Many flower lovers gladly grow hydrangea, the plant has very spectacular inflorescences that look like bright hats. Despite the fact that the culture requires careful care, it is necessary to provide special conditions for growth and development, in general, agricultural technology is unlikely to scare an experienced gardener. But it is sometimes difficult to get planting material for the first time, especially when it comes to rare varieties. And few people realize that hydrangea seeds can be ordered on the Internet, even on Western sites.
Is it possible to grow hydrangea from seeds
Hydrangea propagates both by seed and vegetative. It is recommended to contact the nursery for seed material. It is here that it is easiest to find various varieties from well-known manufacturers.
Seed material
What do the seeds look like
If the gardener does not even know what the hydrangea seeds look like, it is worth reading the description:
- color is dark brown;
- shape - elongated with a sharp ending;
- size is small;
- the shell is embossed.
On a note!Those who are looking for interesting varieties should pay special attention to Chinese or Japanese hydrangea seeds. In these countries, crop cultivation is at a very high level.
When and how to collect hydrangea seeds
Some gardeners prefer to independently collect future planting material.
You need to go for hydrangea seeds after the flowering of the crop ends, and the weather is dry on the street. Seeds are found in fruits that look like small boxes. To extract seeds, the fruit must be carefully opened.
Seed storage
Before sending hydrangea seeds for storage, they need to be dried a little in a room with room temperature.
Small paper bags and a dry place protected from sunlight are the ideal place to store seeds. Leaving material for a long time is not recommended, since the highest percentage of germination of seeds occurs in the next few months after assembly.
And now it’s worth talking about how to grow hydrangea from seeds at home.
How to choose hydrangea seeds for sowing
There are no particular difficulties in choosing planting material, the main thing is to follow 3 simple rules:
- Seeds are purchased only from trusted manufacturers. As mentioned above, preference should be given to grains from China or Japan.
- High-quality material should not have spots, extraneous traces, damage, lethargy.
- Also, the seeds must match their appearance. About how the seeds look described above.
That's actually all that a flower grower should know.
Harvested seeds
How to plant hydrangea seeds at home
After the high-quality seed material is selected, it is necessary to understand the technology of planting this crop at home. How to plant hydrangea seeds? This is described in detail below.
Optimal time for landing
The second half of winter is the time for planting seed. By the time summer arrives, the seedlings will already have a few leaves, and it will be fully prepared for transplanting into the open ground.
To grow seedlings you will need a pot of a suitable size and light loose soil. Accelerate the process of seed germination by proper preparation. However, first things first.
Seed preparation
Before planting, they prepare seeds of large-leaved hydrangea according to the following scheme:
- Choose quality seeds.
- Prepare a disinfectant solution of manganese (it should be pink). Soak the seeds for 30 to 40 minutes.
- Prepare a damp cloth where the seeds will be transferred after disinfection.
- In a few days, the grains should swell and give small shoots. It takes from 2 to 5 days.
- It is important to remember that the fabric should not dry out, that is, it must be moistened periodically.
Preparation of containers and land
Hydrangeas require special soil, which will have good conductivity of moisture and air. In addition, it should have a sufficient number of useful elements so that the sprouts can develop normally. Soil is prepared from the following components:
- sheet land - 1 part;
- sand - 1 part;
- peat - 1 part.
This mixture is filled in the container for planting and spilled with hot potassium permanganate for disinfection purposes. After the soil has cooled, a small amount of warm water is introduced.
Sheet earth
Landing procedure
Difficulties in planting grains should not arise. Everything is done according to the following instructions:
- Put the seed on moist soil and press a little.
- Use a small amount of sand for powdering.
- Spray the landing site from the spray gun.
- To create a greenhouse effect, close the pot with film material or glass.
- Put in a warm, sunny place (+20 ° C).
- The covering material is removed every day for ventilation. Soil is sprayed as necessary.
- After the shoots appear, the glass or film is removed completely.
Features of planting hydrangea seeds in open ground in spring
It is convenient to plant seeds immediately on the bed. It is up to the right choice of place. It should be slightly shaded so that young plants do not get burns under the scorching sun. Landing is carried out in late April - early May.
On the formed high beds fertilized with humus, seed material is sown in a chaotic manner and buried a little in the ground.
For reference! If everything is done correctly, then small plants will begin to appear after 1 - 1.5 months.
How to grow hydrangea seedlings
To get strong seedlings you need to make some effort.
Watering Mode and Humidity
Without a sufficient amount of moisture, not a single plant will survive, and hydrangea is no exception here, but in everything you need to know the measure. Description of irrigation:
- in the spring-summer period, as the top layer of soil dries up, watering is carried out using standing water. If it is cold outside, then the ground needs to be kept in a slightly wet state;
- morning or evening hours are suitable for watering, when the sun does not burn too much;
- once a month, hydrangea water is slightly acidified to increase the acidity of the soil;
- if necessary, spray the seedlings.
Lighting and temperature
In the place where the seedlings are, it should not be very hot, there is also no drafts and the proximity of heating appliances. The plant should have enough light so that the shoots do not stretch out due to lack of lighting.
Hydrangea seedlings
Top dressing
Young plants will not refuse additional nutrition. Fertilizers are applied once every 14 days and only when the weather is warm outside.
Attention! When purchasing fertilizers, the dosage for seedlings is calculated according to the instructions from the package.
Hardening
Before planting plants at a chosen place in the garden, it is necessary to conduct a hardening procedure. This has a beneficial effect on the immune system of the culture and enhances resistance to low temperature. Hardening is carried out continuously, without taking breaks.
Containers with seedlings must be put out for several hours every day, this time is gradually increased to a whole day, so that, as a result, containers were removed only at night.
Picks
The procedure is carried out 2 times. The first is after the appearance of 2 large cotyledon leaves. Strong seedlings are planted in containers so that a distance of 10 to 12 cm is maintained between them.
The second time they dive in the last days of spring, when active growth of green mass in seedlings begins. Here you will need separate pots for each plant.
Transplanting young plants in the open ground
If we talk about a plant such as hydrangea, seedlings are planted according to the following step-by-step scheme:
- It is necessary to dig a hole having a diameter 3 times greater than the roots of plants.
- Drainage is laid at the bottom, with a layer of 10-15 centimeters.
- Then fertile garden soil, a special soil mixture, is filled up.
- Seedlings are arranged so that the root system is completely in the landing fossa.
- It remains to fill up with earth, compact a little, make abundant watering and mulching.
Outdoor landing
If it is planned to plant several hydrangeas, then the distance between the bushes should not be less than 100 cm.
Subject to all the recommendations listed in the article above, there should not be any special problems with how to grow hydrangea from seeds. Of course, the method is not considered the best and easiest, but any gardener can cope with all the procedures. In this case, you can buy rare varieties and get a very beautiful, unusual plant.
