- Plant hydrangea: flowering time, properties and origin
- Plate Hydrangea Varieties
- Plant hydrangea: location and time
- Caring for Hydrangea
- Overwintering plate hydrangeas
- Propagating hydrangeas
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The plate hydrangea (also called serrated hydrangea) attracts attention with its umbrella-like flowers. We reveal what you should consider when planting and caring for your plant and give precise instructions on how to cut the hydrangea.
The plate hydrangea looks a bit wilder and more original next to the lush garden hydrangea. Unlike some of their relatives, whose inflorescences consist only of pseudo-flowers, hydrangeas also have numerous fertile flowers and are therefore a valuable food source for insects in summer.
Plant hydrangea: flowering time, properties and origin
The plate hydrangea (Hydrangea serrata) is also known under the names sawn hydrangea, Japanese mountain hydrangea or umbrella hydrangea and originally comes from the mountain forests of Japan. It grows as a sprawling semi-shrub and reaches a height of up to 1.5 meters. During the flowering period from July to October, the umbrella-shaped flowers gradually open. In the middle are the rather inconspicuous fertile flowers, which are surrounded by a wreath of pseudo-flowers. These are composed of four to five oval petals. Depending on the variety, the approximately 10 cm large umbrella panicles shine in white, pink, violet, blue or in several colors. In addition to the variety, the pH of the soil also influences the color of the flowers. The flowers appear pink on alkaline or neutral soils, while they have a blue tint on acidic locations. The opposite leaves of the plate hydrangea are bright green and taper to a point.
Plate Hydrangea Varieties
The 'Bluebird' variety is particularly well-known and popular. This is a short cultivar. It has purple inner flowers with blue stamens. The outer pseudo-flowers are pale lilac to blue in colour. Since flower color depends on the pH of the soil, it can vary slightly depending on the location. To get the blue color you can consult our matching articleinform about how to dye hydrangea blue.
In addition to the Hydrangea serrata varieties, there is also a large variety of hybrid breeds from Hydrangea serrata and Hydrangea macrophylla. Although these bear the species name Hydrangea macrophylla, they are very similar to Hydrangea serrata and are also called plate hydrangeas. This group includes the plate hydrangeas 'Lanarth White' and Endless Summer 'Twist-n-Shout'. The plate hydrangea 'Lanarth White' is very suitable as a container plant due to its small growth height and width of 90 to 120 cm. Its plate-shaped inflorescences are made up of white marginal flowers and pink or blue inner flowers, depending on the pH of the soil. The variety Endless Summer 'Twist-n-Shout' in the color pink impresses with its dreamy pink inflorescences, which contrast wonderfully with the dark green leaves.
Other hardy varieties of hydrangea are Hydrangea macrophylla 'Dragonfly' and 'Pheasant'. The flowering panicles of the 'Libelle' variety look particularly elegant. Its pink inner flowers are surrounded by pure white marginal flowers. The flowers of the 'Fasan' variety appear in bright purple. If you can't decide on a color or are looking for something out of the ordinary, you might enjoy a multicolored hydrangea variety such as Hydrangea serrata 'Cotton Candy', whose mock flowers are pink and small creamy-white leaflets in the center. If the soil pH is acidic, the pink can also turn into a delicate shade of purple to blue.
Plant hydrangea: location and time
Plate hydrangeas, like the closely related farmer's hydrangea, feel most comfortable in a partially shaded, wind-protected spot in the garden or on the balcony. In principle, hydrangeas can be planted all year round, but the ideal time is between March and June.
Parasol hydrangeas prefer humus and nutrient-rich, fresh to moist garden soil with an acidic or at least slightly acidic pH value between 4 and 6. An acidic soil makes it easier for them to absorb nutrients, especially iron - by planting in acidic soil Soil prevents the iron chlorosis that is common in hydrangeas. Sandy, nutrient-poor and too alkaline garden soils should be treated with a suitable special soil such as our Plantura organic acidic soil before plantingbe replaced at the same time over a large area. Very clayey soils should also be loosened up deep in the ground at the bottom of the planting hole with drainage material such as sand, expanded clay or perlite.
Carefully loosen the plant ball of the plate hydrangea from the plant container and then loosen it up a bit. This stimulates root growth. The plant ball is then placed in a sufficiently large planting hole or the prepared planter and this is filled with substrate. Press firmly and pour generously. A regular and sufficient water supply of newly planted plate hydrangeas is essential, especially when high temperatures often occur in early summer. In addition, a mulch layer of leaves or bark mulch can be placed around the hydrangeas to keep the moisture in the soil longer. In order to use the water even more efficiently, a circular watering rim can be formed around the hydrangea plants from leftover garden soil, which prevents the irrigation water from running off to the sides above ground.
