In the Moscow region, large-leaved hydrangeas, any hydrangeas of the first year of planting and some varieties of tree hydrangeas need special shelter for the winter. For different types, groups and varieties of hydrangea shelters are different. Some bushes are simply mulched and covered for the winter, for others a tunnel shelter with arches is prepared, and still others need a real house with a roof and warm walls. You will have to tinker with some types of shelters, but this way you will surely save ornamental shrub until next season.
Sheltering paniculate hydrangea for the winter
Paniculate hydrangeas are the most winter-hardy. For example, hydrangea Vanilla Fraze . Without shelter they can withstand temperatures down to – 40 °C. Mandatory preparation for winter for them is mulching the root system; it also saves the roots from freezing and supplies them with additional nutrition in the spring.
Adult panicle hydrangea bushes are mulched with a layer of sphagnum, and on top of it with two buckets of compost. In the spring, melted snow will deliver food to the roots and increase the acidity of the soil, so beloved by hydrangeas, due to sphagnum.
Sheltering new planted hydrangeas for the winter
Before sheltering for the winter, hydrangeas of the first year of planting are cut to a height of 50 cm and a hut is built from twigs or blocks around it. First-year hydrangeas must be tied; they are highly susceptible to breaking due to snow, especially in the first winter. A burlap bag is placed on top of the hut. Old, thick burlap is a particularly good shelter; it is made more efficiently than modern ones.
In December, frequent thaws with rain are possible in the Moscow region, so you can put a bag over the burlap cone; in early February it needs to be removed. The length of the burlap should be to the ground, the root system is mulched with a bucket of earth or humus. Burlap shelters must be tied with rope to prevent them from blowing away during winter snowstorms.
Sheltering tree hydrangea for the winter
Old, proven varieties of tree hydrangea, familiar to us by their white-green caps, do not need shelter. But those created on their basis modern varieties slightly less winter-hardy, among them are varieties such as Invincible Spirit , Bella Anna , Incrediball And Annabelle .
They are covered in the same way as first-year hydrangeas. Over time, when the bushes become higher than half a meter, the burlap is replaced with a ready-made non-woven cover or the hut is wrapped in a cloth of covering material, a rope is also tied on top of it, and the root system is mulched.
Sheltering large-leaved hydrangea for the winter
Plant varieties of this group are distinguished by the brightest and largest caps; their flowering always causes delight, however, large-leaved hydrangea requires increased attention. Its winter shelter should be especially careful.
When there is a threat of the first frost, I cover the plants with non-woven material and lower it onto the arches. Hydrangea lays next year's flower buds already in September and continues to form them until the onset of persistent cold weather, so it is important to protect the buds from frost. When the night temperature drops to –5 °C, and the daytime temperature is above zero, I begin to lay the hydrangea.
Photo: hydrangea shelter before the first frost
How to bend hydrangea branches under cover for the winter
The most winter-hardy group Endless summer , consisting of three varieties Ze Bride , Original And Bloomstar . Mature bushes grow numerous shoots and it is impossible to bend them to one side, so I do this. I divide the bush into two parts, bend each in opposite directions and press them with arcs (I bend young bushes in one direction without dividing them).
As a rule, it is not possible to bend the branches to the ground in one go. First I bend them to 45°, and after a week they lie quietly on the ground. I cover the base of the bush with dry sphagnum, a layer of at least 30 cm. If you don’t have moss on hand, you can replace it with a bucket of dry soil or compost. After this procedure, I again cover the laid hydrangeas, but with a double layer of non-fabric.
Pruning hydrangea before sheltering for the winter
Before sheltering, I cut the shoots to 20-30 cm, the weak ones and completely cut them from the base of the bush. I definitely remove the leaves, I do this only with scissors. You can’t peel it off with your hands, because along with the sheet it stretches and upper layer bark.
When the temperature drops to minus 8-10 °C at night, I choose a dry day with above-zero temperatures during the day and finally cover the hydrangeas:
- I put spruce branches, plywood or boards under the laid branches to insulate them from the ground,
- I wrap the branches with a double layer of non-fabric, pushing it under the arches,
- I put a sheet of cardboard on top of the covering material and also push it under the arches,
- On top of the arches I put a double layer of covering material (for varieties outside the “endless summer” group, which are less frost-resistant, I put not two, but 4 layers of non-woven).
