Hydrangea Summer Love (Summer love): description of the variety, 10 photos, reviews, planting and care

Description and reviews of hydrangea Summer love

Content:

Description of paniculate hydrangea variety Summer Love
Characteristics of hydrangea Summer Love
Advantages and disadvantages of the variety
Brief agricultural technology
Rules for planting seedlings
Hydrangea aftercare
Frost resistance and preparation for winter
Reviews from gardeners about hydrangea Summer Love
Summer love in garden design

Video review of hydrangea Summer Love:

The variety of paniculate hydrangea Summer love will not disappoint the expectations of the most demanding connoisseurs of beautiful culture. The compactness of the bush, huge caps of inflorescences that change color three times during the season, make Summer Love a desirable specimen in the garden.

Description of hydrangea Summer Love

The crop grows as a compact, low-growing bush with a dense spherical crown. Powerful branched shoots, covered with oval leaves with a pointed end. The leaf blade is up to 12 cm long and has a rich dark green color.

Huge pyramidal inflorescences form at the tops of the shoots. Dense panicles consist of flowers that form seeds and large ethereal buds located at the base. The petals are long, the flower itself resembles a propeller. The variety is a good honey plant.

Characteristics of the Summer love variety

Bush height – from 80 cm to 1.5 m. On a trunk you can get a specimen more than two meters in height.
Bush diameter – 90-120 cm.
Growth rate – intense, can please with flowering already in the first year of planting.
Does the bush need support? – when forming a plant with 5-6 shoots, support is not required.
Inflorescence size – very large, from 25 to 35 cm in length.
Flowering period – from the beginning of July to the first ten days of October.
Does the color of the inflorescences change? – changes color three times during the season. Lime at the beginning of flowering, then it acquires a snow-white color, pink shades gradually appear, at the end of flowering the border of the inflorescence becomes cherry.
On which shoots does flowering occur? - on the shoots of the current and last year.
Frost resistance zone – on the USDA scale it belongs to zone 4 (from -29° to -34°).

Dense inflorescences change color three times per season

Advantages and disadvantages of the variety

Summer Love is a new product in the world of paniculate hydrangeas, however, it has already managed to show its advantages:

The biological feature of the variety is flowering in two waves.
Strong shoots make it easy to grow the crop in the form of a standard tree.
The superficial root system quickly absorbs moisture and nutrients from the soil, so Summer love hydrangea develops faster than its relatives.
It grows well in pots, making it possible to move the bush to the desired location in the garden.
Powerful stems hold huge inflorescences when forming a bush of 5-6 shoots, and do not lie down.
Thanks to rapid growth, the plant is able to bloom in the first year of planting.

The disadvantages include the fact that in rainy, cool weather, as well as with excessive watering, powdery mildew and gray rot are possible.

For information! The Summer Love hydrangea variety retains freshness in water for a long time and is ideal for cutting.

Blooming Summer love looks gorgeous in a bouquet

Brief agricultural technology

By providing the hydrangea with comfortable growing conditions and the necessary care, it will thank the owner with a healthy decorative appearance and chic caps of inflorescences.

Landing place. Should be protected from bright midday sun and drafts. Do not plant the crop under trees; the shade from them will make it difficult for hydrangeas to set inflorescences. The shrub grows in width over time; the distance from other plants should be at least 1 meter.
Landing dates. In spring they are planted in April-May, when the soil warms up to +10°C. This way, the bush will have enough time to form a powerful root system. In autumn they are planted in September-October, providing shelter for the winter.
What soils does he prefer? It grows successfully on loose, moisture-permeable and breathable acidic soils.
Watering. The variety is not as demanding on soil composition as on watering. Irrigation is carried out strictly at the root, otherwise the leaves will become stained and lose their decorative effect.
Feeding. In early spring, the crop is treated with nitrogen and a special complex fertilizer for hydrangeas is given. At the beginning of the formation of buds, they are fed with potassium magnesium or magnesium sulfate. At the end of August, the plant's need for potassium and phosphorus (potassium monophosphate) increases. They are necessary for good ripening of shoots, preparation for winter and replenishment of nutrients after flowering.
Trimming. They allow short (1 bud from the ground), high (4-5 buds) and combined pruning. Low produces powerful shoots, but late flowering, high - early formation of inflorescences on stems of medium thickness. Those who want to get a combined result cut some of the shoots short, some higher.
Mulching. The tree trunk circle must be covered with bark, sawdust, shavings, and acidic peat. Mulch will prevent the soil from drying out and hinder the growth of weeds.
Reproduction methods. You can get new planting material from the Summer Love bush by using the easiest methods of propagating hydrangeas: cuttings, layering, dividing the bush.
Resistance to diseases and pests. The variety is rarely affected by the misfortunes characteristic of hydrangeas. To prevent diseases, irrigation is carried out with a weak solution of potassium permanganate, and in early spring they are treated with fungicides: “Fitosporin”, “Ridomil Gold”, “Hom”.
Can it be grown in pots? The compactness of the crop allows it to be kept in garden tubs and large pots.As it grows, every three years, the hydrangea is replanted, replacing the soil, into a larger container. For an adult plant, it is enough to renew the top soil layer in the pot.
Wintering. The variety has shown high winter hardiness, withstanding frosts down to -35°C. In order to preserve the fragile root system of young seedlings, they are covered with a thick layer of mulch for the winter.

