Stunning hydrangea tree Anabel for your site
The tree hydrangea, loved by many gardeners, is found in the wild in the United States. Here, in the state of Ohio, the tree hydrangea Anabel was discovered. The variety received this name in honor of the town of Anna, where enthusiasts discovered it, and the beauty of its own flowering.
Since the mid-70s of the last century, the plants of this variety have been cultivated by the American nursery GulfStream. Once in Europe, hydrangea with a wide spreading crown and numerous inflorescences-balls has become incredibly popular, and in the UK it has earned several prestigious awards from the Royal Horticultural Society.
Description of the variety of tree hydrangea Anabel
The magnificently flowering shrub is unpretentious, not afraid of frosts down to -39 ° C, which allows you to admire the Anabel tree hydrangea in Siberia, the Far East, St. Petersburg and the Crimea. Even if the shoots are damaged by the cold, the crown quickly recovers.
The tree-like hydrangea has large, light green leaves above and silvery below, broadly ovate. The greenery gives the sprawling, rather loose bush a lush appearance and retains a rich green color until late autumn. An adult hydrangea reaches a height of 1.6-1.8 meters, a bush can grow up to three meters wide.
The blooming hydrangea flowers cause the shoots to bend, so the plant needs support and a garter.
The Anabel tree hydrangea is characterized by white flowers up to 20 mm in diameter. Corollas consist of 3-4 petals, oval or obovate. At first, the buds are greenish in color, then they acquire a pure white tone. Individual flowers are collected in corymbose inflorescences, which, when fully dissolved, become almost spherical. The diameter of such a snow-white ball reaches 10–25, and sometimes 40 cm. Flowering continues from early summer to mid-autumn, as long as the weather permits.
With proper care ornamental shrub lives for about 40 years. In order for the plant to please with abundant and long flowering during this period, hydrangeas need continuous care, feeding, protection from fungal diseases and aphids, to which this culture is quite susceptible.
Varieties of tree hydrangea Anabel
In addition to traditional plants with white flowers, the varieties Strong Anabel, Sweet Anabel and Pink Anabel, derived from an old American variety, are at the disposal of lovers of ornamental crops.
If the wilted inflorescences are removed in time, the Anabelle tree hydrangea looks more attractive and blooms a little longer.
The first cultivar differs from its ancestor in the most lush flowering. Under the huge inflorescences that cover the bush 1.5 meters high, greenery is practically invisible. The decorative perennial is highly resistant to frost and disease, color from June to September.
Many hydrangea lovers are partial to plants with flowers of blue, purple, pink shades.Unfortunately, the brightest large-leaved hydrangea cannot withstand temperatures below –24 ° C, and most of the more winter-hardy varieties have only white flowers.
However, there are exceptions. The cultivar Pink Anabel allows you to diversify the flower garden. Growing pink hydrangea Anabel is possible in climatic zones from 3 to 9, that is, from the North-West of Russia to the subtropics. The plant forms a compact shrub with a height of just over a meter. The shoots remain upright, do not bend to the soil and proudly bear large, pale pink inflorescences.
To make the white flowers turn blue, potassium alum or other preparations containing aluminum are added to the soil under the shrub.
In pink tones, hydrangeas are painted after the introduction of dolomite flour, which reduces acidity, or phosphorus fertilizers into the substrate.
This technique will make it possible, when growing a tree hydrangea in the Urals, Siberia or the Leningrad region, to achieve an incredibly bright flowering of shrubs of even one variety.
Planting anabelle tree hydrangea
Hydrangea is photophilous, loves warmth and moisture. For planting, a site protected from wind and flooding is chosen. If the shrub is in the shade, you should not wait for abundant flowering, so the site should be well lit.
For active growth, the culture needs a loose, moisture-intensive soil without lime content. Garden land before planting is ennobled by introducing:
- well rotted manure or humus;
- bottom peat;
- washed sand;
- sawdust steamed with boiling water.
In a permanent place, the bushes of the tree hydrangea Anabel are planted in the spring, when the soil warms up enough. Planting holes are made at least 40-50 cm in width and depth.
To protect the roots of the shrub from moisture stagnation, a 10-centimeter layer of expanded clay or broken brick is poured at the bottom of the pit. The roots of the hydrangea are immersed in water for a couple of hours, and then the plant is transferred to the planting site so that the root collar, after filling and carefully tamping the soil, is at the level of the soil. After that, the bush is watered, the trunk circle mulch sawdust, peat or other suitable material.
Features of growing tree hydrangea
Caring for ornamental shrubs includes:
- regular weeding of the root zone;
- accurate double loosening of the trunk circle to a depth of 5 cm;
- watering as needed, at least once a month;
- top dressing with organic matter and mineral fertilizers at the beginning of the growing season, with the formation of buds and a couple of times during flowering;
- sanitary and regular pruning in spring and fall.
Cut green cuttings can be used to propagate the Anabelle tree hydrangea. They take root easily and form a full-fledged bush in 2-3 years.
In early spring, while the plant has not awakened, sanitary removal of weak and damaged shoots is performed. They also form a hydrangea, give the shrub the necessary shape. In the autumn, when the plant is preparing for the dormant period, dried inflorescences and parts of the shoot with a pair of buds closest to the top are removed.