Plant, care & cut deutzia

With their brilliant white flowers, the Deutzias not only impress visually, but are also very popular with insects thanks to their nectar and pollen. The many attractive Deutzia varieties are also easy to care for.

The Deutzie (Deutzia) is particularly noticeable thanks to its considerable number of flowers. Because of the shape of the flower and the time of flowering, it is also called a starlet bush or may flower bush. The Deutzia is often used in hedges as it is decorative, robust and easy to care for.

Deutzia: flowering time, origin and characteristics

The Deutzie (Deutzia) is an ornamental plant often cultivated as a shrub. The hydrangea family (Hydrangeae) originally comes from East Asia and is native there from the Himalayas to the Philippines. A few species have their origin in Mexico. There are around 50 game species in total. Of these naturally occurring species only found the 

Deutzia gracilis - also called the petite Deutzie - their way to Europe. Most of the other garden Deutzias are predominantly crossed cultivars, many of which stem from the work of the French breeder Lemoine.

The Deutzie is in bloom from May to June and is then not to be overlooked with its countless star-shaped flowers in white or pink. The flowers are in long panicles, racemes or umbrella panicles. The Deutzia is also bee-friendly: with its magnificent flowers, it is popular with bees, bumblebees and other wild bee species because it provides them with plenty of food.

Deutzia can be between 0.8 and 4 meters tall, depending on the variety. The contrasting, strong green leaves are egg-shaped, tapering to a point and toothed. The brown capsule fruits are rather inconspicuous and usually stay on the branches until next spring.
Most Deutzias look very similar and also to the pipe bush (Philadelphus) there are only minor distinguishing features. However, all Deutzia have hollow stems on the inside, while the stems of the pipe bush contain white pulp.

Tip: There are also filled Deutzias such as the rough Deutzia (Deutziascabra ‘Plena’). These are not bee-friendly because the pollen and nectar-donating genital organs are transformed into additional, decorative petals.

The most beautiful Deutzien varieties and species

There are a multitude of beautiful Deutzia varieties, so that a suitable specimen is available for almost every garden.

• Petite Deutzia (Deutzia gracilis): The best-known Deutzia is one of the dwarf varieties and, with its 70 - 90 cm, also fits in smaller gardens or as a container plant on the balcony. It has innumerable small, pure white flowers.

• Tall mayflower bush (Deutzia x magnifica): Also known as the tall star shrub, it can grow up to 4 m high and free-standing about 2 m wide. It grows quickly and is an excellent hedge plant.

• Strawberry-scented Deutzie (Deutzia hybrida ‘Strawberry Field’): This variety has pink flowers that give off a slightly sweet strawberry scent. The strawberry scented Deutzia is one of the early bloomers because it blooms from April to May.

• Rough Deutzie (Deutzia scabra 'Plena'): This Deutzia is also called the double asterisk shrub. It is a popular ornamental plant alone and in mixed hedges. Its double flowers look very splendid and voluminous.

• Kalmiendeutzia (Deutzia x kalmiiflora): This species reaches heights of 150 cm and convinces with a rich bloom in white-pink, which comes to the fore in June.

• Deutzie Tourbillon Rouge ’(Deutzia x magnifica ‘Tourbillon Rouge’): This is a variety of the tall asterisk shrub. It becomes about 3 meters high and has deep pink flowers.

Planting Deutzia: This is important to note

Planting a Deutzia is easy:

• Place the root ball in a bucket of water
• Dig a planting hole that is about 1.5 times the size of the root ball
• Improve excavation with potting soil, for example with ours Plantura organic universal soil
• Fill in the gaps with excavated material and step firmly
• Model the pouring edge and spread the mulch layer
• Water well

The ideal time to plant a Deutzia is in September and October, as the warmed up soil offers the best conditions for rooting. Depending on the variety, an appropriate distance from other plants must be maintained. Deutzia like sheltered locations in the sun or partial shade. The soil should be loose, humus, rich in nutrients and slightly sandy. If the soil is very sandy or clayey, the soil should be mixed with high-quality substrate and thus upgraded. For example, ours is suitable for this Plantura organic universal soilthat can store water, but does not wet it. It also supplies the Deutzia with important nutrients and improves the soil properties in the long term.

