Hydrangea is a beautiful and fairly common garden shrub. It can grow not only in the garden, but also in a pot. At the same time, often both amateurs and professionals are faced with the fact that hydrangea does not grow well. What if the development stops, the flower does not release new shoots?
To solve this issue, you should know why hydrangea does not grow, and how to solve such problems.
Common causes of the problem
There can be many problems with the development of the flower, the main one is the state of the soil or the environment:
- cold winter, frosting of the tops of twigs, buds;
- early opening of hydrangea in spring and unexpected frosts;
- a variety that is not able to grow in the planting region due to inappropriate climate;
- low acidity of the earth;
- not enough fluid, poor and poor watering;
- heavy earth, poorly breathable;
- the plant does not fertilize, lack of nutrients, poor quality soil;
- the appearance of pests or diseases that inhibit plant growth;
- pruning without regard to the rules, and cut off the buds of the bush;
- hydrangea roots are damaged for various reasons.
Hydrangea garden
It is in spring that you can see the condition of the bush. If the plant wakes up heavily, does not release new young twigs, buds do not bloom well, inflorescences do not form, or there are few, small flowers, this indicates a problem that urgently needs to be addressed.
Poor growth due to poor root system
It is the roots of the plant that carry the basic information about the plant: if they are damaged, then the aerial part will feel bad. The main causes of damage to the root system are:
- frost
- pests;
- diseases (fungal or infectious).
With a flower that grows at home, everything is simple: just get it out of the container with a lump of earth and check the condition of the roots. It is best to clean the soil, carefully remove damaged and diseased parts, and rinse with clean water. Good effect on the root system of a room flower by watering with a weak solution of potassium permanganate. In specialized stores, you can buy a tool for strengthening the roots, which will help the plant.
Hydrangea did not wake up after wintering
This check is accompanied by a further transfer to a new land, a couple of weeks after this procedure, fertilizing should be carried out.
Important! When transplanting, you should be as careful as possible with the roots of the plant and not damage healthy strong roots, the procedure should be carried out with minimal losses.
Why hydrangea slowly grows in the garden is also an exciting question. In this case, the condition of the roots is checked a little differently. It is necessary to remove the topsoil and check the visible part of the root system. If everything is good, diseases, pests and other injuries are not found, then you need to fill everything with fresh soil from above, feed it with fertilizer.
If problems are found, then you need to urgently treat the plant so that it does not die completely. The easiest way is to dig up a bush and plant in a new place in fresh soil.
Poor growth due to non-compliance with pruning rules
Hydrangea forms shoots on last year's shoots, which means that when pruning, you need to know exactly which branches can be cut and which are not. If an inexperienced gardener will do the pruning incorrectly, then you can not see the flowers for several years.
Rules for pruning different varieties of hydrangea
In addition, when covering the plant for the winter, special attention should be paid to the upper parts of the shoots. So that they do not freeze, they are bent closer to the ground, where heat is better retained. It is also important to purchase hydrangea varieties adapted to the growing region. The plant must have time to form buds, in the northern regions the summer is not long enough for this to happen.
Poor growth due to illness
What if hydrangea does not grow? Here the cause can be not only diseases, but also pests. In different cases, the treatment will be different. Most often, the cause can be detected with the naked eye, just look at the bush: pale leaves, lethargic state, the presence of pests, etc.
Chlorosis is a disease that primarily affects the size of foliage and inflorescences (they become small), and the greens turn pale. Often this is due to long growth in the same place. It is useful to periodically use Ferovit, Antichlorosis or Agricola. All products have instructions on the packaging that must be strictly observed.
Gray rot is a fungus that damages hydrangea during excessive watering or during heavy rainfall. The treatment with Fundazole will help, it is also necessary to cut off all the areas that the disease has damaged, and burn them.
