation of growth of young shoots.

When trimming, you must adhere to certain rules:

• spring pruning is carried out before buds open (mid-late March);
• forming pruning is carried out annually. At the same time, powerful shoots are shortened by 3-5 kidneys, and weaker ones by 2-3;
• the upper kidney should be outward after trimming. This will make the bush lush and prevent the middle of the crown from thickening;
• regularly remove weak, old and growing stems in the center of the crown;
• Frozen shoots are cut to the first living kidney;
• old branches are cut into a ring during rejuvenation.

Winter preparations

Treelike hydrangea withstands quite severe frosts, so special warming is not required for it.

Did you know? In hydrangea inflorescences, fertile (fruit-bearing) and sterile flowers are present. The first - are located in the center of inflorescences and do not change color, and the second - attract insects, decorate bushes (change color) and are located throughout the inflorescence.

But still, in the autumn, some manipulations are necessary:

• the trunk circle must be covered with a mulching layer (up to 30 cm) to prevent freezing of the root system, which is close to the soil surface;
• foliage and inflorescences should be removed from the bushes;
• One-year specimens need to be tied to a support and insulated with lapnik or wrapped with suitable material (for example, agrofibre).

Hydrangea propagation methods

There are 5 ways to propagate hydrangea: by seeds, cuttings, dividing the bush, layering and autumn digging up of a seedling (something in between between dividing the bush and propagating by layering).

Cuttings

The most commonly practiced method is cuttings. It can be done either with the help of green cuttings, or - lignified. Better planting material is obtained from lignified stems (rooted up to 70%).

The process is as follows:

1. Cut the stems until buds open (in April). Each instance must have at least 2 eyes.
2. Under the lower kidney, make an oblique cut.
3. Make a straight cut 2–3 cm above the upper eye.
4. Place the cuttings at an angle of 60 ° in the prepared mixture (50% peat and sand). The lower kidney should be 3 cm deep.
5. Cover with a film and keep moist.

Propagation by green cuttings consists of several stages:

1. During the formation of buds (mid-July), prepare stems with 2 leaf nodes. These should be branches from the middle of the stem (the tops with buds are not suitable for this).
2. Remove the lower leaves, while the upper leaves half the leaf plate.
3. Place the cuttings for half an hour in a solution of Fundazole or for 2 hours in a Zircon or Kornevin to optimize the rooting process.
4. To disinfect the top section with a brilliant green.
5. Deepen the stem to the top sheet in a mixture of peat and sand (2: 1).
6. Pour and cover with a jar.
7. Water regularly.

Layering

Another method of propagating hydrangea is using layering.

Important! Various tricks are used to accelerate the appearance of roots on the layering: the stem in front of the first recessed eye is pulled by a wire, which causes rapid root formation in the damaged area, or the bark is removed at the bottom of the buried stem.

It is used in the period before the buds open and consists of several step-by-step actions:

1. Dig a trunk circle (shallow) and level the ground.
2. On the lower shoot, remove the leaves (plot 15 cm from the ground).
3. Dig a groove about 10 cm deep and lay the stem in it.
4. Pin the shoot to the ground and fill it with soil. At the same time, its top should remain above the surface (it can be attached to a peg).
5. Layers need to be watered periodically. By the end of summer, young growth will sprout from it, which needs to be sprinkled with soil.
6. In late autumn or spring of next year, layering can be separated.

Diseases and Pests

If you adhere to the rules of proper care, then tree hydrangeas practically do not get sick and are not affected by pests.

But sometimes unforeseen circumstances happen:

• If the humidity is too high and the temperature drops, fungal diseases (powdery mildew, silver or white rot) can occur. To combat these problems, drugs such as Bordeaux liquid, Fundazol, Chistotsvet according to the instructions are used;
• in early spring, hydrangea bushes may be attacked by snails that infect young shoots with leaves. The struggle consists in manually collecting or laying traps with the Thunderstorm preparation near plants;
• with increased air dryness, leaves and shoots can be threatened by a spider mite. According to the annotation, “Akarin”, “Lightning”, “Vermitek” and others;
• aphids suck juice from young shoots, buds. Inta-Vir, Actellik or Fitoverm help to quickly and effectively get rid of the pest.

Video: hydrangea diseases and pests

The wonderful hydrangea of ​​the Bounty will become an adornment of any garden or summer cottage, and for many years it will attract attention and delight the eye with its beauty.