Grassy and Tree Peony: Reproduction in Several Ways

By right, one of the most flowering plants is considered to be a peony. Reproduction of this beautiful shrub has its own characteristics, but there is nothing complicated in them, even inexperienced lovers can master them. Today, among gardeners, both ordinary types of peonies and tree peonies are popular. Consider several methods of their reproduction.

Tree Peony: Vaccination Propagation

This method is perhaps the most time-consuming. The roots of grassy peonies, more precisely, their segments 10-15 cm long, are taken as a stock. For the scion, only shoots of the current year are taken.

Cuttings are cut from them, each of which should have two eyes. Cooked roots are kept in a cool place for about 3 weeks. Now you need to take a scion (cuttings) and make a cut on its lower part from two sides, give the shape of a wedge. On the rootstock (root) a cut is made of the same shape, into which the stalk is tightly inserted. The vaccination site is coated with garden var or tied with plastic wrap. The resulting plants need to be laid horizontally in a layer of moistened sawdust and put it all in a shaded place. After a month, you can plant an already rooted peony in the greenhouse . Reproduction in this way is done in early August. And in a permanent place, you can plant the resulting plant only after a couple of years.

Propagation of peonies by cuttings

This method can be called the easiest. To do this, in the summer, semi-lignified shoots are cut obliquely under the kidney. Be sure to ensure that the kidneys are well developed. The leaves located on the shoot are shortened by 2/3. All sections are treated with root stimulants, and the cuttings are planted in a mixture of river sand and peat at an angle of 45º. The kidneys should be completely buried, a layer of sand (1.5 cm) is poured on top to keep moisture. The boxes are covered with film or glass, you constantly need to ensure that the soil is wet. By October, rooted cuttings are planted in separate containers and must be in the greenhouse until spring.

Peony: propagation by layering

In the spring, before blooming, well-developed shoots are selected. An incision is made on the bottom of the shoot (facing the ground). The shoot is carefully bent to the ground, a small spacer is inserted and sprinkled with earth (layer 8-10 cm). All the time before rooting, you need to monitor the moisture of the soil, it should not dry out. The roots will appear somewhere in late August or early September.

Peony: reproduction by dividing the bush

This is the most common and effective method of propagation of both grassy and tree-like peonies.

For division, you should take an already overgrown bush, which has been growing in one place for at least 3 years. This is done from mid-August to the end of September. The bush needs to be dug up, cut off its stems at a height of 10 cm and dried for a couple of hours. If the bush is still young, then you can pull it with your hands in different directions. Otherwise, this is done with a sharp knife. It should be cut so that the portion remains of the root. Cut points can be treated with manganese or charcoal. Then each piece is planted in a permanent place.

Peonies can also be propagated using seeds, but this is a rather time-consuming process. Only freshly harvested seeds are taken and undergo two stages of stratification before planting. In general, it will take a long time to mess around. If you want to get a fast and reliable result, it is best to use both the method of dividing the bush and propagation by layering.