It turns out some air gap between the lower non-woven fabric, which is under the arches, and the upper one, which lies on top of the arches. This layer is the key to successful wintering of hydrangeas, reliably saving them from frost. I put a layer of film on top of the covering material.
Photo: Pruning hydrangea to a strong bud
How to cover large-leaved hydrangea for the winter without bending down
Among large-leaved hydrangeas there are varieties, for example, Aubergine , which grow thick, absolutely rigid shoots up to 3-4 cm in diameter. This hydrangea overwinters standing for me. In several steps I cut it down to 30 cm in height, the main thing is to suppress the pity in yourself and carry out maximum pruning, because the lower the shelter, the greater the chance that it will be completely covered with snow. In such a hydrangea, it is important to preserve literally a few of the lowest buds, which will give lush flowering.
How to cover a hydrangea with a box
- First I use a wide garden bandage to tighten the hydrangea branches.
- I'm cooking wooden box according to the size of the plant and lower it onto the hydrangea bush.
- I fill the hydrangea to the top with dry soil.
- I put a plywood roof on top and wrap the box in cardboard.
- I'm preparing the box a little bigger size by 10-15 cm and lower it on top of the previous one.
- I fill the space between the boxes with sawdust or dry leaves.
- I wrap the outer box with cardboard and 4 layers of the thickest covering material, on top with film, and tie it with rope for reliability.
A single shelter for hydrangeas for the winter
It’s good if all the large-leaved hydrangeas are sitting nearby, then you can make a single shelter, rather than a point one. With a single shelter, the ground freezes less, which means wintering will be more successful.
Despite the apparent difficulties, there is also a pleasant moment - every year the stems of large-leaved hydrangea become more and more woody, adapting to the conditions of the Moscow region and increasing winter hardiness. Continuous flowering from July to October completely justifies all the autumn troubles.
Svetlana Samoilova, amateur gardener, collector of rare plants
Read more about how to grow beautiful ornamental shrubs in the garden on agrognom.ru and in the articles:
There is an opinion that hydrangea is a capricious plant that requires thorough shelter for the winter to preserve flower buds. This is only partly true, because... applies only to the large-leaved variety. Other species (tree and paniculata) overwinter well without shelter in middle lane Russia. If you don’t know what species the hydrangea growing on your site belongs to, why it doesn’t bloom or doesn’t bloom luxuriantly enough, or how to prepare it for winter, then you may find the answers in this article.
Optimal planting location and soil acidification
All types of hydrangea grow and bloom remarkably in lightly shaded areas, protected from drafts. The soil must be acidified. To do this, red high peat or spruce (pine) litter must be mixed with leaf humus. When planting seedlings, fill with this mixture landing hole. If the bushes are already growing, then the top layer of soil must be replaced with the specified mixture or the tree trunk circle should be mulched with it. Hydrangeas require abundant, regular watering throughout the season.
Video lesson about autumn pruning of tree and paniculate hydrangeas
In the spring, during dry weather, the entire frozen part must be cut off to living tissue. At the same time, all thin, crossing and thickening shoots should be removed. After especially harsh winter pruning tree hydrangea may turn out to be too short, this is even beneficial for the plant, because rejuvenation always contributes to more lush flowering bushes
How to prepare hydrangea for winter
Preparing tree hydrangea for wintering
Tree hydrangea is different corymbose inflorescences white, which acquire a greenish tint over time
Hydrangea tree is characterized by corymbose white inflorescences, which over time acquire a greenish tint. Old varieties of this variety are absolutely not capricious; they do not require shelter for the winter. But recently bred large-flowered varieties, especially those delivered from nurseries warm regions, require little hilling. They bloom on the shoots of the current year. If during the frost period the upper part of the shoots freezes, this will have virtually no effect on flowering.
There is advice in the literature that it is not necessary to prune faded inflorescences for the winter, that this should be done better in spring, this way the underlying buds are better preserved. This is true, but under the weight of snow accumulating on the inflorescences, the shoots may break. Therefore, in late autumn, it is wiser to remove faded inflorescences and non-lignified parts of the shoots, which definitely will not survive the winter. Fallen leaves need to be collected and burned.
