Beautiful bright hydrangeas cause general admiration for their magnificent inflorescences of various colors. Many gardeners want to breed this wonderful plant on their site.
Reproduction of hydrangeas is carried out by cuttings, division of the bush, layers, seeds and grafting. The latter two methods are very laborious and difficult for amateur gardeners. Reproduction by the division of a bush is inefficient, and the lack of reproduction by layers is a limited number of branches that can be bent. Therefore, the most effective and affordable way to propagate garden hydrangeas is propagation by cuttings.
Breeding hydrangea cuttings can be carried out in spring, summer or autumn. Autumn reproduction provides for the preservation of a young plant at home. A pot with a plant is placed on a window sill in a light and cool room. In the spring, hydrangeas should be planted with cuttings by the beginning of March. But all the same the most favorable time for conduction of cuttings of hydrangeas is the beginning of summer.
How to propagate a hydrangea cuttings?
To plant well established, it is necessary to know how to cut the hydrangea properly. Experienced gardeners recommend cutting cuttings from a bush in the early morning or in cloudy, cool weather. From annual shoots cut into green cuttings about 10 cm long, remove the lower leaves, leaving a pair of shortened on third of the upper leaves with several buds. Bound cuttings from below are treated with a growth stimulator, the upper cut is disinfected with greenery and inclined planted in pots with a good drainage layer and soil containing a mixture of turf, peat and sand in a ratio of 1: 3: 4. The stalk is placed in a dug hole approximately 5 cm deep. The ground is preliminarily treated on a "steam bath" to destroy spores of fungi of mold and bacteria. You can use a ready-mixed soil mixture for azaleas.
For better rooting of hydrangeas cuttings, they are sprayed several times a day with very small sprays through an atomizer, creating the effect of an artificial mist. Germs are placed under glass jars, but every week they are subject to ventilation. The process of ventilation should be non-prolonged in order to prevent the leaves of hydrangea from drying.
How to grow a hydrangea from a cuttings?
Within a month the cuttings take root, and the shelter is removed. In areas with a milder climate, rooted cuttings are also planted in summer in wet loamy soil, where they begin to grow rapidly, gaining a well developed root system. For the winter, shoots are carefully closed. If the winters are severe, then the developing plant must be left in the pot, placing it in a cool room until the next spring, as a gentle hydrangea can die.
To shelter a plant planted in the open ground from frosts, it is necessary, at least two winters, until the hydrangea blooms. Flowering is a sign that the hydrangea has adapted and acquired a certain frost resistance. A more tender variety of plants - large-leaf hydrangea, requires an annual shelter for the winter period.
Reproduction of hydrangeas by cuttings in water
Some gardeners practice the initial stage of growing hydrangeas (when the cuttings have an intensive root formation)
Reproduction of hydrangeas by cuttings is a long and laborious process, but as a result, many new beautiful plants can be obtained!