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Peonies have been admired for over two thousand years. As decorative flowers in China, they have been cultivated since the times of the reigning Celestial Empire 200 years BC, the Han and Qing dynasties. In the East, they are called symbols of love and wealth, they are credited with magical powers and are considered the embodiment of pure Yang energy. We value peonies for their catchy beauty and delicious aroma.
Summer is coming to an end, it's time to think about planting this wonderful flower in your garden. Autumn is also the best time for transplanting or dividing. This is a surprisingly unpretentious plant that, unlike others, can grow in one place for decades without prejudice to flowering. Correct planting of peonies in the fall is the key to the success of their cultivation.
Description and variety variety
Peony is a herbaceous (lactic-flowered, narrow-leaved, etc.) or deciduous (tree-like) rhizome plant, the only genus of the Peony family, which includes 36 species. The flower that we plant everywhere was obtained by breeding the Milk-flowered Peony and its hybridization with wild relatives.
It has a powerful rhizome, cone-shaped thick roots, gray or green pinnately dissected or trifoliate leaves. The peony grows in height over time, depending on the variety, up to one meter. Its large fragrant flowers up to 25 cm in diameter are painted in all shades of red, pink, white, cream, rarely yellow.
The peony blooms in spring or early summer, after which it sets fruits - complex multileafs, which by autumn are filled with large shiny seeds, similar to black or brown beads. In some varieties, the seed pods themselves have decorative value.
For convenience, they were divided into seven groups, classifying them according to the flower shape inherent in the peony and called:
- non-double;
- semi-double;
- terry;
- Japanese;
- anemone;
- pinkish;
- crown-shaped.
Planting peonies
It is important to know how to plant peonies correctly in the fall because it depends on whether further caring for the plant will be simple and not burdensome. If you also choose a suitable place for a flower, then further care for it will be reduced to the required minimum.
Boarding time
Novice flower growers do not always know whether to plant peonies in the ground in spring or autumn. There can be no two opinions here, autumn is not only the most suitable time for this, but also the only right one. Of course, this does not apply to container flowers, they are planted at any time, as long as it is not too hot.
Planting peonies in the fall in the ground usually occurs in August-September. It is best to wait until the heat subsides and the rains fall. At this time, the aboveground part has already stopped growing green mass, and the cool weather and moist soil allow the peony to root well. Planting times can vary greatly from region to region. In the south, this usually does not happen earlier than October, and in the north, earthworks can be started already at the end of summer so that the flower has time to take root before the onset of frost.
Why peonies are not planted in spring
You should not plant peonies in the spring, since it is the green mass that is actively growing at this time, while the root system stops its development. In no case can you cut off the leaves to promote rooting, the flower will most likely simply die.In the spring, planting can be done only in exceptional cases, when there is simply no other way out.
Most often this happens if the flower has not overwintered well and may die without transplanting. And among lovers of peonies there are people who are very carried away, capable of looking for such and such a specific variety with perseverance, bordering on fanaticism. The time of year for them will not matter if a coveted flower with an open root system is found at the spring exhibition.
What can you advise here? Are there ways to increase the survival rate of a flower? If a forced spring planting is already ahead, try to do it as early as possible, use root-forming preparations. On the leaf, you must first spray the flower with epin twice with an interval of 10-14 days, and then twice with megafol or a similar preparation. This will give the peony a chance to survive the stressful factor of spring planting.
Choosing a landing site
Peony is a long-lasting flower, properly planted, growing in one place for decades. That is why its correct placement on the site is of paramount importance.
The flower will feel best when planted in a sunny, wind-protected area. This does not mean that in the shade it will die or, in general, will not bloom. Planted in places with about 5 hours of light a day, peonies will produce fewer buds and will be small. The color will also suffer - the colors will lose their juiciness, possibly become faded.
Peonies have few requirements for the soil, but they develop best when planted in loamy soil, nutritious and well-drained. What these flowers absolutely hate is the huddle lands. A well-rooted peony will endure heat, frost, prolonged drought, but may not survive even a short-term stagnation of water at the roots. Flowers planted in the lowlands will either die or require an urgent transplant.
