Hydrangea Nikko Blue (Hydrangea macrophylla Nikko Blue) has a striking appearance. Due to the long flowering period, it serves as an adornment of 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 notches at the edges. Inflorescences are magnificent. Initially, the flowers are white, but later they change color. In the soil with low acidity they have a blue color, in the opposite case - bright blue.
The name of the flower was due to the unique blue-blue color.
On a note! Nikko Bleu - a subspecies of large-leaved hydrangea "Endless Summer" (Endless Summer). Excavations in North America showed that hydrangea grew more than 40 thousand years ago.
The variety blooms from June to the end of August. Hydrangea does not tolerate cold, frosts below 18 ° C are fatal to it.
If the soil has a neutral acidity, the plant blooms with pink balls
Hydrangea Nico Blue large-leafed: planting and care
Necessary conditions for growing a flower:
- lack of drafts;
- remoteness from other plants not less than a meter;
- humus fertile soil;
- partial shade in the afternoon.
Shrubs are planted in late spring or in the first half of autumn. The hole is filled with organic fertilizer. If the soil is clay, the bottom of the pit is laid out with a layer of pebbles or expanded clay.
Sequencing:
- Dig a hole 60 * 60 cm.
- To fill up drainage and fertilizer. Pour with water (10 l).
- Put a seedling in the center, cover it with earth.
- Re-water, put last year’s needles, sawdust on top.
Mulching will not allow the soil to dry
Large-leaved hydrangea Nico Blue loves moisture. Watering is carried out from spring to late autumn. The main thing is not to overdo it. The roots rot due to excess moisture.
For the first time, the flower is fed when the foliage blooms. Use nitrogen fertilizer. Then the plant is fed before flowering, this time a potassium-phosphorus composition is used.
On a note! If the earth is acidified with aluminum sulfate and sulfur, then the flowers will turn pink and blue.
After flowering, you can start pruning. Long branches are shortened, and old, damaged shoots are cut to the root.
Hydrangea must be protected from the cold. At the end of autumn, the earth is spudded, covered with peat. The branches are bent and covered with a greenhouse film.
Breeding
Hydrangea dilution methods:
- The seeds. The resulting seedlings are dived. After 2 years, the seedlings are transferred to the open ground.
- Division. Separate part of the bush and transplant it.
- Layering. After flowering, a strong shoot is instilled. In the spring it sprouts. The layer is separated from the mother plant and transplanted.
- Cuttings. Cuttings are deepened into the soil mixture by 2 cm. In spring, the sprouts are placed in separate pots. 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, winds.
- Gray rot. Spots appear at the bottom of the stem, then spread throughout the branch. Gradually, holes form in their place. The only way out is to immediately remove the plant.
- Powdery Mildew Foliage turns yellow and fades. 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 coating on the leaves
Nikko Blue in landscape design
Shrubs are used for landscaping:
- in the role of hedge component;
- 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 caring for it is not easy. It does not tolerate cold, breaks from gusts of wind, does not differ in strong immunity and winter hardiness.
