What are the latest propagation methods for hydrangeas?
Hydrangea, also known as bigleaf hydrangea, comes in various colors such as red, pink, blue, and white. Bigleaf hydrangea is a beautiful indoor ornamental flower, a small shrub in the Saxifragaceae family, Hydrangea genus, with a plant height of 30 cm to 120 cm. Leaves are opposite, ovate, with serrated leaf margins. The corymb is terminal, spherical in shape, with flowers in greenish-white, pink, peach red, and light blue. The flowering period is from May to July. Hydrangea cultivation often relies mainly on asexual propagation methods such as division, layering, and cuttings; especially for varieties or cultivars with special ornamental characteristics, asexual propagation is an important means of keeping offspring consistent with the mother plant's characteristics.
Hydrangea Cutting Propagation Method
Between April and May, use a flower pot or wooden box, place fine sand in it as a cutting bed, use the tender terminal shoots of bigleaf hydrangea as cuttings, cut them into lengths of 8 cm to 12 cm, keep 3 nodes on each cutting, and retain 1 to 2 leaves, insert them directly into the sand bed, cover with plastic film, and water immediately after inserting.
At a temperature of 25°C, roots will form in 25 days to 30 days; when the white roots turn yellow-brown, begin transplanting the seedlings. After the cutting seedlings are potted, they must be placed in a shaded spot to recover for 5 days to 7 days, then moved to a sunny spot for cultivation.
Hydrangea Layering Propagation Method
For home use, the “air layering method” is best. Choose a robust 2-year-old branch, perform girdling 4 cm to 5 cm below the internode, that is, use scissors to grip the stem and rotate once, then 2 cm below the cut, grip and rotate once more with the scissors, peel off the bark between the two cuts to expose the xylem. Then tie plastic film 5 cm to 6 cm below the cut to form a bag shape, put moss or peat soil into the bag, tie the bag opening tightly, fix the bagged branch with a stake, and pour water in from the bag opening.
Generally, pour clean water into the bag once every 4 days to 5 days. In 25 days to 30 days, callus tissue will form at the girdled area, and in about 50 days to 60 days roots will grow. When the young roots change from white to yellow-brown, they can be cut away from the mother plant and planted separately in pots.
Hydrangea Division Propagation Method
Division propagation should be carried out in early spring before budding. Separate the rooted branches from the mother plant, pot them directly, do not water too much, maintain them in semi-shade, and after new buds sprout, switch to normal care. Layering propagation can be carried out when the buds begin to swell; after 30 days they can grow, and the following spring cut them from the mother plant, transplant them with soil, and they can bloom that year.