- Do you have to water the velvet hydrangea as often as other hydrangeas?
- What is the best way to fertilize the velvet hydrangea?
- Must or may the velvet hydrangea be cut at all?
- When is the best time for a cut?
- Is the velvet hydrangea susceptible to certain diseases?
- How is the velvet hydrangea overwintered?
- tips and tricks
The imposing velvet hydrangea with its very large, velvety leaves and the plate-shaped, only with a narrow outer ring of sterile flowers is an attractive garden shrub that can grow up to two and a half meters high and three meters wide. Originally from the temperate to tropical climate zones, the shrub is quite sensitive to frost and needs regular care.
Velvet hydrangeas like organic fertilizers
Do you have to water the velvet hydrangea as often as other hydrangeas?
Due to their huge leaves - which can often grow to about three hand widths - velvet hydrangeas consume a lot of water. To keep the soil as moist as possible, it is advisable to mulch the root area. Otherwise, you should water at the latest when the plant lets its leaves droop.
What is the best way to fertilize the velvet hydrangea?
Velvet hydrangeas gratefully accept organic fertilizers such as compost, cattle manure (€18.80) or horn shavings (€32.93).
Must or may the velvet hydrangea be cut at all?
Since velvet hydrangeas, like farmer's hydrangeas, bloom on last year's wood, they should not be pruned. Only the faded inflorescences have to be removed in spring. Otherwise, a rejuvenation cut is due every two to three years. Velvet hydrangeas are very tolerant of pruning.
When is the best time for a cut?
It is best to remove the faded inflorescences in spring, as they protect the new flower buds directly underneath from the winter frost. The pruning should also be done in the spring, before they sprout.
Is the velvet hydrangea susceptible to certain diseases?
If the velvet hydrangea develops brown leaves, this is usually an indication of a location that is too sunny and/or a lack of water - the sunnier the location, the more water the plant needs. Yellowing leaves usually indicate a lack of nutrients (especially iron) or soil that is too basic. Otherwise, the velvet hydrangea is quite insensitive to diseases or infestation with pests, only mildew or gray mold often occur when the humidity is too high.
How is the velvet hydrangea overwintered?
Like many garden plants, velvet hydrangeas become more resilient with age. That's why you protect young specimens, for example, with leaves, brushwood or a fleece cover, which you can do without with older, already established velvet hydrangeas.
tips and tricks
Frost damage does not bother the velvet hydrangea, it drives out again in the spring. Only if the flower buds freeze do you have to do without flowering the following year.