Many gardeners and landscape designers have long chosen hydrangea as a long flowering shrub. In gardens and parks, more and more new representatives of this genus appear. Its popularity for today can be compared with the popularity of roses. More and more interesting varieties and hybrids appear on the wound. One of these new varieties is Hot Chocolate.

Grade description

Rough Hydrangea Hot Chokolit (Hot Chocolate, Hot Chocolate) is a new variety that, first of all, is distinguished by unusual decorative properties of foliage. It has a peculiar felt structure and changes its unusual color throughout the season: from light green with silver to chocolate shades. The underside of the leaves, which reach sizes up to 30 cm, has a dark wine color.

This ensemble has a very decorative look. Unusual stems and petioles of bright red or orange shades give the bush a striking appearance. The bush forms a crown of 2 m in height and 1.2 m in width. It blooms almost odorlessly with flat lace large inflorescences of 15-30 cm in size, which are collected from small purple flowers in the middle and large pink ones along the edges.

Important! The blooming brushes will be bright and beautiful at the Hot Chocolate hydrangea, growing at the optimum acidity for it. If the pH is less than 4.5, the inflorescences will be faded and small.

Hot Chocolate is characterized by an extended flowering period, it lasts from July to the very frosts. It should be noted that in our latitudes, its flowering is rather a bonus than a regularity, due to the fact that it blooms on the first-order shoots growing on overwintered branches, which do not always have time to ripen for this. According to our gardeners, flowering occurs on the 3-4th year after planting.

Hydrangea Hot Chocolate in Landscaping

This spectacular shrub can be used to decorate decorative hedges. It will look spectacular in the recreation area near the gazebo or artificial pond, as well as on the lawn as group or single landings. You can use the bush as a park composition. It should be noted that in the middle lane it is better to grow it as a single plant in a garden or in a container, because with the declared good frost resistance (up to -23 ° C), he likes a warm climate, and needs a good winter shelter, and do it with the whole hedge is quite problematic.

Planting a plant

Rough hydrangea is a rather whimsical plant, demanding on the fertility and chemical composition of the soil. It is better to buy seedlings for planting in domestic nurseries, since imported planting material, as a rule, has a rather lazy root system, accustomed to an increased amount of fertilizer and regular drip irrigation.

Important! Rough hydrangea planting material needs to be bought only with a closed root system. To ensure its quality, gently turn the plant down, it should not freely fall out of the pot, and when removed from the container, the root should repeat its shape.

If it was not possible to buy such planting material, it is better to plant the plant in a temporary nursery, where it can be accustomed to the usual microclimate during the first two years of life, and then transplanted to the desired place. The recommended age of the purchased seedling is 2-3 years.

Seat selection

An ideal place for planting hydrangea Hot chocolate is the penumbra of tall trees or a site under indirect sunlight. It will be great if there is any water source nearby (homemade or natural), as well as a spillway. A prerequisite for the cultivation of this shrub is to provide protection for drafts and cold weather.

It should be noted that placing hydrangeas too close to other trees and bushes is not advisable, since they can steal moisture from her. When choosing a site for planting hydrangea, a rough one needs to know that she feels good only on light fertile soils. When determining a seat, you need to know that a lack of sun can also adversely affect hydrangea, as well as its overabundance. It will develop green mass, but it will not be possible to see the flowering of a shrub planted in the shade.

Landing time

The most optimal planting periods for hydrangeas are rough - April or September. For plants with a closed root system, the planting period can be significantly extended. This fact is especially relevant for lovers of garden sales.

Soil preparation

Hydrangea Hot chocolate is best planted on cultivated fertile soil. If your site does not meet such standards, then the soil needs to be improved by using peat and other organic matter. For this purpose, it makes sense to purchase a special landing mixture. This can be done by buying the seedling itself in the nursery.

Did you know? To create 1 cm of the fertile layer, nature must work 1000 years.

Before planting, it is necessary to determine the acidity of the soil. If it is above 6, then it is enough to fill the planting hole with a mixture of soil with humus in a ratio of 1: 1 on light (sandy soil).

Step-by-step landing instructions

Having prepared a seedling, soil and drainage, you can proceed directly to the planting of hydrangea. The next day, check the landing, if the soil is too sagging, add the root neck to the desired level and mulch the bush.