Taking care of paniculate hydrangea
Paniculate hydrangea is distinguished by pyramidal inflorescences and brown-red shoots
Hydrangea paniculata is taller than its tree-like relative. Its leaves are darker, and young shoots have a burgundy-brown tint. Its inflorescences are pyramidal and dense. At first they are greenish, then white, and by the end of the season they become dirty pink. It also blooms on the shoots of the current year. Overwinters without shelter. To fully guarantee the safety of the root system, it is advisable to cover the bushes with garden soil. Its pruning is carried out by analogy with a tree.
How to cover large-leaved hydrangea
Large-leaved hydrangea that requires reliable shelter for winter
The second name for large-leaved hydrangea is macrophylla. This is this sissy and capricious one. Without reliable shelter for the winter, pink or blue inflorescences cannot be seen. It blooms on last year's shoots. During flowering, it is impossible to take your eyes off it, it is so good, so flower growers make every effort to preserve the flower buds.
Ways to cover hydrangeas for the winter
First shelter option
Shoots of large-leaved hydrangea are bent to the ground, secured, covered with spruce branches and film
Before sheltering, it is advisable to remove thin and intersecting shoots and collect all remaining and fallen leaves on the plant. The bush needs to be divided, taking into account the direction of growth of the shoots, tied in parts, bent to the ground and secured. The shoots are usually flexible and do not break. Cover with lutrasil, agrospan or any other non-woven material. Sprinkle a decent layer of dry leaves from healthy trees on top, put some film or something to prevent it from getting wet (a sugar bag, for example). And finally, throw on a piece of old rug. You may get the impression that under such cover the bushes are hiding, nothing of the sort.
Second cover option
Reliable shelter for a large-leaved hydrangea bush
You need to pour several buckets into the base of the prepared bush (without leaves and inflorescences) and the area where the roots are located. garden soil. Place low wooden boxes around the plant. Place hydrangea shoots on them and secure them using the slots of the stands. Cover with several layers of agrospan or similar material, and cover with film on top.
You cannot rush into disclosure, otherwise all your efforts will be in vain. Large-leaved hydrangeas can be seriously damaged by return frosts. It is difficult to indicate the exact opening time; it depends on the growing region, for example, in the Moscow region it occurs at the beginning of May. It happens that after removing the cover, mold is noticeable on the shoots, this is not a problem. It is simply washed off with water or a weak solution of potassium permanganate.
Shelter for young hydrangeas of any kind
Young hydrangea covered with dry leaves. Subsequently, this structure must be covered with film.
The first wintering of a young hydrangea of any kind in a new place is the most difficult period. Shelter is a must. In autumn, the seedling should be trimmed, leaving about 8 cm. Remove all leaves. Cover the bush with dry litter or peat to its entire height, lay several spruce branches, and cover the top with film, securing it with stones. You can do it differently: put a fence around the plant, for example, a metal mesh. Fill all the resulting space with dry leaves and stretch the film on top.
Blooming hydrangeas are beautiful. To contemplate this splendor, you need to know their species and properly organize wintering.
Hydrangea is an amazingly beautiful flower loved by many gardeners. In nature there is a huge amount various types hydrangeas, which externally differ from each other in the shape of the inflorescence and color scheme. However, it is worth noting that this shrub is a fairly heat-loving plant, so it is worth preparing the hydrangea for winter in advance.
How to prepare hydrangea for winter?
A number of measures aimed at protecting the plant mainly depend on your climatic conditions, as well as on the type of hydrangea. The most common types of this beautiful bush considered: paniculata hydrangea, and.
Paniculate hydrangea is a fairly frost-resistant species. However, her root system is located quite close to the soil surface and therefore, with the onset of winter, it requires obligatory cover of the tree trunk strip. Also more or less resistant to frost is tree hydrangea. But garden hydrangea requires special care when preparing for the winter, since for those who live in a fairly cold climate region, growing it can become a real problem. Thus, no matter what species is winter-hardy, any hydrangea needs shelter for the winter.
So, to begin with, already in September it is necessary to stop watering the plant, and also in order for the shoots to become lignified more quickly and be able to survive the cold well, you should remove all lower leaves. Already when the air temperature outside is below zero, it is necessary to remove the remaining leaves from the bush, except for the top ones, which protect the apical flower buds. Also, hydrangea bushes are spud to a height of 30 cm and begin to cover.
How to preserve hydrangea in winter - methods of covering
There are a great many ways to cover hydrangeas for the winter; we will present you only a few of them.
