Peony Yellow Crown (Yellow Crown): photo and description, reviews

Peony Yellow Crown – the ancestor of most modern bushes of ito hybrids. It differs from its tree-like and herbaceous relatives in beauty and rarity. For a long time, a gardener from Japan, Toichi Ito, worked on plant breeding. And finally, in 1948, his diligence was crowned with success, and the world saw a beautiful plant.

Description peony Yellow Crown

“Yellow Crown” combines the best qualities of two varieties of peonies – herbaceous and tree-like. It has the same spreading shrub with delicately cut leaves of dark green color, like a plant with a tree trunk. At the same time, the Yellow Crown peony has a grassy stem, which dies off in winter. 

Some peony specimens reach 1 m

“Yellow Crown”, as the name of this ito hybrid sounds in translation, a beautiful lush

a bush reaching a height of up to 60 cm. It can reach a width of up to 80 cm.

The leaves are lacy, dotted with thin longitudinal veins, rich green with a glossy surface. Even after flowering, the Yellow Crown peony retains its attractiveness until the very frost. This plant loves light very much, so it is recommended to plant it in illuminated areas, but hide it from direct sunlight. This hybrid does not like places blown by the wind. And at the same time, the Yellow Crown peony is completely uncapricious, calmly tolerates a lack of moisture. Another advantage of the bred variety is its frost resistance. This peony can grow in areas where the temperature in winter can fluctuate -7 -29 ˚С. Thanks to one of the “parents”, this peony inherited stable flower stalks, which prevents the “Yellow Crown” from breaking. Because of this, he does not need supports.

Features of flowering

The new variety belongs to the group of many-flowered with double or semi-double flowers. They, reaching a diameter of up to 17 cm, please with their flowering for almost 1,5 months, from the second half of May to June. The flowers of the Yellow Crown peony are very large, of an unusually attractive color from lemon-orange to yellow-burgundy. The contrast of the red center with golden stamens and pale yellow, thinned petals creates a truly magical impression.

The first flower on the bush may have an irregular shape.

Buds of yellow-red color are modestly hidden among green leaves. They have a delicate and pleasant aroma. Moreover, every year the Yellow Crown ito-peony bush becomes more magnificent and the number of flowers is increasing all the time. The first peduncles on the bushes of this hybrid may appear as early as 2-3 years, but the flowers on them will not be very beautiful, irregularly shaped and disheveled. But already for 4-5 years they will show themselves in all their glory.

Application in design

In view of the beautiful and long flowering, as well as the showiness of the bushes themselves, the Yellow Crown peony is used to decorate parks and flower beds of adjacent plots. This peony prefers single plantings and, in the presence of neighbors, can suppress them. But, by picking up plants of the same group, only in other colors, you can create beautiful compositions. Due to the powerfully developed root system, ito-hybrid will not be able to feel comfortable in small flowerpots or pots, as well as grow on balconies and loggias, unlike their truly grassy relatives.

Methods of reproduction

Ordinary peonies are propagated by seeds and vegetatively. But hybrids are inherent only in the second option. It is not only the most effective, but also the only one for peony propagation.

Yellow Crown buds are located both on rhizomes (a sign of a herbaceous variety) and on stiff shoots (a tree-like variety property). And the root system itself is an extensive network of lateral and powerful central roots, which is to be divided into parts. In most cases, it is recommended to make 2-3 fragments during reproduction, each of which should have several buds.

During vegetative propagation, the root is divided into 2-3 fragments with buds

The root of the Yellow Crown peony is very strong, so it is almost impossible to cut it with an ordinary knife. For this, a jigsaw is used, but very carefully so as not to damage the kidneys and leave the right part for rooting and good development. If, during the division of the rhizome of the ito-peony, cut residues remain, they must be preserved. By planting them in nutrient soil, you can wait for new seedlings.

It is recommended to propagate Yellow Crown peonies at the age of 4-5 years in spring or autumn. Unlike spring division, autumn is more favorable. This is due to the fact that the time between reproduction and planting is minimal, since the fragments of the “delenka” grow very quickly. Therefore, even the slightest delay in the spring when planting a part of the Yellow Crown peony can lead to its poor survival, or even death. But in the fall, this behavior of the process will be very appropriate. Before the winter cold, he will have time to take root, get stronger and build up the root system, which will help to endure frost well.

Rules of landing

In order to comply with all the conditions and time for the correct planting of the Yellow Crown peony, it should be planted in the soil in early spring or late summer or early autumn. It is necessary to carefully choose the location of the permanent planting, as this bush grows in one place for many years.

 The soils of Yellow Crown peonies prefer mostly loamy, lush, nutrient-rich soils.

Landing steps:

1. Having picked up a well-lit area, protected from wind and direct sunlight, it is recommended to dig a hole about 20-25 cm deep and wide.
2. At the bottom it is necessary to lay drainage, consisting of sand, broken bricks and earth with rotted compost. The layer must be at least 15 cm.
3. Wait 10 days until the drainage layer settles, and only after that should you start planting the Yellow Crown.
4. Next, pour the earth up to 5 cm and lay a fragment of the root with the stem. It is desirable that it has at least 2-3 kidneys, and preferably 5 or more. Moreover, you need to plant not vertically, but horizontally, so that the buds located on the roots and on the trunk of the Yellow Crown peony are side by side, and not under each other. This technique is applicable when a root is planted with a sufficiently long section of the stem on which the kidneys are located.
5. Then sprinkle the planting material with 5 cm of earth, no more. This is a prerequisite. Otherwise, the flowering of the Yellow Crown peony can not wait. Such a planting depth will provide seedlings of ito-hybrid with minimal temperature drops, air availability and protect against drying out.

When planting in a hole, pour 2-3 buckets of humus

It is also possible to plant in the standard way: place fragments of the Yellow Crown root with buds vertically. Other landing conditions are similar to the previous one.

Aftercare

Ito-hybrid, like other varieties of peonies, unpretentious in cultivation. The most minimal care is enough for them to feel comfortable and delight with long flowering.

The list of procedures that must be carried out with the Yellow Crown peony includes:

1. Moderate watering of the itoh hybrid, which should be increased in dry weather.
2. Periodic loosening. This process must be carried out carefully in order to avoid damage to the root system of the bush, since the roots of this type of peonies are located not only deep in the ground, but also close to the soil surface.
3. As needed, fertilization and root dressing in the form of ash or dolomite flour. The main thing is not to overdo it.

To avoid breaking the integrity of the roots by loosening, it can be replaced by mulching. To do this, use various improvised material available on the same site: grass, weeds, tree leaves.

Preparation for winter

With the onset of winter cold, the part of the bush above the ground dies off, so it is recommended to cut it off to avoid rotting of the stems.

It is advisable to carry out the autumn feeding of the peony with the next portion of dolomite flour or wood ash.

Due to its acquired hardiness, this itho-peony does not need shelter in winter and tolerates frost well.

If there is a possibility of very severe frosts, it is recommended to cover the soil around the bush with a thick layer of mulch at a distance slightly greater than the diameter of the width of the hybrid.

Pests and diseases

Thanks to the efforts of breeders, the Yellow Crown ito-hybrid peony, along with resistance to cold, has also acquired strong immunity against diseases and pests. Bushes of these hybrids in extremely rare cases can be damaged by them. And infection with a rust fungus is almost impossible.

Conclusion

Yellow Crown Peony blooms for the first time after 3 years. If this did not happen, then the place was chosen incorrectly and errors in care were made. It is better to tear off the first buds, so the flower will become stronger and more resilient.

Peony Yellow Crown Reviews