When planting a Deutzia hedge, it is particularly important to keep the planting distance. This differs from variety to variety and is in dwarf varieties such as Deutzia gracilis at 30 cm. The high mayflower bush needs a distance of 50 cm and the very wide one Deutzia scabra even 100 cm.
Tip: Deutzie in the bucket
Short stature Deutzia- varieties like Deutzia gracilis, Deutzia x kalmiiflora or Deutzia x rosea can also be planted in a sufficiently large container with a volume of at least 50 liters. To avoid waterlogging, place clay discs as drainage between the substrate and the planter. Here offers our Plantura organic universal soil the best conditions for lush growth.

The most important maintenance measures

As a rule, deutzia do not require any demanding maintenance. It is also not very demanding in terms of location and nutrient content. Pruning must be rigorous every two years for consistent, abundant flowering.

Water and fertilize the mayflower bush

Since Deutzia are very robust and undemanding, they only have to be watered if the soil cannot hold the water well. If it is hot for a long time in summer and the soil feels dry, you can water the Deutzie seldom, but extensively. The plant also signals a lack of water through drooping leaves. If the Deutzia grows in nutrient-poor soil, it should be given a slow release fertilizer such as ours once in spring Plantura organic universal fertilizer, are supplied. Its balanced nutrient composition ensures healthy growth and supplies the Deutzia for at least three months. The high proportion of organic ingredients also promotes the activity of important soil organisms. Alternatively, a mixture of compost and horn shavings can be used.

Cut Deutzie

Every two years or so, you should do the Deutzia cut. You can be generous here, because the Deutzie will then sprout all the more splendidly. The rejuvenation cut is particularly important because the Deutzia are not long-lived and also age quickly. The old wood is removed here. You should cut off all old shoots as close to the ground as possible so that many new young shoots can be formed. The pruning can be done either after flowering or in spring or late winter. Although some buds are removed by cutting in spring, the Deutzia sprouts more vigorously than after cutting back in summer.

Tip: To encourage the Deutzia to re-bloom in autumn, you can shorten the dead shoots above the buds by around a third in June and July.

Propagate Deutzie

In order to propagate the Deutzia, propagation from cuttings with half-ripe shoots in late spring and early summer is particularly suitable. For this you can cut about 8 cm long, green or slightly woody shoots with two leaf nodes (nodes). When you have removed the lower leaves, stick the shoot in nutrient-poor potting soil, such as ours Plantura organic herb & sowing soil. It does not contain peat and is precisely tailored to the needs of young plants. Due to the low nutrient content, the small plants are stimulated to form roots. Always keep the soil moist to allow roots to form over the next 4 to 6 weeks. Make sure that the pot is not in direct sunlight, but still bright.

Deutzia can also be propagated by subscribers. To do this, you used one of the lower shoots of the mother plant and fix it in the ground. The best thing to do is to pile up some more soil on the detached point so that many roots can form in the soil. After a while, the rooted shoot should be severed from its mother plant. This creates an independent plant that has exactly the same characteristics as the mother plant. When planting in spring, it is important that no Deutzia has been in the area before, as they are incompatible with themselves. It usually takes a year for an independent plant to emerge.

Hibernate Deutzie

Deutzia are hardy and do not need winter protection. But this does not apply to cuttings and potted plants. These need winter protection. To do this, you should double-wrap the planters with insulating materials such as foil, fleece, jute or coconut fiber. Then overwinter the cuttings in a cool and light, but frost-free place.

Are Deutzias Poisonous?

Deutzia are not poisonous, they are completely harmless for adults and children. The leaves, flowers and shoots contain no toxins, so you don't have to worry about your pets either.

Deutzias embellish hedges with their decorative flowers. But there are other plants than flowering hedges can be used. We present twelve suitable and hardy plants.