Features of peonies "Buckeye Bell"

Peonies belong to the Peony family and to the genus of herbaceous perennials (tree forms are deciduous shrubs). It is believed that the name of this beautiful flower comes from the name of the ancient Greek mythological character Pean, who skillfully healed the gods. In their natural environment, peonies are found in the Eurasian and North American subtropics, as well as in temperate climates.

Peonies were first cultivated as ornamental garden plants in China over 2 thousand years ago. Nowadays, there is held every year the "Festival of Peonies", which gathers a huge number of tourists from different countries of the world.

The peony has a large developed rhizome with strong roots, and its stems grow up to 1 meter in height. Dark green unpaired pinnately-divided leaves are arranged alternately. Flowers are solitary, have a calyx of 5 sepals and a corolla. Petals with an uneven edge can be white, cream, pink, red, yellow. Peony seeds are large, round, shiny, black or black-brown in color.

A variety of flowers, bred in 1956 and called "Buckeye Bell" (Buckeye Belle) has very beautiful semi-double flowers of deep dark red with a black tint, up to 16 centimeters in diameter. Rounded shiny petals are arranged in 5-6 rows, in the center there are large yellow stamens, perfectly contrasting with the flowers. The stems are strong and straight, reddish in color, reaching a height of 80 centimeters.

A neat, compact bush with dark green triple-dissected leaves blooms in May-June.

American Peony Society, Peony of the Year 2011, Landscape Merit Award 2009.

This hybrid is considered easy to care for, but in order to grow a healthy, abundantly flowering plant, you should carefully read the recommendations of experienced flower growers before buying these peonies.

Peonies love sunny, warm, ventilated areas and loose, fertile, fertilized soils. These flowers are planted most often in the fall, using a reproduction method such as dividing the bush. For this purpose, you need to dig up an adult bush of the plant, cut off the stems and divide the rhizome into parts so that there are 4-5 buds on each separated tuber. Then the seedlings should be buried to a depth of about 5 centimeters, making a small hill on top to protect them from winter frosts.

When watering, do not allow stagnation of water at the roots of the plant. It is advisable to mulch the land around the peony with sawdust, leaves, sand. During budding and flowering, peonies need to be fed with organic and mineral fertilizers, in addition, in the spring they need nitrogen fertilizers, and in the fall - phosphorus fertilizers. It is recommended to grow these flowers in one place for no more than 10 years. If the peony stops blooming, divide its rhizome and transplant it elsewhere.

Gray rot looks like a brownish ring with black dots on the underside of the leaf; at the first sign, you should treat the bush with Bordeaux liquid. Cladosporia is manifested by brown spots all over the surface of the leaves; Bordeaux liquid also helps well from this disease.

If you notice brown spots rising from the bottom of the plant, then this is Septoria, here one cannot do without special means: "Tsineb" and "Toksin-M". Root rot affects not only the roots, but also the aerial part of the plant, as a result of which it dies. If the disease is small, try removing the affected area.

Peonies "Buckeye Bell" are very spectacular flowers that can decorate both your garden and home bouquets. Plants do not require complex care, they can grow in one place for several years without problems. In addition, peonies are believed to attract love, honor and financial well-being to the home. Be sure to try growing these delightful flowers in your garden.

About peonies "Buckeye Bell", see the video below.