How and when peonies bloom in the garden: planting and caring for them
Peonies are herbaceous or shrubby perennial plants from the Peony family. Lush bushes, elegant large flowers, bright red fruits make them attractive all season long. When peonies bloom in a garden or flowerbed, it is impossible to pass by because of the beauty of large double or simple flowers, white, pink, and red colors.
If the rose is recognized as the queen, then peony, of course, is the king among flowers. The culture of growing peonies originated in ancient China and dates back several thousand years. Let's find out how to plant these beautiful flowers on our own.
Content:
Where and when to plant peonies
Selecting a location
If a florist decides to plant peonies in the garden, then he needs to choose a well-lit place, away from buildings, large bushes and trees. The selected area must have free air movement and at the same time be protected from strong winds. During hot midday hours, light shading is acceptable. The peony will also grow in strong shade, however, in this case its flowering will not be so bright and abundant. The best soil for this plant will be well-cultivated, moderately fertilized loamy soil.
Its reaction should be slightly acidic, preferably the soil pH should be close to 6.0. The planting site should be moist, but with good drainage. I take into account the powerful roots of the plant; the depth of the ground water should not be higher than one and a half meters, otherwise the plant may die.Sometimes it is impossible to choose a place with a suitable soil. In this situation, sand is added to clayey and heavy soil, clay is added to light sandy soil, and lime or chalk is added to too acidic soil. If there is excess moisture, arrange a drainage layer.
What season to plant
Almost all flower growers recognize the fact that the best time to plant peonies in a permanent place is the end of August and almost all of September. You can’t delay planting too much; the plant needs about five weeks to take root. However, sometimes situations arise when it is not possible to plant peonies in the fall.
In this case, peonies are planted in the ground in the spring, as soon as the average daily air temperature is + 7 degrees. In this case, the temperature of the earth at the planting depth should be + 2 + 5 degrees. It is under such conditions that increased root growth occurs. When the air and soil temperatures are more than + 7 degrees, the above-ground part begins to grow, which prevents roots from developing and providing the growing above-ground parts with nutrients.
How to plant peonies
The planting hole or trench for peonies should have a depth and width of up to 70 - 80 cm. The top layer soil I fold it separately. For one hole you need to take a bucket of soil from the top layer, mix it with a bucket of humus, add half a bucket of peat and 200 grams of bone meal and superphosphate.
Mix everything well and pour it into the hole so that 20 - 25 cm remains to the top. Add soil from the top layer on top and water. After watering, the soil will settle and more soil needs to be added. After this, you can start planting the peony.
Preparation of planting material
In amateur floriculture, planting material is prepared at the end of summer.An adult bush is dug up, the roots are rinsed and divided into parts so that four to five buds and the same number of thick roots remain on each of them. They are shortened a little. Thin and damaged roots are cut off. If there are only 1-2 buds on the cuttings, then they can also be used for planting.
Landing
In the prepared pit, make a hole of such a size that after landings the buds were 3-5 cm below ground level. Important! The roots should not come into contact with the fertilized layer of soil in the planting hole. The hole is covered with earth, the soil is watered with a bucket of water. The watering area is mulched. Dry and weathered peat is suitable for this. If autumn is dry, then watering should be repeated 3-4 times. For the winter, the plant can be sprinkled with a 10 cm layer of peat or soil.
Caring for peonies
In the spring, after the onset of stable warm weather, the buds begin to grow. During this period, the plant needs regular watering, especially in the absence of rain for a long time. There is no need to fertilize in the first two years; the plant will have enough nutrients that fill the planting pit. In the first three years, you need to systematically remove weeds and loosen the ground near the peony.
This will improve root growth and development. The depth of loosening should not be more than five cm. If the plant formed buds in the first summer, then they must be removed.
In the future, the flowers are cut off as soon as they fade. This will avoid the formation of fruits on which the peony spends too much effort. At the end of the season, the above-ground parts need to be cut off. It is advisable to do this near the ground. Remove the cut bushes from the site and burn them. For the winter, in the first two to three years, the planting site is covered with dry peat.
From the third year the following is added to the bush:
- 30 g potassium chloride
- 60 g superphosphate
- 10 l mullein solution
Time feeding - mid-May. In autumn, 200 grams of bone meal and wood ash are added under the peony. Despite the fact that peonies can grow in one place for up to 15 years, the best flowering is observed on bushes aged from 4 to 10 years. The entire flowering period does not exceed two to three weeks at the beginning of summer, but peonies even without flowers do not deteriorate the decorative appearance of the garden.
Video about when and how to replant peonies:
Comments
I didn’t know that faded peony buds need to be cut off, although they have been growing for me for quite a long time, probably 8 years already. Now I noticed that there are fewer and fewer flowers, perhaps it’s time to plant new ones.
I never cut anything either. I will know for the future that the flower needs help. And this year I have another problem - the tree peony did not bloom at all, I suspect that the cold summer was not to its taste.
I’m also wondering why peonies may not bloom at all, what does this depend on, weather conditions? I had this happen last year: not a single flower lost its color, and I wasn’t the only one who had this happen, although I won’t say that the summer was very cold. But this year there was terrible heat, there was no rain at all and the flower was watered accordingly. But the peonies bloomed wildly and one bush made its way through the almost cemented ground (I forgot it was there) and also bloomed.
For me there are no flowers more beautiful than peonies. And the way they smell is truly a fairy tale. To grow these in your garden, you need to make a lot of effort and strictly follow the recommendations. It is important to cut off the flowers after they have bloomed.
For me there are no flowers more beautiful than peonies. And the way they smell is truly a fairy tale.To grow these in your garden, you need to make a lot of effort and strictly follow the recommendations. It is important to cut off the flowers after they have bloomed.