Tip: Forest gardens and those on former moor areas are often already supplied with acidic soil by the plants growing on them - it is therefore worth checking the soil pH value before Purchase a special acidic soil. However, the vast majority of garden soils in Germany do not offer optimal growth conditions for hydrangeas, which is why the humus-rich, acidic soil is often a good investment in beautiful hydrangea flowers.
If you want to plant the hydrangea in a pot on the terrace or balcony, acidic soil such as our Plantura organic acidic soil is also ideal as a substrate. In addition to the right soil, choosing a suitable bucket is also important. It should be large enough and the bottom of the container should have a drainage hole so that excess water can drain off easily and there is no waterlogging. Glazed pots or plastic containers are better suited for this than open-pored clay pots because they don't lose water as quickly.
Caring for Hydrangea
Like all hydrangea species, plate hydrangeas have an extremely high water requirement and must be watered regularly in summer, and possibly even twice a day on hot days. In the case of pot hydrangeas in particular, care must be taken to ensure that the substrate does not dry out due to the smaller volume of soil. Umbrella hydrangeas are sometimes sensitive to lime. Therefore, it is best to use rainwateruse for casting. Not only do you do something good for your hydrangea, you also save valuable drinking water. If you don't have a water butt, tap water with a low lime content or water that has been acidified with a small amount of peat is also suitable. In order to use the water in the best possible way, in addition to the water-saving measures mentioned above (mulch layer and watering edge), you should ideally water in the morning or evening when the sun's rays and thus evaporation are low.
Pruning plate hydrangeas: This is how you proceed when pruning
Plate hydrangeas are rarely pruned. In the spring, the dead inflorescences are removed just above the new buds and frozen or dried-up parts of the plant are removed from the bush by hand or with scissors. If the hydrangea gets too sprawling and bushy, it can be thinned out a bit by removing a few shoots at the base completely.
Fertilize plate hydrangeas
Special fertilization is not absolutely necessary for hydrangeas in the flower bed if the garden soil is good and compost is occasionally supplied. In the case of pot hydrangeas, however, it is advisable to apply fertilizer every year in order to replenish the nutrient supply in the limited pot volume. Our Plantura organic hydrangea fertilizer with three-month long-term fertilization is ideal for this. It supplies the soil with extra iron and can thus prevent typical deficiency symptoms and diseases. Spring is the right time to fertilize plate hydrangeas. Spring fertilization gives the hydrangeas a good start to the growing season. If necessary, you can add more fertilizer in the summer, as you can read in our article on fertilizing hydrangeas. In late summer and autumn or even winter, the hydrangea should not be fertilized, otherwise frost damage may occur.
Tip: A mulch layer, which keeps moisture in the soil longer, improves the effectiveness of the hydrangea fertilizer. But be careful: hydrangeas have very shallow roots. Therefore one should not work the fertilizer under the hydrangeas, as this could damage the roots.
Overwintering plate hydrangeas
Plate hydrangeas are in our latitudeshardy. Well-hardened plants from specialist shops are robust and usually do not require winter protection in the flower bed. However, it is not uncommon for individual shoots to die off every year and have to be removed. In rough locations, the flat roots can be protected from the effects of frost with a layer of leaves or fir branches. Plate hydrangeas growing in pots should be overwintered in a sheltered place, for example in the corner of a house, and possibly under a roof. If low temperatures persist for a long time, a garden fleece or jute bag can be placed around the plants to protect them from frost damage.
Propagating hydrangeas
Like the related garden hydrangea and other hydrangea species, hydrangeas can be propagated from cuttings. These are cut between June and July. 10 to 15 cm long, slightly woody and vital shoot tips without flower buds are cut off the rods. All leaves are then carefully removed except for the upper pair of leaves and the cuttings are then inserted 2 to 3 cm deep into growing containers filled with substrate. Peat-free seed soil such as our Plantura Organic Herb & Seed Soil is suitable as a substrate. With some sand or perlite, the substrate permeability is increased and improved rooting is achieved. The substrate in the growing pots must be kept moist at all times. The best way to moisten is with a spray bottle. In a bright place without direct sunlight and at a temperature that is as constant as possible of around 15 °C, the cuttings take root and grow into new young hydrangea plants.
If you are also interested in other types of hydrangea, you can read our special article on panicle hydrangeas and learn about interesting varieties of this species.