Are farm hydrangeas, also known as garden hydrangeas, hardy? What do you have to consider when pruning farmer's hydrangeas? Everything you need to know about planting and caring for Hydrangea macrophylla can be found here.
Garden or farmer's hydrangeas have become indispensable in our gardens. Whether in white, pink, violet or blue - the plump inflorescences of the farmer's hydrangea make shady garden areas shine.
Peasant hydrangea: flowering time, origin and properties
The hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla) belongs to the hydrangea genus (Hydrangea) in the hydrangea family (Hydrangeaceae). Its wild form originally comes from Japan and came to Europe around 1790. Since then, it has been heavily cultivated, so that today there is a large variety of garden hydrangea varieties. The term garden or farmer's hydrangea also includes some beautiful hybrid varieties. The peasant hydrangea grows as an upright shrub and is about 1 to 2 meters high and up to 2.5 meters wide. It forms opposite, up to 15 centimeters long, elliptically pointed leaves. These appear in an intense green, their leaf margin is serrated. During the flowering period from June to September, numerous umbrella panicles open above the foliage, consisting of sterile display flowers and hidden fertile flowers. The umbrella panicles are flattened or spherical in shape, with the spherical inflorescences being completely sterile.
The peasant hydrangea forms lush panicles of flowers, but is it also bee-friendly? Unlike panicle hydrangeas, for example, garden hydrangeas have predominantly sterile flowers with mostly 4 to 6 large sepals. Bees and other insects cannot find any food in these. The peasant hydrangea varieties with umbrella-shaped, flat inflorescences also have fertile flowers that provide nectar and pollen, but the food supply for insects is comparatively small. Thus, the farmer's hydrangea is only bee-friendly to a limited extent. If you are looking for an insect-friendly hydrangea, thePanicle hydrangea variety 'Kyushu', which has a high proportion of nectar-rich, fertile flowers.
Peasant Hydrangea Varieties
There are many varieties of farmer's hydrangea, which differ mainly in the color and shape of their flowers. In addition to single-color varieties, unusual varieties with multicolored flowers are also available.
Hardy Farmer's Hydrangea Varieties
'Endless Summer' Farmhouse Hydrangea: Multiple flowering cultivar with plump, ball-shaped inflorescences in shades of white, blue and red.
Farmhouse hydrangea 'Forever & Ever': Easy-care variety with ball-shaped inflorescences in pink, blue and purple; the edges of the sepals are partly slightly jagged.
Peasant hydrangea 'Hovaria': Variety with partially multicolored pseudo flowers, for example white with a red edge or two-tone variegated flowers in pink and red; leaf margins partly rippled; provides food for bees.
Farmhouse hydrangea 'Magical': Huge, ball-shaped flowers in shades of red and pink, also multicolored varieties with unique color gradients from, for example, green to pink and red to yellow-green in autumn ; partially jagged flower edges.
Peasant Hydrangea 'You & Me Romance': Long-flowering variety with rather flat inflorescences, very large, double pseudo-flowers in pink or blue; provides food for bees.
Peasant Hydrangea 'Pirates Gold': Conspicuous, yellow-green leaf variegation; Inflorescences appear pink and have few marginal pseudoflorets; provides food for bees.
Peasant hydrangeas in tubs: Small varieties for the pot
Peasant hydrangea 'Little Blue': Dwarf hydrangea, growth height of up to 60 cm; plump flower balls in pastel blue.
Peasant Hydrangea 'Kanmara': Large, ball-shaped inflorescences in white, pink, blue tones; also multicolored varieties; compact growth, very suitable as a container plant.
Peasant Hydrangea 'Lanarth White': Small, broad-bushy shrub with plate-shaped inflorescences of pure white marginal flowers and pink or blue fertile flowers; the white peasant hydrangea provides food for bees.
Plant hydrangea:Location, timing and instructions
Garden hydrangeas can be planted all year round. However, spring is best. This gives the plants enough time to grow well until winter.
The right location for farmer's hydrangeas
The perfect location for garden hydrangeas is a partially shaded, sheltered spot in the garden or on the balcony. Farmer's hydrangeas do not feel particularly well in full sun, mainly because of their high water requirements. The irrigation water evaporates too quickly there, causing the plants to droop their leaves and flowers. Also, they are easily sunburned in strong sunlight.
Garden hydrangeas need fresh, well-drained and slightly acidic soil with a high humus and nutrient content. Special hydrangea soils with a low pH value are available in specialist garden shops. These are very suitable for pot planting. You can also easily make the substrate yourself in the garden. Sandy and nutrient-poor, but also too heavy and clayey garden soil should be mixed with a high-quality potting soil such as our Plantura organic universal soil. Particularly heavy soils are additionally enriched with sand, preferably in a mixing ratio of 2/3 garden soil to 1/3 sand. So that the soil pH value slips into the acidic range, mix in acidic powdered rock (e.g. bas alt, granite) or grape pomace. The needles of conifers also have a pH-lowering effect.
After planting, the soil around the hydrangea should be mulched with bark mulch. This keeps the moisture in the soil and ensures that the pH value remains rather low.
Tip: If you want your hydrangea to have a strong blue colour, you should plant it in a pot, as the degree of acidity can be better influenced here. You can find out exactly how to dye hydrangeas blue in our special article.
