Hydrangea Airlie Blue is a beautifully flowering plant that will look spectacular in any part of the infield. This is a relatively young variety, bred by breeders from the Netherlands in 2006. Its advantages are luxurious flowering, longevity and high resistance to disease. You can familiarize yourself with other characteristics of the variety, the agrotechnics of its cultivation, and the peculiarities of care using this article.

Grade description

Large-leaved hydrangea Airlie Blue (Hydrangea macrophylla Early Blue) is a medium-sized bush for decorative purposes. In height, it can reach 80-120 cm. The crown is spherical, its diameter is approximately 120 cm.

The culture is blossoming on last year's branches and overgrowths of the current year. It begins to bloom in July and continues until the beginning of autumn. The bush forms lush spherical inflorescences up to 20-30 cm in size each. In accordance with the acidity of the soil, the color of the flowers can vary from bright blue to dark pink and purple. The leaf plates are large, pointed at the edges. Their surface is smooth, glossy, and the color is dark green. The life expectancy of a culture is 18–20 years.

Landscape design application

The scope of the large-leaf variety is universal. This hydrangea will be an excellent choice both for solitary landings, and in combination with other cultures. The bush can successfully supplement itself with a discount and a rockery.

A characteristic feature of Airlie Blue is a developed rhizome. This property makes it possible to grow a plant in a pot, which for the period of cold weather can be transferred to the room. The variety looks great in an ensemble with rhododendrons and Holly holly. Inflorescences of the plant can be cut off and make dry bouquets of them.

Preparation and landing rules

The most favorable season for planting large-leaved hydrangea is spring. However, it is permissible to carry out Airlie Blue's landing in the first half of September. As for the landing area, it is better to give preference to fairly lit areas.

Important! Hydrangea should not be exposed to the scorching sun for a long time. For this reason, you should choose a moderately shaded place in the garden.

A month before planting hydrangeas, it is necessary to dig and moisten the planting area well. In addition, it is important to adjust the composition of the soil with its low acidity. For this purpose, add a mixture of humus, leafy soil, peat and river sand (in a ratio of 2: 2: 1: 1). The acidity of the soil should not exceed pH 4. If this indicator is higher, the introduction of wood ash will help correct the situation.

Acidic soil can also be corrected by adding lime or other calcareous material.

To prevent the roots from drying out, it is advisable to lower the hydrangea seedlings in a container with water for about 2-3 hours before planting.

Perform a direct landing using standard technology:

1. Form a medium-sized hole (40–50 cm deep and 40 cm in diameter).
2. If the soil contains a large percentage of clay, drainage material (expanded clay gravel, small stones or broken brick) must be laid on the bottom of the recess.
3. Dip the young bush in the center of the hole. Then fill the soil with a mixture so that the area where the rhizome passes into the trunk is not buried in the ground.
4. Cover the area around the bush with plenty of soil, compact and moisten well.
5. The final step should be to mulch the planting of fallen needles, wood chips or peat chips.

Care Features

In order for the presented culture to please with a spectacular appearance for many years, it must be provided with the right care. It’s easy to take care of the shrub - the whole process includes regular watering, timely fertilizer application and competent pruning. In addition, it is important to take care of the proper protection of the plant from frost. Provided that all procedures are correctly performed, the bushes will please with their splendor, as well as large and bright inflorescences.

Important! In order to prevent rhizome rot, the first 2-3 years after planting in water to irrigate hydrangea, you need to add a few crystals potassium salt.

Watering and feeding

A sufficient amount of water contributes to the magnificent blooming of hydrangeas: the ground under Airlie Blue should not dry out and crack. It is advisable to use irrigation water that has stood in the sun. If it is too hard, it can be softened by adding a small portion of citric acid (one teaspoon per 10 liters of water).

For the first time, a plant is fed in the spring. It is recommended to take complex compositions based on minerals (marked "for hydrangeas"). The second procedure takes place during the period of bud blooming, and the last - in September, a week before the end of flowering. As an additional feed, you can use humus, just pouring it under the bush.

Pruning

The first 2-3 years, hydrangea is recommended not to prune. You should get rid of only dried branches. When the plant grows, a haircut should be carried out before the formation of the first living buds. Just cut off the overwintering inflorescences. As for the most favorable season for the formation of the bush, it is better to choose spring for this purpose.

Preparation and shelter for the winter

The presented variety belongs to heat-loving crops. The winter hardiness level of the plant belongs to the fifth zone (without shelter it can withstand temperatures of -23 ...- 26 ° C).

Did you know? Hydrangea contains cyanogenic elements; therefore, it is an edible poisonous plant.

In this regard, it is important to take care of the shelter of plantings for the period of winter frosts in the territories of middle and northern latitudes. Young bushes require special protection: they are simply covered with earth, sawdust, or fallen leaves. Adult hydrangeas are bent to the ground and covered with ruberoid or lutrasil, and crushed from above with bricks.

Breeding

Airlie Blue is bred by layering, dividing the bush, root offspring and summer cuttings. The simplest and most popular method of reproduction is the creation of layering.

Perform the procedure as follows:

1. In early May, separate several fairly flexible shoots from an adult shrub.
2. Form a hole approximately 15 cm deep.
3. Deepen the ends of the branches into the ground. Additionally bend the shoots and in this position secure them with metal brackets.
4. A plot of shoots in contact with the ground, you need to scrape with a knife, removing all leaves. This procedure contributes to the further “launching” of the root formation process.
5. After this, fill the recess with earth.

Planted cuttings regularly water. When the rhizomes are formed by September, cut and plant the young plants for a period of cold weather in containers. Transplantation to a permanent place is carried out in the spring of next year.

Diseases and Pests

Hydrangea Airlie Blue is ill quite rarely. A gross violation of the rules of agricultural technology is fraught with a defeat by a fungus, infectious diseases and an attack of harmful insects.

Suddenly yellowed foliage of a shrub usually indicates damage to chlorosis. At the same time, leaf veins remain green, and the edges of the plates curl. The disease also manifests itself: falling leaves, deformation of the buds and drying of the tips of the shoots. The development of chlorosis is preceded by planting on a site with alkaline soil. Symptoms can be eliminated by increasing the acidity of the earth with solutions with the addition of potassium nitrate.

Another dangerous ailment to which the hydrangea in question is vulnerable is downy mildew. The disease is determined by fatty formations on leaf plates, subsequently painted in yellow. In the later stages, the affected areas of the leaves darken. Powders of powdery mildew are helped by Alirin and Fitosporin preparations. At the advanced stage, use "Topaz" or "Chistotsvet".

Did you know? In Buddhist culture, hydrangea-based tea is highly regarded. On the holy feast of the birth of Buddha, temples are decorated with flowers of this plant, and everyone who comes to the temple on this day pours ritual drink (hydrangea tea) on the head of a statue of a newborn Buddha.

Of the pests, a particular danger is spider mite. A sign of the presence of the parasite is a thin web on the back of yellowed leaves. Pests can be washed off with soapy foam. If there are too many ticks, use “Akarin”, “Fitoverm”, “Lightning” or “Thiophos”.

So, Airlie Blue hydrangea is a very non-capricious culture with an average value of frost resistance, which is perfect for cultivation in a temperate continental climate. Following the above recommendations, you will decorate your personal plot with this flowering shrub without unnecessary efforts.