Planting and caring for peonies in spring

In February, peony seedlings can already be found on the market, so many gardeners prefer to plant these flowers in the spring, without waiting for the traditional season - autumn. If you choose the right seedlings and comply with all the required planting conditions, then flowering will not be long in coming.

When choosing peonies for planting, it is important to pay enough attention to examining the root system. The number of renewal buds should vary from 2 to 3. It may be possible to root flowers with one or two buds, but their development will be slowed down. The adventitious roots will be needed 5 centimeters long and in an amount of at least two pieces. The bulbs must be healthy and strong, free from wounds and signs of disease. The latter include mold, thickening, build-up and formation.

You should not take dried seedlings with already blackened buds - naturally, they will not survive any planting, and even growth stimulants will not help them. It is also not recommended to take exotic blue or black peonies - such species do not exist either in nature or among breeders, which means they will turn out to be fake... Finally, it makes sense to avoid prices that are too low - they usually hide behind them. Whether a peony will be able to take root in a new place in spring can be determined by the state of the root system.

The following information should be checked on the package: the name of the variety, a brief description of the crop, the amount of planting material, instructions and a mark on the passage of quality control. After checking the packaging, it is necessary to assess the condition of the delenka. This is usually not particularly difficult, since peonies are sold in transparent bags. You should not buy peonies if the delenka feels too dry or wet to the touch, the packaging smells unpleasant, or there is a suspicion of being infected with cancer or root nematode.

After purchase, peonies most often cannot be immediately planted in open ground, so they should be stored in some way. In this case, store-bought samples are recommended to be transplanted in containers with a volume of 2 to 3 liters. They have to be stored in a dark room with a rather low temperature. It's good if the roots are covered with an impressive clod of earth - this way they will last longer. If the flowers have an open root system, then they are allowed to be acquired no later than at the end of March.

After buying peonies, the grafting site, if available, should be treated with a mixture of sand and ash, which can prevent putrefactive processes. Until the buds open, the container is removed to a dark and cool place, and then transferred to a space with an abundance of light and a temperature slightly below room temperature.

Planting peonies in the spring is not always successful. There is a high probability that the plant will not be able to take root, it will hurt from stress, and the roots will be very weakened. Therefore, at each stage, it is worthwhile to act carefully and thoughtfully, including determining the timing of planting. It is better to carry out the procedure towards the end of April. At this time, the snow will melt and the ground will thaw, but the temperatures will not be too high.

With steady warming, peonies begin to actively develop shoots, which, in turn, slows down rooting in a new place. In principle, it is not forbidden to plant the planting in May, but then the beds will have to be additionally covered with a film to avoid overheating of the substrate.

Preparing a place for a spring planting of peonies is very important. It is important to prevent stagnant water, as excess water leads to root rot. It is better to take loamy soil with neutral acidity. If the indicator is below 6 pH, it makes sense to add lime - about 250 grams per bush. The place itself should be well lit, since peonies do not grow at all in the shade.

The beds should be moderately moist, since moisture deficiency inhibits development, and excess leads to decay. Normal air circulation is also important to prevent the occurrence of diseases such as gray rot. The hole is dug about a couple of weeks before landing, so that the earth has the opportunity to settle. But, in principle, you can do without it and complete all the stages in one day.

The site should be protected from strong winds and located away from buildings of stone or metal. The latter quickly warm up under the influence of the sun and, thus, create an "oven effect", leading to the death of peonies.

Planting peonies in the country in the open ground in the spring should be almost the same as in the fall. The first step is to properly dig a hole so that the depth is about 70 centimeters, and the diameter reaches at least 60 centimeters. At the bottom, a drainage layer should be formed, the height of which ranges from 10 to 15 centimeters. For drainage, it is recommended to use expanded clay, gravel, pieces of brick or river sand. At the next stage, you will have to lay compost or humus in the amount of one or two standard buckets, potash fertilizers or superphosphates. Superphosphate is taken in an amount of 200 grams, and ash - from 300 to 400 grams.

A soil mixture is placed at the top so that 10 to 15 centimeters remain from the surface to the edges of the pit. Saplings with straightened rhizomes can be planted in the center of the pit. Deepening is carried out until the buds go into the ground by 5 centimeters in the case of heavy soils and 7 centimeters - in light soils. To visually check the soil level, you can attach a shovel handle to the pit. As a result, there should be about one meter between the plants. It is important to remember that planting too deep will cause flowering to stop or at least slow down.

Having covered the roots with earth, you will have to slap the soil lightly with your palms. An earthen furrow is created around each individual flower, and the plant is watered with liquid. If after this procedure the soil subsides, then you can add a little more nutritious soil. Experts recommend immediately mulching the plantings using peat, humus or a mixture of garden soil and peat, taken in a 1 to 1 ratio... Mulch will protect the soil from drying out and thereby contribute to the fastest rooting of seedlings.

It is worth mentioning that if weather conditions do not make it possible to plant on time, then it is better to place peonies in pots that are stored at temperatures from 0 to 20 degrees. When shoots appear, the flower should be rearranged on a sunny windowsill and looked after as an indoor culture.

It is not forbidden to use peony seeds in the spring.This method is not very common, since flowering can only be expected in the fifth or sixth year of life. Seed material can be purchased at the store or collected with your own hands in early autumn. The seeds are immediately planted in a pot, which, in turn, is left outdoors until spring. Somewhere in early spring, the container is brought into a warm room, where it will remain until the end of April - early May, when it gets warmer outside. Only then are the seedlings allowed to be planted in open ground.

Tips from seasoned gardeners allow you to provide care for newly planted plants. Irrigation is carried out daily, and after the flowers have taken root, a regular system is established. Peonies will have to be loosened and weeded. Fertilization is carried out from the moment the shoots appear until the end of June. You should use either a mineral complex diluted in water, or a mullein solution.

In the first year, gardeners recommend removing the emerging buds, preventing the peonies from blooming. The meaning of this behavior is for the plant to devote all its strength to rooting and rhizome development, without wasting them on the flowers themselves. It is worth adding that during spring planting, it is important to keep the soil constantly moist, since the leaves are already growing, and well-developed roots responsible for absorption have not yet formed. In this case, the tubers begin to thin out, and the plant itself dies.

As soon as the growing season begins, it is recommended to water the ground near the peonies in large quantities with water, the temperature of which ranges from +22 to +24 degrees. If spring and summer are hot and dry, then watering should be so abundant that the liquid reaches the roots. As a rule, one bush in this case takes about two buckets. During the procedure, drops should be avoided on the leaf blades, otherwise the plant will quickly get sick with a fungus. Weeding and loosening supplementary watering will prevent dry crusts on the surface, and will also accelerate the process of oxygen supply to the rhizome.

Regular feeding, as a rule, starts in the second or third year of the peony's existence. The first time fertilization is applied as soon as all the snow has melted, and this is usually a combination of nitrogen and potassium. The second feeding occurs when the buds are formed. In this case, the plant needs a complex solution containing potassium, phosphorus and a little nitrogen. A couple of weeks after flowering, the last feeding is carried out, consisting of a tablespoon of potassium and a tablespoon of phosphorus.

You can see how to plant peonies in spring in the next video.