Tips on Planting Peonies

Peony is a beautiful flower with lush bright greens, large inflorescences and a wonderful aroma. There are two types: woody and herbaceous, therefore, refers to herbaceous perennials and deciduous shrubs.

Domestic peony was mainly popular in China. It is believed that the peony planted in front of the house does not allow evil spirits to enter the room. The annual Peony Festival has been held in the Chinese city of Luoyang since the end of the twentieth century.

In Russia, the plot or house of the household is difficult to imagine without this flower. The plant is resistant to low temperatures and sudden fluctuations in temperature that do not require care. It can grow in one place for up to 20 years or more.

However, to get beautiful large flowers, you need to follow the rules of care for the plant. Usually the bush is maintained before or during flowering. However, it is important to take care of them after flowering. That way, you will be able to make pretty peony bouquets for all of your friends and family.

As they plant, they transplant peonies in late August - early September. One week before planting the peonies, holes 30x30x30 inches are dug at a distance of 10 - 15 feet from each other, at the bottom of the holes should be placed a drainage layer of 20-25 inches of coarse sand, broken brick or crushed stone. Then pour a layer of top dressing, consisting of compost, humus, 4 oz of lime, 7 oz of superphosphate, 4 oz of potassium sulfate, 10 oz of wood ash - with a layer of 17 - 25 inches. Then fill the pits with soil, mixed with compost. After a week, while the peonies are planted, the soil in the pit will sag, which will make it possible to place the rhizome of the peony in the hole. Then, sprinkle over it with garden soil - it will help it to grow healthier.

Keep in mind that peonies do not tolerate deep planting: the result will be a dense green bush without flowers.

If you want to wait for lush flowering peonies, deepen the rhizome so that the upper bud is not deeper than 3-4 inches below the ground. In addition, in the first year after planting or transplanting peonies do not bloom and look fallen off. It happens that next year the peonies will not bloom, but it's not scary if the bush looks healthy - just a peony bush has not yet reached maturity.

In fact, many gardeners don’t plant peonies in the Spring. On the other hand, it happens to have the planting material during the season ... and what to do? In this case, experts suggest planting peonies in a 60 - 70 oz pot and keeping them in a cool dark room - basement or cellar - before planting in the ground, keeping the soil moist. To do this, you need to place snow or pieces of ice on the ground, which, once melted, will moisten the soil in the pot. At the end of April or May the peony is taken to the garden and buried in the ground directly with the pot, where it will remain until the autumn transplant in a prepared pit, performed by the method of transshipment, ie together with a lump of earth in which the rhizome is located.

After flowering, it is recommended to remove the accumulated inflorescences along with part of the stem. It is not recommended to remove the whole stem, as new buds develop due to these nutrients that the leaves supply. Therefore, the more the aboveground part of the bush, the more nutrients will come and be spent on the formation and development of the new bulbs.

Peonies are taken care of  even during the summer season.  And if you are wondering “Should I prune peonies immediately after flowering?”, we will help you. It is not recommended to cut the wounds of peonies, as they will grow back and even throw away the pimples. At low temperatures such a bush will die. It is also not recommended to constantly cut flowering shoots, as this will significantly weaken the peony and it will bloom much weaker next summer.

And lastly, if you don’t want to do all those steps in order to have a nice garden or pots with peonies, you can always buy a bouquet of peonies. It will arrive with freshly picked blooms and you will be able to enjoy it for a week or two.