A targeted pruning is enough in late summer and a couple of tablespoons of aluminum sulfate to obtain up to 30% more blooms in hydrangeas, with larger inflorescences and intense colors. The secret? Everything is in preparing the plant since autumn, exploiting the resources it has accumulated in the hot months and directing them towards an explosive flowering the following year.
Those who have cultivated hydrangeas on a terrace exposed to the north know it well: the difference between a well -followed plant and a neglected one can be seen in the following season. The hydrangeas do not forget the treatments received in autumn: each intervention translates into a visible reaction. Most lucid leaves, more robust stems, more numerous buds. The post-firing phase is a sort of watershed. A key moment in which the plant stops investing energy in the flowers and begins to keep it for the future. A bit like a tree that, before facing the winter, accumulates sugars in the roots. Jumping these steps often means finding yourself in June with weeds of weapons, reduced or irregular flowering.
After all, who has never left an hydrangea bush without touching it after the summer, and then wonders why the following year he gave so little?
How to prune hydrangeas to obtain more abundant blooms
Poding an antithensia is not like cutting a hedge: each branch tells a story and holds a potential flower. A wrong pruning is equivalent to canceling a promise. Attention is needed, but also a pinch of intuition, as in the work of a sculptor who frees the shape hidden in the wood.
The hydrangeas Hydrangea macrophyllathe most common in the gardens, produce flowers on the branches of the previous year. This means that too drastic pruning in late summer risks removing the branches that will give flowers the following year. So better to focus on one selective pruningtargeted and respectful of the bearing of the plant.
A frequent experience in the gardens exposed to the south is that of Ortensie which, after the summer, show dry branches and spar alternating with vigorous stems. To intervene only on the weak ones allows the plant to preserve energy and concentrate the resources where they really need.
Necessary:
- Well -sharpened pruning scissors
- Gardening gloves
- Denatured alcohol (to disinfect the blades)
- Natural mulch (dry leaves or cortex)
- Ripe compost
Quick steps:
- Remove the dried flowers by recovering just above the first pair of healthy gems.
- Eliminate dry, broken or visibly weakened branches.
- Lightly shorten the longest branches to maintain a balanced shape.
- Disinfect the scissors between one cut and another, especially if you notice mold.
- Spread a layer of mulch around the base.
- Distribute mature compost in the ground, without touching the stem directly.
An imperfect phrase, often felt among fans, reads like this: “If you don’t know where to cut, leave it alone”. Because hydrangeas know how to forgive, but only up to a certain point.
Ortensia: the role of autumn fertilization
Fucking an anti -intensive in autumn is a bit like putting a supply of food before winter. It serves to feed the plant when it stops producing and begins to accumulate. And like any good reserve, it must be done with criterion.
The most common error is to use nitrogen fertilizers, which stimulate leaf growth just when the plant should slow down. Better to opt for fertilizers rich in phosphorus and potassiumwhich reinforce the roots and promote flower induction.
In the case of blue hydrangeas, the addition of aluminum sulfate It helps to maintain the acidity of the soil and intensify the coloring. In some domestic greenhouses, a treatment every two weeks starting from September led to more compact inflorescences and deep blue tones.
Errors to avoid:
- Fertilize after the beginning of October: there is a risk of stimulating out of season shoots.
- Use fresh manure: too rich and potentially burning.
- Excending with aluminum sulphate: over certain levels can block the absorption of other nutrients.
- Do not water after the fertilization: the nutrients remain on the surface.
A phrase often heard by those who had bad spring surprises: “It seemed in shape in November, then in May it was stopped”. Everything starts from the root, and the root works in silence.
Where to place it to stimulate new blooms
It is not enough to prune and fertilize: the Plan positioning It deeply affects its ability to flourish. Happy ortensia is an anti -intensive in the right place, like a fish in the water.
Ortensie prefer one indirect but abundant lightwith exposure to the east or north-east in the hottest regions, while in northern Italy they can also thrive South exposure, provided that with shadow in the central hours.
In a city balcony with exposure to the west, for example, there was a clear difference between plants positioned near a white wall (which reflects heat) and those moved under a curtain curtain: the latter showed richer and more lasting blooms.
Where/when:
- Place in the light shadow in the light shadow, avoiding the direct summer sun.
- Avoid twenty places: the flowers are delicate and are easily damaged.
- Prefer a slightly acidic ground, well drained and full of humus.
- Repotting the hydrangeas in pots every 2-3 years, preferably in spring.
- Check the soil pH in autumn, especially for blue flowering variety.
Ortensias are like small orchestras: they need harmony between light, soil, humidity. And every out of tune feels, and how do you feel.
Seasonal tips and curiosities about hydrangeas
Autumn is the perfect time to “listen” to the plant. Observe how it reacts at the end of flowering, note the shades of the leaves, check the formation of the gems. It is a bit like reading between the lines of an unwritten letter.
Many expert farmers use an artisan mixture based on coffee funds, chopped egg shells and wood ash to enrich the soil before winter. This mix, distributed in October, gave surprising results in hydrangeas cultivated in the ground.
Practical curiosities:
- Flat flower hydrangeas attract more pollinators than globose.
- The dry flowers left on the branches offer protection to the new gems.
- Some trimmed varieties can also issue buds in September, if well fed.
- The color of the flowers can turn with the age of the plant and the conditions of the soil.
- Ortensie can suffer from radical rot if the drainage is insufficient.
A nurseryman from Verona said that every year he put a shell behind his hydrangeas: not for superstition, but to encourage the accumulation of football in the ground. A simple gesture, born from observation and patience.
And in the end, the hydrangeas reward those who know how to wait, those who work in the shadow of autumn to see them explode in color in the middle of summer.
Photo © Stock.adobe
FOLLOW CASTLI NEWS ON
