Soil for hydrangea.

A flowering hydrangea bush in your garden will undoubtedly become the center of the composition and a subject of your pride. Regardless of the type and variety of plants, hydrangeas are loved not only by amateur gardeners, but also by professional landscape designers. In order for the hydrangea to fully develop and bloom magnificently, it is necessary not only to choose the right place for the shrub, but also to take care of the composition of the soil. After all, it is on the composition of the soil that health and bloom hydrangeas, and in some cases the color of the inflorescences, which can vary depending on the degree of acidity of the soil. Someone thinks the hydrangea is unpretentious, others argue that it is a capricious plant that requires constant care, but all gardeners agree on one thing: in order for the hydrangea to bloom annually and profusely, it must be provided with nutritious soil - exactly the one that hydrangea needs.

Preparing the soil for hydrangeas in your garden.

When preparing a place for planting a plant, we pay attention to the following soil criteria: density, looseness, availability of nutrients, acidity level. And if most horticultural and horticultural crops prefer neutral soil, then hydrangea grows best in acidic soil with a pH of 5 to 6. So it is highly likely that you will have to acidify the soil by watering it with solutions of citric acid, apple cider vinegar, oxalic acid. You can conduct a soil study using a special tester device or using a litmus test. If nothing of this is at hand, then use ordinary vinegar: pour it over the soil, if nothing happens - the soil is acidic, but if bubbles appear with a characteristic hiss, then a chemical reaction has started and the soil is alkaline. Some varieties of hydrangeas are capable of changing the color of the inflorescences, depending on the soil on which they grow. The same bush in alkaline soil will bloom with bright pink flowers, and after you increase the acidity of the soil, it will change the color of the inflorescences to a rich blue.

In addition to the food acids that we usually use in cooking, it is possible to regulate the acidity of the soil with mineral fertilizers. A good effect can be achieved by adding iron vitriol, ammonium sulfate, potassium sulfate under the hydrangeas. Gardeners often experiment with chameleon hydrangeas, which can change color, watering the bush on one side with acidifying solutions, and on the other hand, add alkaline additives (chalk, lime, dolomite flour).

If such actions are carried out regularly, then soon you will have pink and bright blue flowers on one plant.
Now let's talk about the composition of the soil for hydrangea, which must be prepared in advance. After you have chosen the most suitable place for the shrub, dig a planting hole, which should be three times larger than the volume of the plant's roots. The hole must be dug a couple of weeks in order for the soil to settle (or it is better to do this 1-3 months before planting). A hydrangea bush can grow in one place for more than twenty years, so make sure to plant it according to the rules.

Lay a drainage layer at the bottom of the planting pit, then fill in a nutritious soil consisting of equal parts of peat, garden soil, river sand and compost. Add and mix well either a complex mineral fertilizer or a little potash and phosphate fertilizer. This hydrangea mixture will last for a while, so no additional fertilization is required in the first year after planting.

After you lowered the seedling into the hole, spread the roots and covered them with soil (without deepening the root collar), water the plant abundantly and mulch the soil under the bush with peat or compost - this will not only help to retain moisture, but also provide additional nutrition.

From the second year, the hydrangea must be fed so that the plant can fully develop and bloom regularly (although most often the hydrangea blooms only 3-4 years after planting). In early spring, in the process, hydrangea, like any other crop, needs fertilizers containing nitrogen, because it is necessary to grow greens. Then, during the period of bud formation, it is necessary to feed the hydrangea with potassium and phosphorus. Starting in July, nitrogen fertilizing is no longer used, the last time potassium-phosphorus fertilizing is applied in the first half of September, this fertilizing helps hydrangeas accumulate nutrition for the formation of inflorescences next year.

It is important to remember that all top dressing is carried out during watering, fertilizers are never applied to dry soil, as there is a risk of burning the hydrangea roots. It is necessary to water the hydrangea often and a lot, because it is one of the most moisture-loving plants. At the same time, as with any other plant, overmoistening must be avoided.
So, summing up all of the above, we remember that hydrangea prefers light and loose acidic soil, sufficiently moist and rich in nutrients.

What soil is required for a room hydrangea.

Indoor hydrangeas are no less popular than garden ones. These are compact small bushes with large multi-colored inflorescences, which are also capable of changing color depending on the level of acidity of the soil.
Indoor plants also need regular watering and feeding, as well as transplanting into fresh soil every 1-2 years.

You can buy ready-made soil for hydrangea or mix different ingredients yourself. To do this, you have to mix the same parts of garden soil, peat, compost, coniferous litter or sawdust and sand. When planting in a container, you must follow all the same rules as when planting outdoors: lay drainage at the bottom of the container, then fill up the soil mixture, place the plant on it and cover the roots with earth without deepening the root collar. After that, water the plant, if you like - you can mulch the soil surface with sawdust or bark.

In February, when the hydrangea wakes up after wintering, the first feeding can be done. Then apply fertilizer at the time of bud emergence. For indoor plants, you can use special complex fertilizers, such as Blooming Paradise, Compo or Kristalon.

To change the level of acidity of the soil and, accordingly, change the color of the inflorescences, you can use the addition of aluminum, iron or food acids, then your hydrangeas will acquire a rich blue-blue hue.

After the indoor hydrangea has faded, it is no longer necessary to fertilize it, since it will soon go into a dormant state until next spring. At this time, move the pot with the plant to a dark room, where it is rather cool, and water it moderately so that the earthy ball does not dry out.