How to care for Endless Summer hydrangeas?
For netizens to elaborate on the knowledge of how to care for Endless Summer hydrangeas, the following is a detailed answer by the editor.
Yesterday, I pruned the Endless Summer hydrangeas. When it comes to hydrangeas, everyone seems to love them. The large flower balls of hydrangeas are indeed very appealing. However, the blooming period of most large hydrangeas is concentrated in May and June, and the blooming period of hydrangeas generally lasts about a month.
These large hydrangeas bloom on old branches, and their blooming period is relatively short. There is a type of hydrangea with a longer blooming period, which can bloom from May and June to late autumn. This type of hydrangea is called Endless Summer and Endless Summer Bride, named so because it can bloom from summer to late autumn.
However, most flower enthusiasts can only make the Endless Summer bloom in May and June and cannot make it bloom throughout the summer. Why is that? How can one make the Endless Summer hydrangeas bloom continuously? Today, I will introduce to you the cultivation techniques for the non-stop blooming of Endless Summer hydrangeas.
Techniques for continuous blooming of Endless Summer hydrangeas
The blooming period of hydrangeas is mainly concentrated in May and June, and so is the case for Endless Summer. However, with proper cultivation, Endless Summer can bloom throughout the summer.
1. Light Management Techniques
If you want Endless Summer hydrangeas to bloom continuously, light management is very important. Hydrangeas can tolerate shade, but tolerance to shade does not mean they do not need light. Appropriate light can make hydrangeas grow stronger.
Moreover, sufficient light is more conducive to the differentiation of hydrangea flower buds, so light control is very important in the cultivation process. In autumn and early spring, hydrangeas should be exposed to plenty of light to make the plants grow strong and prevent lodging caused by excessive growth.
After the Spring Festival, light gradually becomes stronger. By May, the flower buds of hydrangeas begin to grow. At this time, you should ensure sufficient light, and no shading is required for varieties that are not particularly shade-intolerant.
When the hydrangeas bloom, if the flowers become wilted at noon when the light is strongest, you should pay attention and provide timely shading to prevent sunburn.
As the temperature rises, by early summer, the light is very strong, and it is very hot at noon. Hydrangeas require a lot of water, so attention should be paid to shading and also to喷水降温, as喷水 can also supplement water for hydrangeas and prevent them from wilting.
2. Fertilizing Techniques
Hydrangeas act like water pumps in summer, consuming a lot of water. Frequent watering can also cause the loss of nutrients in the potting soil.
However, since hydrangeas only bloom once a year, many people are accustomed to stopping fertilizing during the blooming period to make the blooming period last longer. This can be done for large hydrangeas, but for Endless Summer, if you want it to bloom as its name suggests, throughout the summer, you must top-dress during the blooming period.
Endless Summer hydrangeas bloom on both new and old branches, so the blooming period is long. When the first batch of flowers opens, there are still many small flower buds growing. If you stop fertilizing at this time, it can easily cause the next batch of flowers to be small, and the following flower buds will wither directly.
Therefore, sufficient fertilizer and water can allow the later-blooming flower buds to get enough nutrients and bloom normally. Moreover, with sufficient fertilizer and water, the new branches of Endless Summer hydrangeas will continue to sprout, hidden buds will become plump, and the time for new buds to sprout after flowering will be significantly shortened, sometimes even before the flowers finish blooming, new branches have already emerged.
Only with sufficient nutrients can new branches continue to grow, and there is a possibility of continuously forming flower buds. Therefore, fertilizer and water are crucial for whether Endless Summer hydrangeas can bloom continuously.
It is essential to persist in fertilizing, whether during the blooming period or after flowering. We often find that after pruning hydrangeas, the new leaves easily turn yellow and lose their green color, which is actually a sign of nutrient deficiency. If you persist in fertilizing during the blooming period, it is less likely to occur.
3. Pruning Techniques
Hydrangea pruning should be done after flowering. If you cannot grasp the pruning amplitude, you can just cut off the残花, and then the plump buds will sprout, while the weak buds will wither naturally. Later, you can cut off the withered part.
Generally, after flowering pruning, it is necessary to cut with 1-2 pairs of leaves because the position of the 1-2 pairs of leaves near the flowers often cannot see the buds, and even if they sprout, they will be weak. Usually, they are cut directly. If you want to control the height of the plant, you can retain 1-2 pairs of buds near the surface of the potting soil and cut off the rest.
After pruning, the new buds of hydrangeas tend to turn yellow. At this time, it is necessary to top-dress in time. It is recommended to use microbial organic fertilizer for a more formal top-dressing and also supplement some iron, magnesium, calcium, and other trace element fertilizers through leaf spraying.
After pruning, you cannot use fast-acting fertilizers as they can easily cause fertilizer damage. You must use fermented organic fertilizers, preferably those with added microbes, which can quickly activate soil fertility.
4. Color Adjustment to Make Endless Summer More Dreamy
Many hydrangeas can be colored, and Endless Summer is also colorable. By changing the soil's pH, Endless Summer can freely transform between blue and red.
If you want Endless Summer to bloom pure blue flowers, you should adjust the color one month before the flower buds appear to keep the soil acidic, and Endless Summer can bloom blue flowers. If you adjust the color after the flowers grow, the final color may be a bit difficult to control, but mixed with blue, pink, and red, it may look even more dreamy.
Endless Summer color adjustment can be done with ferrous sulfate and aluminum sulfate, which can be watered or shallowly buried.
The above detailed explanation of how to care for Endless Summer hydrangeas is for reference and suggestion only!