One of the most beautiful perennials in demand in landscape design is called hydrangea. It gives thick lush greenery and an abundance of flowers. In addition, the bushes do not need complex care and are well adapted to frost and summer drought. Those who choose a variety suitable for breeding should pay attention to Mega Mindy.
Hydrangea Mega Mindy: description
Mega Mindy is one of the varieties of bouquet (or paniculate) hydrangea. Like a number of other varieties, Mindy forms a bush of compact size, the branches of which are well suited for composing bouquets (hence the name).
This variety was bred as a result of breeding work, thanks to which it was possible to improve its characteristics, including to increase resistance to frost.
Hydrangea Mega Mindy
Origin and appearance of hydrangea
The Mega Mindi variety was named for its large flowers, collected in racemose inflorescences. By the size of the flowers, this variety occupies one of the leading positions.
For your information! At the Florall Flanders Expo international exhibition, this variety was awarded a bronze medal.
This shrub has a dense crown, consisting of vertical shoots. Its height can vary between 1.2-1.75 m. On the branches there are oppositely located ovate leaves. The largest of them can reach a length of 10 cm. The leaves are dense, rough surface and dark green in color. By autumn, the plant acquires a yellowish tint.
How Mega Mindy Blossoms
According to the description, cone-shaped inflorescences consisting of dozens of large flowers are located on the tops of Mega Mindy shoots. Immediately after opening, the brushes have a white or milky color, but over time, the petals begin to turn pink and then pink-red. Due to this feature, panicles most often have a smooth transition of color.
White inflorescences Mega Mindi gradually acquire a pink-red hue
Hydrangea transplant Mega Mindi after purchase in the open ground
Young hydrangea should be planted in open ground in early spring. This must be done before the active growth of the flower. The soil for planting should be medium acid or neutral. In alkaline soil, these plants feel worse.
What you need for landing
3-4 days before planting, you need to prepare a place. To do this, dig a hole, the depth of which is 80 cm. The width should be approximately the same. For top dressing, the following components are poured into the pit:
- compost is three years old;
- bucket of sawdust.
These components are mixed. Their number should be such as to completely fill the pit for landing. If the soil on the site is not acidic, you can acidify it artificially. To do this, add a bucket of riding sod from the spruce or pine forest to the pit.
Important! Before planting the plant in a permanent place, the pit should be watered abundantly for 2-3 days.
Choosing the best place
The regularity of flowering, the intensity of the color and the growth rate of the bush depend on the right place. With a lack of light, the shoots will grow more slowly, and the inflorescences will be smaller. In this case, you should not choose a site completely devoid of shading, in which case the plant will suffer from drying out.
The best site for planting hydrangea Mega Mindi is the site located on the eastern side of fences, houses or outbuildings. In this situation, the flowers will receive soft lighting in the morning, and after lunch they will be protected from direct sunlight.
To prevent the accumulation of rainfall, experienced gardeners recommend planting these shrubs on a small hill. This will allow you to control the amount of moisture. Otherwise, the flowers are exposed to the fungus.
Step-by-step landing process
If the plant is in a flower pot, then proceed as follows:
- The seedling is removed from the pot along with a lump of earth. This must be done carefully.
- The sprout is placed in a landing hole.
- On top of the flower you need to sprinkle with soil. In this case, the root neck should remain on the surface.
The plant, together with a lump of land, is placed in the landing pit
If hydrangea is cut and placed in water until the roots appear, planting is carried out in a slightly different way:
- A small mound is formed on the seat.
- All roots that have managed to grow are carefully spread and covered with soil from above.
Breeding
There are four ways to propagate this variety of flowers:
- by seeds;
- cuttings;
- vaccination;
- dividing the bush.
Note! Reproduction by grafting and planting seeds requires a large labor and time expenditure from the gardener.
In addition, these methods do not give 100% of the result. For these reasons, it is recommended to choose hydrangea propagation by cuttings or by dividing an adult bush.