Instructions: planting garden hydrangea
How to plant a farmer's hydrangea outdoors or in a container:
- Dig a sufficiently large planting hole for your hydrangea. It should be 1.5 times the size of the plant ball.
- Then fill the hole with loose soil until the planting height is correct.
- Remove the hydrangea from the pot and use your hands to loosen the root ball so that any roots that are crowded are pulled apart - this encourages the roots to branch out.
- Place the plant ball in the center of the planting hole and fill itwith substrate.
- Press well and pour generously. Especially when planting in the summer months, the freshly planted hydrangeas must be watered very intensively.
If you want to plant the garden hydrangea in a pot, it must have a drainage hole in the bottom of the pot, which is kept clear by thick stones or pieces of pottery. Excess water can simply run off when watering, so that there is no waterlogging. Also choose a glazed clay pot or a plastic tub for the hydrangea, as open-pored clay pots lose a lot of water through evaporation.
Tip: You can use leftover soil to form a small mound of earth around the hydrangea, which you always fill completely with water when watering. In this way, the water can seep away slowly and does not run off to the side if it cannot be absorbed by the ground quickly enough. A mulch layer made of leaves or bark mulch also serves as a protection against evaporation.
Caring for Farmhouse Hydrangea
When caring for farmer's hydrangeas, you should bear in mind that the plants have an extremely high water requirement. In addition to regular watering, hydrangeas planted in pots in particular should be fertilized occasionally.
Tip: When tending to beds, you should absolutely avoid hoeing around the hydrangeas. They are shallow rooters and their roots are easily damaged when chopping.
Pruning peasant hydrangeas
In spring it's time to prune the peasant hydrangeas. Only the withered inflorescences and dead plant parts are removed. Place the pruning shears below the flowers, just above the new buds. You can find more detailed information on pruning hydrangeas in our special article.
Fertilize farmer's hydrangeas
Pot hydrangeas in particular should be fertilized annually to replenish the nutrient supply. Spring is the right time to apply fertilizer. Spring fertilization gives garden hydrangeas a good start to the growing season. A second fertilization can be carried out in summer, but you should never fertilize after the end of June, as the risk of frost damage then increases. Choose a special hydrangea fertiliser, such as our mainly organic Plantura organic hydrangea fertilizer with a long-term effect. This contains extra iron to treat ferric chlorosisto prevent By covering the fertilizer with a layer of mulch, it will be kept moist and start working faster. Don't work in the fertilizer by raking or anything like that, as doing so can easily damage the shallow roots of the hydrangea. In our special article on fertilizing hydrangeas you will find more helpful tips on how to properly fertilize your hydrangea plants.
Tip: Despite correct fertilization, iron chlorosis can occur in hydrangeas. The cause of this plant-untypical leaf discoloration is a too high pH value of the soil. This can be lowered by adding some grape pomace or sour rock flour, or by watering it regularly with sour water.
Watering farmhouse hydrangeas
Unlike panicle hydrangeas, which also withstand short periods of drought, farm hydrangeas have an enormously high water requirement and react quickly to a water deficit by letting their shoots and flowers hang limp. Therefore, water the garden hydrangeas in your garden or on the balcony generously every day during the summer months. On hot summer days, potted hydrangeas should even be watered twice a day, as the water evaporates more quickly with the smaller volume of soil. Ideally, use rainwater as this has the right pH for hydrangeas. Towards the end of summer the amount of water can be reduced.
Tip: Water that is too hard should be acidified with a little apple cider vinegar or at least left to stand for a day before using it ("let it bubble").
Propagating garden hydrangeas
Garden hydrangeas, like other hydrangea species, can be propagated by cuttings. These need to be cut in early summer between June and July. First, the cultivation vessels are filled with substrate. Choose a peat-free seed compost, such as our Plantura Organic Herb & Seed Soil, and mix in sand or perlite. This increases the air capacity of the soil and thus improves rooting. The cuttings can then be cut. You cut off about 10 to 15 cm long shoot tips from the rods. They should be vigorous and only slightly lignified and have no flower buds. The lower leaves are then removed, leaving only the upper pair of leaves. Now the cuttings are inserted about 7 cm deep into the substrate and pressed. The soil must be kept constantly moist. In a bright place with high humidity, without direct sunlight and with a temperature of about 15 °C, the cuttings andgrow into new hydrangeas.
Winter hydrangeas
Farmhouse hydrangeas are hardy in our latitudes. Always choose robust plants from specialist shops that have been well hardened. Since hydrangeas have very shallow roots, you can cover the ground around the hydrangeas with leaves and fir branches to be on the safe side. In the case of potted hydrangeas in particular, the plants and pots should be covered with garden fleece and jute bags to protect them from severe frost.
Peasant hydrangeas can also be overwintered in a sheltered shed or garage. However, the winter quarters must not be too warm. A longer-lasting cold stimulus is necessary for the plants to successfully sprout again in the following year and form flowers. In the spring, hydrangeas that have overwintered indoors need to be slowly re-accustomed to the light. Therefore, you should first put them in the shade and not in the blazing sun.
If you want to get an overview of all hydrangea species and find the right variety for your garden, we recommend our special article on hydrangea species.