Peony flowers: planting and care

Planting of pions

It is believed that peonies can grow in one place without a transplant for decades. Often this is how they grow – it happens that their grandmother planted them. But over time, the flowers begin to shrink and the bushes themselves gradually wither. Therefore, every 7 – 10 years they need to be dug up, divided and seated. And if you want to quickly propagate an interesting variety, then the optimal age for dividing the bush is 5-7 years (1).

Place

Peonies love an abundance of light, so the place in the flower garden should be sunny. In partial shade, and even more so in the shade, there will be no lush flowering. Or not at all.

The second important point – the place should be quiet, calm. In the wind, peonies grow much worse, they wither, and sometimes they die. Especially if the winds blow from the north – they are usually cold. Therefore, find a secluded corner in the garden, for example, fences or shrubs on the south side.

The third factor to consider is the level of groundwater. They should be no closer than 1 m to the soil surface. Otherwise, the roots of peonies will get wet and rot.

soil

In principle, peonies can grow in any soil. The exception is damp, wetlands. In such conditions, they often die, because the roots do not tolerate stagnant water.

Ideal if the soil is fertile, moisture-intensive and well cultivated. But these are rare, so for peonies you need to prepare a large planting hole and fill it with a nutrient mixture.

The pits should be 70 cm in diameter and the same depth. This is important because peonies do not develop well in a shallow hole – their roots reach dense soil and begin to grow to the sides. And as a result, they cannot get enough moisture and nutrients for the plant. As a result, peonies grow worse and bloom poorly.

Landing pits begin to prepare a month before planting. Stones, broken bricks and branches are placed at the bottom – they will provide good drainage, the water will not stagnate.

Then you need to prepare fertile soil – mix in equal parts the soil from the flower garden with humus or compost. Here you also need to add 1,5 cups of superphosphate and 1 cup of potassium sulfate. The finished mixture is poured into the pit and left until planting – it should settle and mature.

Deadlines

You can plant peonies from August 15 to September 15.

In the prepared pit, a smaller hole is made, according to the size of the roots. The rhizome is buried so that the kidneys are 5 cm below ground level. Then it is covered with soil and compacted well.

After planting, it is useful to pour the peony with Kornevin’s solution (2) – 10 g per 10 liters of water. It will help the seedling or delenka take root better. And then the hole needs to be mulched with humus or peat.

Care of peonies in open ground

Watering

Peonies may well do without watering, but provided that the summer is rainy. But if it’s hot and dry outside, it’s time to take on the watering can.

You need to water the peonies once a week, 3-4 buckets per bush. It is especially important to do this in early June, when flowers form on the bushes.

The second period is from the end of July to the end of August. At this time, the bushes lay new buds – the key to successful growth for next year.

It is equally important to water peonies correctly. Water should not be poured under a bush, as summer residents often do, but stepping back from the shoots 25 – 40 cm (depending on the age of the bush – the older, the farther). The fact is that thick rhizomes are located at the base of the bush near the peony. Their task is to accumulate nutrients for the winter so that the bush winters well. But they cannot suck up water. Small roots have this ability, but they are located on the periphery, approximately along the outer diameter of the crown. That’s where the water needs to go. And so that it does not spread, but is absorbed in the right place, you need to make a groove 10 cm deep around the bush.

It is better to water peonies in the evening, before sunset, then the moisture is completely absorbed into the soil. If you water them in the morning, some of the water will evaporate.

Feeding

Everyone knows what peony bushes look like: they are very powerful, with a lot of shoots and leaves. Yes, the flowers are very large. Of course, in order to build up all this luxury, the peony must eat well. Therefore, caring for peonies in the open field suggests that they need to be fed annually and 4 times during the summer:

• as soon as sprouts appear from the ground – 1 tbsp. a spoonful of ammonium nitrate per 10 liters of water, the norm is 1 bucket per bush (after top dressing, it is useful to mulch the soil with humus – it will help mineral fertilizers be better absorbed, protect the soil from moisture evaporation, make it loose, and subsequently, gradually decomposing, it will become a good top dressing) ;
• when buds appear – 2 teaspoons of ammonium nitrate, 2 teaspoons of superphosphate and 1 teaspoon of potassium salt per bush;
• at the peak of flowering – the same fertilizers in the same doses as in the previous top dressing;
• immediately after flowering – 1 teaspoon of superphosphate and 1 teaspoon of potassium salt per bush.

In the last three cases, fertilizers must be mixed and evenly scattered under the bushes. And then dig into the soil with a rake.

Fertilizers, even in liquid form, can only be applied to moist soil. Therefore, on the eve of top dressing, peonies need to be watered. Or choose the day after the rain.

And it is also important to strictly observe the norm of nitrogen fertilizers – you cannot increase it! Otherwise, peonies will increase their green mass, and they will bloom very weakly. Or they may not bloom at all.

Loosening the soil

This should be done after each watering and rain – the next day. What does it give:

• the soil becomes crumbly, light, as agronomists say, structured – air penetrates well through it, the roots receive oxygen (yes, they also breathe) and grow well, providing the plant with water and nutrition;
• loosening allows you to save on irrigation, since capillaries are broken in the soil and moisture does not evaporate so actively from the surface, and if the bushes are mulched with humus, it will be possible to water more than once a week, once every 1 weeks.

Loose peonies should be carefully so as not to damage the roots and rhizomes. Near the shoots – to a depth of 5 – 7 cm, along the perimeter of the crown – by 10 – 15 cm.

Bud removal

It would seem strange advice, we have done so much to achieve lush flowering, and now we will begin to pick off the buds. But there is a trick to this. The fact is that there are several of them on one peduncle. The top one is the most powerful, it gives large flowers. The lateral ones are weaker, the flowers bloom small, but they take away a lot of nutrients. And the main flower fades much faster. But if you cut off the small side buds, it will last much longer.

The main flowers also need to be cut on time. As soon as they start to fade – it’s time. Don’t wait for the petals to fall. The fact is that the petals, falling on the leaves, tightly stick to them and provoke the development of gray rot. Especially in wet weather.

It is also important to remove the buds in the first two years after planting, while the peonies are young. And that’s all – this will help the bush to build up mass, and in the future it will bloom much more abundantly.

Bush rejuvenation

This must be done once every 1 years. Yes, peonies grow without problems in one place for 10 or even 50 years, but over time, their flowers become smaller, the shoots grow thin and frail, bend to the ground. Therefore, the bushes need to be periodically dug up, divided and seated.

The best time for dividing and transplanting peonies is from mid-August to mid-September. Each division should have at least 3 kidneys, preferably 4 – 5. But no more! Too large delenki take root worse and grow faster.

For planting peonies, it is better to choose sunny areas, no closer than one meter from the fence and trees. The best soil for them is slightly acidic fertile loam. Such conditions are the key to good growth of peonies.

Popular questions and answers

We asked questions about growing peonies agronomist-breeder Svetlana Mikhailova.

Sources of

1. Kapinos D.B., Dubrov V.M. Peonies on a personal plot // Moscow, Agropromizdat, 1991 – 112 p.
2. State catalog of pesticides and agrochemicals approved for use on the territory of the Federation as of July 6, 2021 // Ministry of Agriculture of the Federation, https://mcx.gov.ru/ministry/departments/departament-rastenievodstva-mekhanizatsii-khimizatsii -i-zashchity-rasteniy/industry-information/info-gosudarstvennaya-usluga-po-gosudarstvennoy-registratsii-pestitsidov-i-agrokhimikatov/