The plant belongs to the family hortenziyevyh (Hydrangeaceae). Reed unites about 80 species. The genus name is taken from the Greek language. Translated into Ukrainian it sounds like "longing for water".

      

At home grown Hydrangea Metelykovydnu (N. paniculate) and Hydrangea Breytshnaydera (H. bretschneideri).

Medicinal value are metelchasta hydrangea (H. paniculata) tree and hydrangea (H. arborescens). In Chinese medicine using flowers, bark, roots, they contain alkaloids, flavonoids, carbohydrates, and rubber. The flowers and roots was used in malaria, tonsillitis, tonsillitis. The roots and bark of the tree hydrangea - diuretic agent. The plant is used in homeopathy.

Hidrarhiya is a long-shrub. With mochkovydnyh roots grow 1-5 stems. The leaves are dark green, situated opposite one another, podovhasto - oval, pointed, serrated on the edges. They clearly express the veins , giving a piece of the bulge. Inflorescences are large, spherical, 15 to 30 cm in diameter, schytkopodibni, or kystepodibni like umbrellas, consisting of flowers in which the petals instead rozrosli chashkolysnyky white, blue, pink, purple or red. Fruit - polyspermous box.

Hydrangea bush, when grown in a pot, can be from 1 to 7 large spectacular inflorescences above the apical leaves of shoots; in open ground plants can decorate to over 100 globular clusters. The lower buds on the plant, the more flowers and larger will be the same inflorescence. The color of hydrangea flowers is easy to change. To do this, before flowering plants watered with aluminum alum at the rate of 5 g per 1 liter of water. Then go into white hydrangea blue and pink - lilac. Making a substrate iron salts they will be blue. Spraying begins with the onset of buds and spend 3-4 times in 7-8 days. Blooming from spring to autumn and winter, depending on the method of culture of hydrangea.

Location. Hydrangea - shade-tolerant plants. It grows well in both light and napivzatinenyh places. The best fit windows of Eastern and Western exposures. During flowering hydrangea does not tolerate direct sunlight, requires shading or placing on the northern windows. Outdoors the plant is placed or planted in partial shade.

Temperature. Summer plant is recommended to fresh air and bury the pot in the ground in a cool place; hydrangea for winter shed their leaves, so it can hibernate in a dark place at a temperature of 4-8 °C; the end of February it should again move to the bright and warm place where the temperature does not exceed 20 °C. At temperatures above 20 °C plants shed leaves.

Most garden hydrangeas cold-resistant. They pruned in winter or pryhynayut to the ground and covered fir branches. Under the shelter plant overwinters well. If the ground of the hydrangea freeze, it can be cut, and then the plant bloom the following year.

Watering. During growth hydrangea evaporates a lot of water, lack of moisture quickly to  Jan, then difficulties recovering. Therefore, hydrangeas from spring to autumn should be watered abundantly provided good drainage which vystoyanoyu soft water at room temperature. In the period of tranquility rare plant watering, avoiding drying earthen coma. Frequent watering in winter causes rotting of the roots.

Humidity. At temperatures above 16 °C plants need to be sprayed frequently. By the time of flowering spraying is stopped so that the water did not get into the flower and not cause spotting, during this period of increased humidity is best to put the pot on the tray of wet gravel.

Period of rest. The winter hidranhiya shed their leaves and becomes dormant period, which lasts 60-75 days. By February-March, it should be stored in dry ventilated cellars at a temperature of about 4-8 °C, water occasionally; then put on a bright sunny window moderately warm room.

Pruning. The most decorative look hydrangea is the first year of cultivation. In subsequent years, it shoots a little bent, and the flowers and inflorescences reduced. Beautiful flowering can be obtained only with proper pruning. In the dormant period, long before bud break, plant obligatory podrezhut leaving every Shoots 2-3 internodes. Shoots liquid weaknesses that interfere with each other are removed completely. Pruning enhances the formation of shoots, which in turn leads to increased mass flowering. If Spring was late after pruning the plant can get sick and do not bloom all year.

Fertilizing. After cutting and before the new shoots of the plant is not fed. After regrowth of leaves and buds hydrangea appearance every 2 weeks fed a mixture of fertilizer and once a month with a weak solution of potassium permanganate (prevents brittleness and increases the strength of flowering shoots). After flowering, feeding is stopped.

If the soil reaction is neutral, acidic or alkaline, leaf hydrangea affected chlorosis, which reduces decorative plants. To restore chlorophyll, every 2 weeks it watered one percent solution of iron sulfate or iron sulfate solution (2 g in 1 liter of water). After 2-3 Polyvanyy leaves become normal green color.

Without much additional cost can be accelerated flowering hydrangea gibberellins. For this plant sprayed with 0.01 % solution of gibberellin twice (every 8-10 days) in the period when the buds reach 1.5-2 cm in diameter. Along with the acceleration of flowering hydrangea decorative significantly increased: increased length of pedicel of each flower and its diameter, which in turn increases the diameter of the inflorescence , the flowers are arranged in an inflorescence a loose, giving the plant a kind of decorative effect. Plant height in the processing of gibberellin in the growth phase of buds increases slightly.

Transplantation. Hydrangeas are transplanted each year in the spring before the growth, each time using a pot larger than the previous one. For planting hydrangeas best buy in the store ready acidic substrate (such as "Azalia"). You can cook the same soil mixture of turf, leaf, peat  of wooden earth and sand (2:1:1:0,5). It should be noted that in soil humus culture hydrangeas not used because it may cause chlorosis disease.

Reproduction. Hydrangea (hidranhiyu) propagated by dividing the bushes, suckers, tapped in selection - seeds, but often - shoots.

Shoots harvested from the lateral or basal shoots of plants installed on vyhontsi. The best period of reproduction is the end of January-February. Shoots, planted in January and February, the fall of forming shrub with few branches (3-4 shoots) of ripe terminal bud. At a later planting shoots (March-April) go usually odnosteblovi plants. Shoots for cuttings cut at the base. Cuttings should have 2-3 mizhvuzllya length of 7-8 cm leaf blades shortened by one third or half. The two lower leaves are necessarily torn, cut must be straight, lower unit 3-4 mm. Cuttings are planted in the sand box with a substrate composed and peat (2:1). 

The optimum temperature for root - 18-20 °C; humidity - 70-80 %. In January and February are not prytinyayut cuttings after planting in the coming months shading from direct sunlight is required. Lay the glass cuttings are not recommended because they can rot. In the first week they sprayed 3-4 times a day, then 1-2 times. After 5-6 weeks of well-rooted cuttings of the lump of land planted in 9 cm pots. After spring frost pots of hydrangeas planted in open ground without disturbing the clods of earth or prikapyvayut with pot.

Pests. With little care for hydrangeas can appear aphids, thrips, and if too dry air plant damaged by spider mites. Regularly moisturize the air, washed with warm water the plant. With strong aktelikom treat infection (15 drops to 1 liter of water). After two weeks of treatment again.