Bred more than a hundred years ago by French breeders, Peony Solange is an elegant, luxurious and surprisingly beautiful perennial that today takes pride of place in Russian gardens. Elegant refinement and heady aroma of a plant are appreciated by flower growers of many countries. The popularity of culture does not fall over time.
Peony Solange successfully competes with later spectacular varieties and hybrids. This magnificent plant will be discussed in this publication.
Peony Solange: Description
A compact bush reaching 0.85 m in height is one of the late varieties of peony. It blooms in June-July. The culture was brought to world fame by large, densely-sized buds (up to 18 cm in diameter) of surprisingly delicate coloration combining pinkish, salmon and cream tones. The shape of the bud is also interesting: the different-sized petals stuff the flower so tightly that it takes on the contours of a loose ball. Luxurious flowering is accompanied by a bright fresh aroma that attracts insects. Thanks to the dense, hard-dissected leaves resting on strong basal stems, the peony Solange retains its decorative effect even after flowering until the onset of real cold weather.
Growing Features
Like many peonies, the Solange variety has impressive stamina and unpretentiousness. It successfully winters, transferring all the hardships of harsh winters in temperate latitudes, not requiring shelters and dispensing with regular feeding, but the plants that receive the necessary care bloom more abundantly. Peony Solange is photophilous, and a delenka planted on a sunny site in fertile loamy soil will please the first flowering in the third year. There is enough food in the soil for this period, fertilizing the soil during the first budding. In October, the stems of the plant are cut almost to the base, leaving small stumps above the ground. For winter, seedlings of delenki and young crops are covered with humus or compost.
How to care for a peony
Solange reproduces well by dividing the bush. The soil is pre-prepared by digging and spreading per 1 sq. Km. m bucket of humus and 50 grams of superphosphate. Delenki is planted in early autumn, making sure that the growth buds are not buried. Unpretentious, but responsive to any manifestation of care, the peony needs regular watering, loosening the soil and weeding.
From the 3rd year of life, the culture is fed twice a season: in the spring they add nitrogen, and at the end of flowering - phosphorus-potassium fertilizers. Peony shoots before frost do not cut, because at the end of summer there is an intensive laying of flower buds.
The combination of ascetic unpretentiousness with excellent decorativeness made the culture beloved and respected by flower growers in many European countries.