Kätte on jõudmas hilissügis ja värskeid uudiseid õuest tuppa tuua eriti ei ole. Seega on aeg ehk pilk heita tagasi möödunud suvesse ja vaadata üle seda, mis kajastamata siiani on jäänud. Tahan teid kindlasti viia Tartu botaanikaaia ürdiaeda, kirjutada vahvatest kimalastest ja pisut ka mägisibulatest. Aga alustan pildipostitusega hortensiatest, kelle õiteilu võib avatud meele ja silmaga nautida kevadeni. Srutktuursed kuivanud õisikud püsivad aedhortensiatel hästi.
Hydrangea paniculata 'Vanilla Fraise' |
Murus kasvav noor aedhortensia 'White Diamonds'/ Young Hydrangea paniculata 'White Diamonds' growing in grass |
Sort 'White Diamonds' on kaunis täidlaste õisikutega taim, kelle õied on algul rohekad, seejärel nimele kohaselt pikalt kirkalt valged ning lõpuks omandavad roosa õhetuse.
Õite moodustumise aeg juulis oli meil võrdlemisi kuiv ja väga kuum. Oskasin kasta regulaarselt vaid oma seinaäärses tulbipeenras kasvavat hortensiapõõsast. Teised jäid aga unarusse ning tulemus ei andnudki kaua oodata.
Kuivas tulbipeenras kasvav 'Vanilla Fraise'/ Hydrangea paniculata 'Vanilla Fraise' in tulips bed |
Hydrangea paniculata 'Vanilla Fraise' |
Kauniste täidlaste õisikutega laimikarva 'Limelight' oli eelmisel aastal istutades õiekobaraid täis nagu pisike pallipõõsas. Sel suvel kasvasid võrsed tugevalt, kuid õisikud tulid otsa vaid üksikutele. Kuigi vähe, siis need laimikerad olid võrratud. Sel sügisel võrreldes eelmisega nad eriti värvi ei võtnud. Loodan, et järgmine aasta on õisi taas rohkem.
Võrratu rohekas 'Limelight'/ Hydrangea paniculata 'Limelight' has a wonderful greenish colour |
Hydrangea paniculata 'Pinky Winky' in summer |
Hydrangea paniculata 'Pinky Wiky' in late fall |
Summary: A Year of Hydrangeas
Late fall is about to arrive and there are very few news from the garden to bring in with me. And even if decay can be seen as a progress, there is not much to write about it. So instead, I plan to have some back sights to past summer and things that were left uncovered, in one reason or another. I would like to invite you to one exciting herb garden, write about busy bees of this summer and why not to have something on sempervivums too. But I start off with my gorgeous paniculata hydrangeas.
If I look to my pictures and think back to past summer, I have to admit that it wasn't an easy one for hydrangeas. Spring was moist and cool and they had really good strong start. Then however, in July high temperatures arrived with bit of a drought and that what put them off in some extent. Difficult times along with forming flowers resulted in poor flowering on some cultivars, like 'Pinky Winky', which produced the largest blooms in last year. 'White Diamond' I have in two different situations - one on bright sunny border had smaller flowers as the other one in more shady aspect and frown in grass produced the largest blooms of this year. However, it is a lovely cultivar with lime green flowers at the beginning, diamond-dusty when mature and aging peach pink.
The only one I watered this summer was 'Vanilla Fraise' in my tulips bed. It is hot dry bed, completely opposite what hydrangea would prefer. But with reasonable irrigation we've managed well. 'Vanilla Fraise' is consistently producing best inflorescents. I'm very happy with it.
Another one I absolutely adore is 'Limelight' and that for its colour. It is so fresh and so soft.
For more successful coming year I plan to mulch all my hydrangeas with leaf mould and give them a good soak if the rain is in short. With the lessons learned today I hope to do better in future.