Propagation by cuttings
For this method, annual shoots (preferably lateral) are used. They should be rooted in July, after preparing the soil:
- coarse sand;
- peat;
- a small amount of sphagnum moss (it is necessary to increase the moisture capacity).
When landing, you need to consider a few tips.
- between planted cuttings there must be a distance of at least 5 cm;
- seedlings are placed in the soil at a slight angle;
- the optimum temperature for rooting and growth is 16-20 ° C.
Hydrangea cuttings are planted in soil at a distance of 5 cm from each other
Growing from layering
This method has several advantages:
- ease of implementation;
- the ability to reproduce at any time of the year (spring, summer or autumn);
- high percentage of rooting.
Bush division
To achieve a good result, it is important to correctly divide the bush.
- The plant is carefully dug up. During this work, it is important not to damage the root system. Hydrangeas have superficial roots, so you won’t have to go deep.
- The main bush is divided into several parts. You need to make sure that each daughter bush has 2-3 buds.
Hydrangea Care Mega Mindy
Caring for this plant can be called standard, as special actions from the gardener are not required. It is enough to comply with several requirements regarding irrigation and fertilizer.
Watering mode
This variety of ornamental shrubs does not tolerate severe drought and waterlogged soil. In most cases, it is enough to water once a week. Do this by adding water to the basal circle. For a single watering, 7-10 liters of water are required. In hot days, you can increase the number of irrigation to 2 times a week.
Note! Plants planted in an open area without shading need to protect the soil from drying out. To do this, sprinkle the trunk circle with bark, needles or sawdust.
Hydrangea is watered by adding water to the root circle
Top dressing
The flowering of panicled Mega Mindi panicle hydrangea lasts from spring to late autumn, which requires a lot of effort from the plant. For this reason, it is important to provide the decorative shrub with regular top dressing, especially if the soil on the site is sandy. The composition for fertilizer is best chosen taking into account the time of year.
- In early spring, the NPK complex can be introduced into the soil, which provides enhanced growth of new shoots. As an additional fertilizer, a mixture of potassium sulfate and urea is used. To prepare the solution requires 10 liters of water and 1 tbsp. spoon named components. This amount is enough for five bushes.
- June is the time of the appearance of inflorescences, so for feeding it is better to choose superphosphate or any other complex containing phosphorus and potassium.
- During the summer months, it is recommended to apply fertilizer for flower plants 2-3 times. In the list of the most popular - Kemira flower.
- In the autumn, shortly before the cold weather, the plant must be prepared for wintering. For this purpose, the bushes are watered with a solution of superphosphate and potassium (for 10 liters, 1 tbsp.spoon of each substance).
Features of care during the flowering period
During active flowering, hydrangea Mega Mindy does not need special care, however, you need to remember a few nuances.
- regular watering 1-2 times a week;
- top dressing at least 3-4 times during the warm season;
- loosening the soil. After watering, a dense crust often forms on the surface of the soil, which prevents air from reaching the roots. Loosening the soil completely solves this problem. It should be remembered that the root system of the shrub is on the surface, so you need to proceed with caution.
Features of care at rest
In the spring, before the start of active sap flow in the stems, pruning should be done. Last year's dry, curved branches are removed at the base. It is best to leave a small number of skeletal branches. In this case, the plant acquires an upright, even crown, its branches do not tumble to the side. In addition, a large number of stems negatively affects the quality of flowering - the brushes become smaller.
Important! If you are late with pruning, it is better to postpone the procedure until foliage appears. Pruning during the movement of the juice can damage the plant.
Winter preparations
Hydrangea is a perennial plant, so with the onset of cold weather it must be prepared for winter. Experienced gardeners recommend cutting off all inflorescences. On stems from which brushes have not been removed, new panicles will not form next year.
Thus, growing Mega Mindy is not so difficult. It is enough to follow elementary rules, not to overmoisten and cut the bushes in time.