To do this, perform simple actions:

1. Dig a hole 50 cm wide and 50 cm deep on sandy ground and 50 × 70 on heavier soil.
2. If necessary, place drainage with a layer of up to 20 cm at the bottom.
3. Pour 1/3 of the soil mixture into the hole for planting, slightly tamp.
4. Place the seedling in the pit, carefully distributing the roots throughout its area. At the same time, its position must be compared with the soil level so that the root neck is flush or 2 cm lower.
5. Fill the root with the remaining soil and compact it.
6. Water the seedling at the rate of 15–25 l, depending on weather conditions and soil composition (in dry weather and sandy soil the highest water consumption).

Care

Rough Hydrangea Hot Chocolate requires some effort and cost. Closely monitor her condition. When changing its appearance, it is necessary to respond in a timely manner.

Important! To prevent aphid raids, effectively plant calendula nearby with hydrangea. She attracts ladybugs — natural pest exterminators.

It has a relatively stable immunity, but can be affected by some diseases. When brightening leaf plates and at the same time darkening their veins, it is necessary to acidify the plant. If his appearance has not changed, most likely, it got sick with chlorosis then treat with blue vitriol (45 g per bucket of water).

If the leaves are covered with oily spots that begin to turn yellow over time, this indicates powdery mildew. It is necessary to treat the bush with an appropriate fungicide. Of the pests, aphid or spider mite can attack rough hydrangea. In this case, it is necessary to spray it with insecticides aimed at the destruction of these particular pests.

Watering

This is the most important agricultural technique in the life of hydrangeas Hot Chocolit. Inadequate moisture can lead to inhibition of the plant. For the full development of the bush in dry and hot weather, it is necessary to water daily 1 bucket under the bush (preferably in the evening) with water of a pleasant temperature (in no case cold). In addition, for the ideal state of the plant, it is necessary to sprinkle in the morning and evening. At the same time, one or three buckets can be irrigated every other day under each bush, depending on its size.

On moderately dry and not too hot days, watering and sprinkling can be reduced by 1/3 or 1/2 times, depending on the state of soil moisture. With normal, damp, moist, hydrangea weather, normal mulching and irrigation 2-3 times a week is sufficient.

Top dressing

To maintain the high decorative qualities of Hot Chocolate the bush should be fed regularly, starting from the second year after planting (at the initial stage of development, there are enough resources of the original soil).

Important! Foliar top dressing can be much more effective than root dressing. High humidity significantly increases its effectiveness, but slightly reduces the concentration of nutrients.

At the same time, both root and foliar top dressing can be carried out. For the first time, hydrangea can be fed at the beginning of the growing season with a solution of mullein or nitrogen-containing mineral fertilizers. During the beginning of budding, phosphorus-potassium top dressing should be done. In this case, one should remember about acidification, if necessary (for example, potassium sulfate) of nutrient solutions.

The third time it is advisable to support the plant with any purchased fertilizer composition for flowering shrubs or specifically for hydrangea, since a sufficient amount of necessary trace elements is added to them.

Did you know? To nourish plants, you can insist 2 kg of chopped apples in a bucket of water. Get a fairly balanced fertilizer.

To increase the strength of the branches and prevent fungal infections, it is good to treat the bush with a solution of potassium permanganate at the rate of 2 mg per 10 water. If it looks healthy, then these top dressings are enough, but they can be supplemented depending on the needs of the plant, not forgetting about the acid balance of the soil.

Mulching and loosening of soil

It is difficult to overestimate the importance of mulching for all plants, it is especially important to use it in the cultivation of hydrangea. For these purposes, wood bark, peat, sawdust, chopped dry grass (it is important that it is seedless), straw, etc. are well suited.

Industrial covering materials can be used depending on your capabilities, preferences and landscape ideas. The presence of mulch significantly reduces the need for watering, eliminates the need for weeding and loosening, while maintaining an optimal microclimate in the root zone.

Plant pruning

In the southern regions of our country, this procedure can be done once a year in early spring, after wintering, damaged branches, old peduncles, shoots growing in an undesirable direction, etc. are removed.

In the rest of Russia, hydrangea Hot chocolate is advisable to cut for the winter, while removing most of the branches and leaving 3-4 buds on each shoot. However, you need to understand that next year it may not bloom, since it forms peduncles on the growth of the current year, which, when pruned, may simply not have time to ripen.

Winter preparations

To make your rough hydrangea bloom next year, it must be well covered for the winter. It is better to do this by constructing a frame above the bush from improvised means and covering it with lutrasil. Other methods for shelter do not work, because the stems of the Hot Chocolate hydrangea are very fragile, and they cannot be bent to the ground without breaking.

Hydrangea Hot chocolate is somewhat capricious and requires increased attention throughout the growing season. However, many gardeners who grow it, note the high decorative properties of the shrub, and those who managed to achieve flowering from it remain subjugated by it forever.