Seat preparation
It is best to prepare planting holes for peonies in advance. In one to two weeks, the soil in them will have time to sink well, and you can ensure the correct planting of the peonies. To do this, dig a hole 60x60 cm, fill it with nutritious soil and water it abundantly. You will need at least 2 buckets of water per hole.
Before planting, peat must be added to the clay soil, necessarily low-lying, since the horse has an acidic reaction, which the peony bush absolutely does not tolerate. Add humus and sand.
On acidic soils, lime, chalk or dolomite flour are added to the nutrient mixture for planting peonies at the rate of a glass per bucket. This is usually enough. Chernozems do not require special improvement, but only if they are not depleted by previous crops. If necessary, humus or compost can be added to them before planting peonies in the fall.
In order for flowers to grow in swampy soils, drainage is needed. Make a deep hole, place a layer of gravel or red broken brick at least 20 cm (preferably more) on the bottom, cover with sand.
Planting peonies
One-two-year-old flowers or delenki with 3-4 well-developed buds and a piece of rhizome are considered the best for autumn planting. The most important thing here is the planting depth. The buds should be located about 5 cm below the ground.
If you deepen them during planting, you will not wait for flowering, no matter how you look after. Otherwise, the peony will be healthy and produce beautiful foliage. Too shallow planting can damage the flower or even lead to its death, and this applies not only to the northern regions. During frosts, low temperatures can push the rhizome of the flower out of the soil, and it will freeze.
Plant the peony in the center of the planting hole to the desired depth, gently spreading the roots, sprinkle with soil, gently brush the ground around and water abundantly.
Division and transplant
Each flower can grow in one place for decades. If it is healthy and blooms profusely, and the location suits you, you should not worry about the peony. But sooner or later the time will come to seat him. You may want to simply move the flower to another location or share the planting material with friends or neighbors.
The best way to reproduce peonies is vegetative. It is simple and reliable, it allows you to preserve all the varietal characteristics of the flower. The period for transplanting and breeding peonies is the same as for a normal planting - autumn.
The division of flowers contributes to the rejuvenation of the bushes, experts advise doing it every time you move from place to place. Simply transferring it to another site is advised only for a sanitary transplant, when an urgent need to save a damp, rotten or improperly buried plant.
When replanting in the fall, dig up the flower, being careful not to damage the fragile roots. To do this, dig in a peony in a circle, having previously stepped back 20 cm, loosen it with a pitchfork and only then pull it out of the ground. Cut off the aerial part, rinse, put for up to 2 hours under a canopy so that the roots of the flower will stick a little and become less fragile.
Carefully separate them into parts, cut off the old, rotten and sick-looking pieces of the rhizome with a sharp knife. Shorten excessively long flower roots to 15 cm.If we plant delenki with several strong eyes and a healthy piece of rhizome to the required depth, then we can expect that the peony will take root well, and after two years it will bloom.
The rules for planting divisions and transplanting adult bushes to another place without dismembering them are no different from those described in the previous paragraph. They are so simple that even novice growers can do it.
For greater clarity, we suggest watching the video:
Care after landing
Immediately after excavation, mulch the planting pit with peonies with peat. If, for one reason or another, contrary to the recommendations, you were forced to plant flowers in the spring, be sure to treat the foliage several times with drugs that help to survive stress (epin, zircon, megafol).
Autumn planting - less stress for the flower. It is enough to cut the foliage, mulch the planting circle and if there is no precipitation at all in the fall, carefully moisten the soil several times.
The place of the peony in landscape design
Peony is very fond of all landscape designers. After flowering, its foliage remains decorative, even when planted in a shaded area, it will throw out a few buds. But before planting peonies in the ground, especially in large landscape groups, you still need to think over the composition. It is not worth moving them from place to place every year, since any transplant postpones flowering for a year, or even two.
Peony looks good in group and single plantings. It goes well with flowering and conifers. But there are cases when you need to plant peonies away from other flowers. For example, their neighborhood with roses will not decorate your site - they will simply distract attention from each other.
Pick up a peony as neighbors either modest small flowers, or with elongated peduncles, preferably in a contrasting color.
Conclusion
Peonies are always in fashion, even when the tabloids say otherwise. From the pedestal, they were crowded more than once by other flowers. But who remembers their names today?
