Hydrangea Post-Flowering Management Tips
A comprehensive explanation of hydrangea flowering management and how to care for the plant to ensure healthy greenery. Let's delve into the details introduced by the editor.
The blooming season of roses is over, and it's time for hydrangeas to showcase their beauty. However, many gardeners have noticed that their hydrangeas start to wilt after a few days of blooming, and some buds turn black. What's happening? Let's talk about the management of hydrangea flowering and post-flowering care tips.
1. Hydrangea Flowering Management
Many gardeners say they don't know how to care for hydrangeas, but in fact, they are quite easy to grow. To keep hydrangea flowers blooming for a long time, we need to do the following four points when the plant enters the flowering period.
1. Stop Fertilizing in Time
Large hydrangeas bloom only once a year, so when the plant enters the flowering period, fertilizing should be stopped immediately to avoid early plant senescence and premature flower failure due to excessive fertilization.
2. Ensure Sufficient Water
Hydrangeas require a lot of water during the flowering period and are known as water absorbers. If water is insufficient, the flowers and leaves will wilt and droop. However, don't worry, as the plant will quickly recover after watering.
But to extend the flowering period, it's best not to let the hydrangea lack water. Frequent water deficiency can easily lead to early flower failure. Keep the potting soil moist and water when the leaves start to wilt.
3. Avoid Direct Sunlight
Some hydrangeas are very sensitive to sunlight, such as 'Endless Summer,' which tends to wilt during the day and is afraid of direct sun. Even other large hydrangea varieties do not tolerate strong sunlight during the flowering period and should be placed on an east-facing balcony.
While avoiding direct sunlight, it's also not recommended to completely shade the plant. If it's always in a place with insufficient light, the color of the hydrangea flowers will fade. It's best to provide soft morning sunlight.
4. Avoid Water on Flowers and Remove Dead Leaves and Flowers
When the hydrangea is in the bud and flowering stage, extra care should be taken to ensure that no water accumulates on the buds and flowers. When watering, avoid the flowers and pour water directly into the potting soil. Accumulated water on the flowers can cause them to rot, resulting in half a flower ball.
In addition to not sprinkling water on the flowers, it's also important to ensure that there are no dead leaves or spent flowers on the hydrangea. If they remain on the plant, they can cause infections, leading to flower or leaf rot. Therefore, any dead leaves or spent flowers that fall on the hydrangea should be promptly removed.
2. Post-Flowering Management Tips
After the hydrangea flowers fade, timely post-flowering management is necessary to ensure the plant grows robustly and produces more large flower balls the following year.
The first thing to do after the hydrangea flowers fade is pruning. Hydrangea pruning is quite flexible. If you want the plant to grow larger, you can lightly prune, leaving a pair of leaves with the spent flower. If you want to control the plant size, prune according to the desired height. Heavy pruning requires shading after pruning, as direct sunlight can cause withering.
Pruning alone is not enough; you also need to apply fertilizer after pruning. It's recommended to use fermented organic fertilizer, and for potted plants, a combination of fermented organic fertilizer and controlled-release fertilizer is suggested. For example, with a 2-gallon pot, you can use 200g of fermented organic fertilizer and 20g of controlled-release fertilizer, mixed evenly and applied to the surface of the potting soil or slightly buried.
Note that in summer, hydrangeas are prone to yellowing leaves due to a lack of trace elements, which can severely affect the plant's growth and even cause withering. Therefore, it's necessary to frequently spray chelated iron on the leaves to supplement iron.
If you want simpler management, you can add trace element slow-release fertilizer (dynamite) during post-flowering fertilization to continuously release and supplement various trace elements, preventing and correcting nutrient deficiencies, which can be used not only for hydrangeas but also for other plants prone to deficiencies.
Have you understood the detailed introduction of hydrangea flowering management and post-flowering care tips shared above?