Method 1Place at the base of the bush wooden boards with nails driven in. Then the branches of the plant must be tied with a rope, carefully tilted towards the ground, laid on boards and tied to nails. After this, the bush should be covered with a layer of spruce spruce branches or dry sawdust and pressed down with a piece of wood slab. You can additionally cover the top with another layer of sawdust or dry leaves, or best of all, cover it with a large piece of lutrasil.
Method 2
First, you need to wrap the hydrangea bush with lutrasil and secure it with tape or twine. Next, above the plant, 12-15 cm high from the plant, it is necessary to build a frame from the mesh, which is then filled with dry leaves. Cover the whole thing again with lutrasil or regular plastic film.
Method 3
We tie the spreading branches of the plant together using rope or wire. Then we wrap a 1.5-2 m long roofing material around the bush and fill it with dry leaves. It is important that the distance between the bush and the walls of the roofing material is at least 10 cm. How to prune hydrangea for the winter and is it pruned at all in the fall?
It is worth remembering that garden hydrangea blooms on last year's shoots. That's why this type plants require virtually no 
pruning, except for cosmetic purposes.
As for tree and paniculate hydrangeas, they bloom on the shoots of the current year, so autumn pruning can only benefit them and improve flowering.
In autumn, only dry inflorescences are removed from the hydrangea bush. This is done so that the branches of the plant do not break under the weight of snow in winter.
The main pruning of hydrangeas is done in early spring, before sap flow begins. At the same time, small and thin branches damaged after winter are removed, and annual shoots are shortened.
Translated from Greek language hydrangea is a vessel with water. So it is in life - hydrangea is moisture-loving plant. looks very colorful on lawns. And it doesn’t matter whether in a group planting or as a separate shrub. And experienced gardeners create picturesque compositions with it; it looks especially impressive and magnificent against the backdrop of evergreen shrubs.
Wintering paniculata hydrangea
Each gardener has the right to decide for himself whether he needs to insulate his hydrangea for the winter or not. Of course, this also depends on the geography of the area and the cold resistance of the species. In the southern regions there is simply no need to cover hydrangea for the winter. But young plants in the first years of their life, and especially in the year they were planted, must be covered with dry leaves or spruce branches. With age, winter hardiness increases, then it will be possible to abandon shelters.
Paniculata hydrangea is a winter-hardy species; it can be found even on the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin. When preparing paniculate hydrangea for the winter, you must take into account climatic features the area in which it grows. You need to prepare for the wintering period in advance; in September you need to stop watering the bush and remove the lower leaves so that its shoots begin to grow woody. But before frost, you need to remove all the leaves except those on top - they should remain to protect the apical flower buds.
Covering hydrangea paniculata
Before you start insulating, you need to know exactly what species is growing on your site. Hydrangea paniculata always blooms on the shoots of the current year. Its largest flower buds are located in the lower and central part of the plant. Therefore, even if the ends of the branches of paniculate hydrangea freeze, this will not affect the development of the entire plant.
But on the shoots of the current year, flower buds begin to form - they should be protected throughout the frosty period. It is imperative to take these features into account when preparing and caring for hydrangea paniculata in winter. There are several ways to cover hydrangeas for the winter.
The simplest of them: you need to hill up the hydrangea bush with rotted manure. In young bushes, the roots freeze for the first couple of years, and to prevent this from happening, you need to sprinkle the soil with peat or foliage about 10 centimeters long. Then you need to tie the branches with a rope, tilt them to the ground and carefully lay them on boards into which nails are driven (these nails will tie a rope).
Young small bushes can be tied and laid on spruce branches or on a pile of dry leaves, pressed down with bricks or something heavy. Then cover the plants with dry leaves on top and cover them with spunbond.
The air-dry covering method is also very popular among gardeners. You need to take a hydrangea bush, wrap it with lutrasil or spunbond, and install a mesh frame. The distance from the frame to the bush should be approximately 25 centimeters, and the height should be 10 
centimeters higher than the bush itself. This frame is filled with dry leaves, and the frame itself must be covered on top with roofing felt or waterproof film.
Pruning paniculata hydrangea for the winter
There is no need to prune hydrangeas for the winter. This is done after the plant has overwintered, in March. Pruning depends on the size of the bush and its age. It is necessary to leave 5-10 of the strongest shoots, which are shortened by 2-4 buds. Old bushes need to be rejuvenated by heavy pruning. To do this, you need to leave stumps only 6-8 cm high. Young shoots will grow from them next year.
