They conjure up beautiful colors in the garden and don't even need a lot of care: you can't go wrong with garden hydrangeas when it comes to garden design.
The peasant hydrangea is a popular flowering plant for the garden, which is also known under the names garden hydrangea, Japanese hydrangea and potted hydrangea. The special feature: the plant bears conspicuous, spherical or elongated (pseudo) flowers, which are composed of many small individual flowers. The color spectrum ranges from white to pink to blue, with the blue specimens being due to the pH and mineral content of the soil (more on this here). The leaves of the peasant hydrangea are fleshy, oval and pointed.
- Family: Hydrangea
- Subfamily: Hydrangeoideae
- Genus: Hydrangeas / Hydrangea
- Type: Peasant Hydrangea
- Botanical name: Hydrangea macrophylla
The ornamental shrub grows up to 50 centimeters a year under good conditions. Overall, the farmer's hydrangea reaches a height of up to two meters. The width is about one and a half meters for large specimens.
Location and soil conditions
Farmhouse hydrangeas are easy-care garden dwellers that make a colorful impression in house, ornamental and cottage gardens. The hardy shrub thrives outdoors but can also be grown as a container plant.
Peasant hydrangeas are suitable for shady and semi-shady to sunny locations that should be protected from the wind. If the plant is in full sun, you have to water it a lot, because then the hydrangea can also tolerate intense sunlight. A humic, slightly acidic and nutrient-rich soil is also ideal. A low lime content is also fine.
Care measures and prevention against diseases and pests
Water requirements:
The peasant hydrangea needs a lot of water. When the plant grows in the tub, it must never dry out. However, you must then prevent waterlogging from occurring. Outdoor hydrangeas also need to be watered regularly. A little tip: You can easily improve the soil moisture with a layer of mulch.
Fertiliser:
A nitrogen-rich complete fertilizer with a low phosphorus content is suitable as a fertiliser. You can use special hydrangea fertilizers, but azalea and rhododendron fertilizers are also suitable. Hydrangeas in the garden and in large tubs should be given a solid long-term fertilizer in spring and early summer. Smaller specimens in pots get liquid fertilizer.
cut:
A cut is usually not necessary. It is enough if you remove dead parts. If you cut too much, the next year's flowering will suffer.
Hiberation:
A light frost protection is always useful for potted plants. But outdoor plants should also be protected from cold temperatures with a brushwood cover.
Diseases and pests:
Farm hydrangeas are quite robust, but chlorosis can still occur. The plant then suffers from iron deficiency. Symptoms show up as yellow leaves with green veins. The reason is either that the soil is too basic or the substrate lacks the trace element iron. You can remedy this by watering the farmer's hydrangea with rainwater and administering acidic fertilizer or incorporating peat. In the second case, use iron chelate fertilizer.
It is more difficult to deal with powdery mildew, which unfortunately often occurs on hydrangeas. Affected leaves must be removed immediately. In the worst case, you may even have to dispose of the entire plant. Aphids, scale insects and spider mites, on the other hand, usually only appear on indoor hydrangeas. Outdoor specimens, on the other hand, are mostly resistant to pests. All pests that can occur on hydrangeas and effective control methods here at a glance.