Diseased plant
Powdery mildew can ruin a bush, in which characteristic yellowish or green spots appear. Such a bush will die quickly enough if you do not help him cope with the disease. In this case, use Skor, Topaz or Fitosporin-B.
It happens that high temperature is combined with high humidity, then there is a risk of peronosporosis. Treatment with an aqueous solution of copper sulfate with liquid soap in the proportion of 10 l * 20 g * 150 g, respectively, will help.
The bush is treated with copper sulfate if it gets sick with septoria. You can determine the disease by the appearance of brown spots on the foliage. Ring spotting is the most dangerous disease, the plant can no longer be saved, it is best to uproot it and remove it from the site. At the same time, remove the lump of land in which hydrangea grew.
In addition to various diseases, pests can greatly spoil the appearance of the shrub, among them the aphid hydrangea, spider mites, slugs and snails, as well as nematodes, are especially often attacked.
The first signs are easy to notice: the leaves wither, fall off and acquire a yellowish tint. The easiest folk way - spraying with an aqueous solution of garlic and liquid soap. To do this, dissolve 50 g of soap in 10 liters of water and add 250 g of chopped garlic cloves. For two days, this mixture is infused, after which you can spray hydrangea. From snails Confidor or Calypso helps a lot.
Causes of lack of flowering in some species and varieties
In addition to the fact that hydrangea can simply stop growing, some gardeners are faced with the fact that there are no flowers on the bush. This may mean that the plant lacks nutrients, a lot of sun, or the buds were frostbite in the winter. In addition, improper transplantation can also lead to sad consequences.
Adaptation after landing
If the seedling was planted in the spring, then in the first year it may not decorate the garden with its flowering. This is due to the fact that the plant needs some time to adapt. Even if all measures are carried out correctly, all roots are preserved, watering is carried out in accordance with all the rules, the bush is fertilized according to the norms, this does not mean that flowers will necessarily appear in the first year of life. You should wait a bit until next year, and hydrangea will certainly please with its unusual and beautiful flowers.
Unsuccessful place for planting a seedling
Hydrangea really does not like direct sunlight, which means it should be planted in partial shade or even in the shade. Best of all, when the bush is lit by the sun early in the morning, the rest of the day it will be in a shaded place, then it will grow more actively. In an extreme case, you can make a canopy that will cast a shadow in the hottest time. Then the question will not arise why hydrangea is slowly growing. If the shrub is constantly in the shade, this can also cause a lack of flowers, therefore, the place for the plant should be selected carefully.
Important! The composition of the soil is very important for the formation of inflorescences. If the acidity is below 6%, the bush will not bloom.
In order for the acidity to meet the requirements of hydrangea, it is enough to add 500 g of Bordeaux liquid to 10 liters of water and water the bush.
Winter frostbite
Depending on the type of hydrangea, it tolerates frost better or worse. For example, panicled is considered the most frost-resistant, because it can most often be seen in personal plots. Treelike and large-leaved are not so resistant to frost and require better shelter.
Attention! Regardless of the variety, it is better to mulch the near-stem circle for the winter with humus or peat.
If the kidneys are damaged by frost, then hydrangea in the spring may not bloom, therefore, warming should be approached more carefully, especially when growing gentle plant varieties. Identifying the reason why the panicled variety of hydrangea does not grow is somewhat more difficult.
Lack or excess of moisture
With improper watering, hydrangea may also not bloom. Strong drying of the soil will lead to unformed inflorescences, excess moisture - to the disease of the plant and lack of flowers.
Improper care result
In this case, the water must be rain or settled. With its high rigidity, one can also encounter problems of growth and flowering of hydrangea. The liquid should not contain excess lime; it is better if these suspensions settle to the bottom of the vessel before irrigation. To do this, collect water in a large container and wait a couple of days. Then you can water it.
With proper care and disease control, the plant will annually delight with its lush flowering and unusual flowers. It is enough to regularly inspect and take measures if necessary, then it will be possible to grow a beautiful and large bush.