Planting a seedling

The Summer love variety needs sunlight. For planting, choose places with diffused lighting, or those areas where the sun's rays will fall on the plant only part of the daylight hours. In the open sun the inflorescences burn.

To protect from strong winds, drafts, and scorching sun, the optimal place for planting shrubs will be areas near the walls of the house, next to the fence.

Hydrangea prefers acidic soils, but suffers in calcareous, alkaline soil.

Hydrangeas are planted based on the climatic conditions of the growing region. In the southern regions, the procedure is carried out in mid-autumn, in more severe climates - in spring. In the middle zone they are planted mainly from late April to mid-May.

The photo shows a planting of a hydrangea seedling with a closed root system

Planting is carried out using the following technology:

Dig a hole 3 times larger than the root system of the seedling.
A drainage layer (expanded clay) is poured onto the bottom to prevent moisture stagnation.
The planting hole is half filled with prepared soil from peat, sand, humus, garden soil, and watered.
A seedling is placed in the center, the roots are straightened, and covered with soil, leaving the root collar at ground level.
Lightly trample the soil in the tree trunk circle with your foot, water it again, and mulch the surface with bark, peat, and shavings.

Aftercare

A hydrangea seedling needs care and attention; it is important to carry out simple agricultural practices on time.

Watering

The location of the roots of the variety is superficial; they absorb moisture well. The optimal watering schedule is once a week. An adult bush requires 30 liters of water, a young seedling needs 15 liters. On hot days, moisten as the soil dries.

Top dressing

The bush responds to feeding procedures with active growth, healthy appearance and abundant, bright flowering.

In the spring, fertilize with mineral compounds, use a solution of slurry (1 liter of substance is diluted in 10 liters of water). After 2 weeks, the procedure is repeated.

During the budding period, products containing phosphorus and potassium are added (70 g of superphosphate and 40 g of potassium sulfate per 1 m²). Before autumn, this feeding is carried out twice more.

Don't forget to read:

Trimming

Without this procedure, the bush will eventually acquire a sloppy shape and flowering will become scarce.

In the fall, sanitary pruning is carried out, removing faded inflorescences, damaged and weak branches.

In the spring, immediately after the first buds swell, formative pruning is carried out. Well-developed shoots are trimmed, leaving 1,2,3 buds at the base, depending on the desired result. Remove shoots growing in the middle of the bush and thin branches.

Short pruning of paniculate hydrangea

Important! All cuts must be covered with garden varnish to prevent infections from entering open wounds.

If there is a desire to form a standard tree, the process begins in the first year of the plant’s life.

Don't forget to read:

Growing paniculate hydrangeas on a trunk with your own hands ⇒

Frost resistance and preparation for winter

The hydrangea variety Summer Love showed high endurance during extreme frosts (up to -35°C) and snowless winters. The bush is completely restored after winter frosts. In case of deep freezing of the soil, the root system of the seedling is protected by increasing the layer of mulch in the tree trunk circle.

Young plants are protected by covering the top with leaf litter, spruce branches, and sprinkled with snow in winter. In this way, green pets are insulated for the first 2-3 years of life.

Spruce branches and snow are excellent winter shelter

Important! In autumn, water-recharging irrigation is mandatory. Lack of moisture in the soil will reduce the frost resistance of the plant.

Reviews of hydrangea Summer Love

In a short time, the beautiful Summer Love became the favorite of many gardeners:

“My hydrangea Summer Love has a very light, light pink color, there are 4 bushes, planted in a row, a very stable variety!”

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Using hydrangea in landscape design

A compact, neat variety of paniculate hydrangea Summer Love, which attracts everyone's attention during a long wave of flowering, will decorate any garden. The culture is excellent both as a soloist and as part of a group of plants.

Options for using the variety in site design: