To grow a tree-like peony, you need to be a skilled, and most importantly, patient flower grower. But the labors and the long wait are worth it. Peony in China, which is considered its homeland, is called the imperial flower. At the time of flowering, it is really luxurious and sophisticated. There are two main types of peonies - grassy and tree-like. In the grassy part, the aerial part dies in the fall, the tree-like part is a perennial shrub. Moreover, it is truly perennial, since in one place it can grow for more than 20 years. The plant is very painful to transplant, so the cultivation of a tree peony begins with the choice of location.
Choosing a place for a peony
The place should be somewhat shaded, not open to the winds. At the time of flowering, when the bush is strewn with lush heavy hats, there is a danger that the wind can break branches.
Loamy, well-drained soil is suitable for planting, but its qualities are not particularly important, since planting a tree peony is always done in a prepared hole. Excess moisture, high groundwater are fatal for the plant, so sometimes peonies are planted on earthen terraces.
Landing pit preparation
A landing pit for a young plant should provide it with nutrients for many years to come. Of course, the tree - like peony, the planting and care of which is constant, is always provided with fertilizing and fertilizers on time, but at the very beginning of the flower's life, in a new place, this is especially important.
The pit is prepared 3 weeks before landing. The distance between the bushes should be at least one and a half meters. A square with a side of 80 cm is planned for each bush, the soil is dug up to a depth of at least 70 cm. It turns out to be almost a cube, twenty-centimeter drainage (fine gravel, sand) is poured on the bottom, overripe manure. Separate soil is prepared: equal parts of clean soil, humus, peat. Ash, bone meal and superphosphate are added to this mixture.
Selection of planting material
It is important to choose the right tree peony, planting and care for which, to a large extent, will be determined by the quality of the young plant. The seedling can be root or grafted onto a grassy peony. Of course, the root peony is much more resistant to disease, easier to take root and live longer.
For growing, the best specimen is a bush of no more than twenty-five centimeters, already having stiff shoots, with "sleeping" large buds on the shoots and in the axils of the branches, but the leaves can even be withered. The length of the roots should be approximately equal to the height of the crown. It should be remembered that a large seedling is more difficult to take root in a new place.
Planting a tree peony
It is recommended to plant all types of tree-shaped peonies in late August - the first half of September.
The mixture is not mixed and filled in the pit, and does not completely fill the volume. The plant lands in a pit on the resulting mound, along which its roots are carefully straightened. Top with soil mixture so that the root neck is at the level of the edges of the pit. After planting, it is required to water the bush abundantly. After a while, the earth will settle and, so that the root neck is not exposed, it is necessary to spud the flower.
Peony Care
A place has been selected and a tree peony has been planted. Planting and caring for it are not difficult - loosening, fertilizing and watering during the growing season. The first fertilizing with mineral fertilizers is done in early spring. The second - after flowering. Water the plant rarely, but abundantly, in August they no longer water it.
Basic care is pruning and winter training.
Faded buds and shoot tips (no more than two buds) should be trimmed. Next year, this procedure will ensure lush flowering. In the spring, dry shoots are removed, old ones are shortened.
The tree-like peony is frost-resistant, but in the middle of Russia and in the northern latitudes it is recommended to cover them in the winter with spruce branches, shredded bark, and fallen leaves. Sometimes it’s enough to cover the bush with a cardboard box.
In China, there are peonies that are 500 years old. They are the pride of Chinese flower growers. But in our gardens, a tree-like peony, planting and care of which is carried out according to all the rules, can live as long.