Hydrangea is a decoration for any garden, but not all gardeners decide to have this plant. It seems that caring for hydrangea is very troublesome. But in fact the need for some agrotechnical techniques determined by the hydrangea variety and climatic conditions. A lot of worries are associated with covering hydrangeas for the winter.
Hydrangea belongs to three main groups:
Hydrangea. Characteristic are flat inflorescences that have a greenish tint, then white, gradually turning into pinkish. The care of this hydrangea consists of pruning winter period- its buds are formed on the shoots of the current year. Covering is necessary only in case of very hot winter;
Hydrangea paniculata. The bush is similar to tree hydrangea, but more powerful, and the inflorescences are cone-shaped. It is frost-resistant, so paniculate hydrangea for the winter can be simply trimmed without covering (budding on the shoots of the current year).
Large-leaved hydrangea. In large-leaved hydrangea, buds are formed on the shoots of the previous year, therefore, they need to be preserved in winter. Large-leaved hydrangea is thermophilic. There is no need to prune this hydrangea for the winter - just remove the faded inflorescences.
And when you determine which variety you have, then you can begin preparing your hydrangea for the harsh winter.
For hydrangea to survive the winter, it is not enough to care for it only in the fall. You need to know that hydrangea loves shaded, acidified soils, frequent fertilizers and watering. Stop applying in mid-summer nitrogen fertilizers and focus on phosphorus-potassium - because you need to prepare the hydrangea for a harsh winter.
Also, to prepare hydrangea for winter, you need to stop watering with the arrival of autumn, and remove the leaves from the lower part of the shoots. So, the plant will become woody.
We do not remove the leaves from the top only, as they protect the buds from freezing. There is nothing terrible if you find some frozen shoots in the spring. Trim “frostbitten” shoots back to live ones. Valuable hydrangea buds are located in the central part of the bush, and pruning is a rejuvenation of the bush, which will then have a positive effect on its flowering.
As mentioned above, large-leaved hydrangea is not pruned because its buds begin to form in the summer of next year. In large-leaved hydrangea, only faded inflorescences are removed in the fall.
What about paniculate, tree-like hydrangeas?
There is no big difference whether to prune a bush in spring or autumn. Some gardeners say that pruning last year's shoots in the spring will protect the buds from freezing.
Still, most people prefer to prune hydrangea bushes for the winter: in the fall there is more time, and the branches will not break under the weight of snow, and light frost is not so terrible for tree hydrangeas.
On each shoot you need to leave a few buds and cut out the rest. Along with pruning, we also clean the bush: we remove weak shoots.
Wintering tree and paniculate hydrangeas
This type of hydrangea does not require shelter for the winter. Just in case, in the fall you need to hill up the bush well. But if there are young hydrangea seedlings, they must be covered for the winter.
Large leaf hydrangea in winter
Unfortunately, without shelter for the winter you will not get large-leaved hydrangea flowers. It must be covered very warmly - even warmer than roses.
There are several popular options for covering hydrangeas for the winter:
1) Take wooden boards about half a meter long and lay them on the ground around the hydrangea. The shoots are bent in any shape - along the radius. You can fix branches in the cracks between the boards. Then we lay the same boards on top - without pressing down. The next layer will be agrofibre. On top of this structure is covered with another layer of insulating material - branches, spruce branches, dry leaves.
To cover hydrangeas, you can take sawdust, bags of leaves, and nonwovens. And don’t be afraid that the hydrangea bush will smother or suffocate. Sometimes it happens that in the spring mold is discovered on the shoots - there is nothing to worry about. Wipe off the mold with a cloth.
2) Another common method of covering hydrangeas is air-dry. The hydrangea bush is tied for insulation, wrapped with spandbond or lutrasil, then a mesh frame is placed around the bush. The frame should be 15 cm larger than the bush.
The finished frame is filled with dry leaves. The structure is covered with film or roofing felt.
If it turns out that the hydrangea is frozen, don’t worry, it hasn’t died at all: after trimming the frostbitten shoots, the bush will begin to grow and grow a thick crown. But the hydrangea will not bloom.
Therefore, for large-flowered hydrangea, shelter for the winter period is a necessary measure. Approach this wisely - and the hydrangea will bloom magnificently. The shelter is dismantled in the spring - gradually.
