Planting peonies in the ground in spring. How to save peonies before planting

Many gardeners do not know how to replant peonies in the spring. However, by organizing an effective transplant into pots, with pre-purchased, prepared and correctly selected seedlings or seeds, and, if desired, into open ground, the gardener will receive colorful and healthy flower beds.

Peonies are considered to be quite finicky flowers, so they must be bred and cared for strictly in accordance with agrotechnical rules. In particular, all procedures related to the propagation of bushes should be done in early autumn. However, even children know that it is impossible to always follow the rules in everything. Sometimes circumstances develop in such a way that you have to act contrary to the instructions. If during the spring flood the flowerbed is flooded with melt water and you need to save the peonies from rotting, or you have started an urgent redevelopment of the site, which involves moving the flowerbed, willy-nilly you have to replant the peonies at the wrong time. In view of this, every gardener should know how to plant peonies in the spring.

Transplanting into pots

If you need to replant peonies in early spring, when the ground has not yet warmed up or even thawed after winter, it is strictly forbidden to plant peonies in open ground. Fortunately, there is a simple solution - planting in a pot. It is chosen according to the size of the seedling or bush that is to be transplanted, but in any case, the volume of the pot should be at least 2-3 liters. In this form, peonies should be kept in a cool, dark place until the onset of full spring warmth.

It is important to note that if you buy peonies in the spring, then try to choose specimens with a more or less significant lump of earth on the rhizome. Peonies with a completely exposed root system can be purchased no later than the end of March. With the onset of warmth in April-May, peonies should be buried directly in pots in the garden and kept like this until autumn, when it becomes possible to carry out full planting. It is advisable to produce it directly in the original clod of earth, so remove the plant from the pot as carefully as possible.

As a last resort, if you really want to, you can plant a peony from a pot into open ground without waiting for autumn. But to do this, you need to make sure that the plant’s root system is ready for this. Carefully remove the peony along with the earthen lump from the pot: if the earth is entangled in thin white roots, it means that the plant will be able to take root in a new place. By the way, you shouldn’t keep a flower in a pot for too long. As practice shows, it is better to plant a peony root in the spring than to keep it in a pot until September. If the shoot is left in such cramped conditions for more than a year, it will not develop a rhizome, which will worsen the general condition of the plant.

Reproduction methods

The crop can be propagated both vegetatively and by seeds. The last method is considered the least reliable, since in some varieties the seeds do not ripen at all, while in others they have very low germination. Various procedures (pre-sowing treatment with chemicals, stratification, scarification, etc.) help, but not much. Growing peony from seeds is not a difficult task, but it requires a lot of patience: material collected and sown in the fall, as a rule, does not sprout next spring, but after 1-2 years. In addition, the descendants of hybrid varieties do not inherit the properties of their “parents”. Another disadvantage is the fact that seedlings begin to bloom a year or two later than seedlings obtained by vegetative methods.

Peony seedling grown at home and ready for transplanting into open ground (photo by the author)

Of course, this does not stop flower growers. The method is attractive because it allows you to obtain new specimens of rare varieties that owners are afraid of “ruining” by digging and dividing. Note that their fears are not unfounded: the culture, in principle, does not tolerate stress well and “does not like” transplants.

The method of propagation by stem cuttings is considered a little more effective . To implement it, they usually choose stems growing in the middle of the bush. They are cut right at the ground and divided into pieces with two internodes, which are then rooted in a nutrient substrate under a mini-greenhouse. For the winter, the place where the seedlings are grown is covered with a thick layer of mulch, and next spring the young plants are transplanted to a permanent place.

Sometimes the crop is propagated by vertical layering : in the spring, the soil is raked away from the underground buds of renewal and a container without a bottom filled with a nutrient substrate is placed above the rhizome in order to stimulate the growth of a group of roots under each bud. If this is successful, independent seedlings are separated from the rhizome. Both methods are not suitable for all varieties (for example, Ito hybrids cannot be propagated this way). In addition, they are not very effective and quite labor-intensive.

The main method of vegetative propagation of a crop is dividing the bush

The most common propagation of peonies is by divisions , which are obtained by digging up the rhizome with roots and dividing it into parts. For a bush to grow from a cutting, it does not have to have a large number of buds. It is much more important that the buds are provided with normal nutrition, and for this they need thick, well-formed storage roots. Experienced flower growers note that in the first season after transplantation, only 1-3 buds usually “wake up”, but this does not prevent the plant from developing. Peonies growing in their own area are best divided at the end of summer. Bushes under 5 years old are not suitable for such propagation. It is most difficult to divide plants belonging to the group of Ito hybrids, since their renewal buds are often formed not only on the underground parts of the stems, but also on the above-ground lignified shoots. When obtaining cuttings from herbaceous varieties, problems usually do not arise.

When to buy peonies?

Peonies are to a certain extent sissies, and therefore you should be very careful in everything related to the purchase, planting and care of these flowers. And the first thing you need to start with is a competent selection of seedlings. Tree peonies with exposed root systems appear on sale towards the end of February, when planting material arrives en masse from European and Chinese nurseries. And although at this time of year there is still snow in most Russian regions, you need to buy them now, while the seedlings are still fresh and the rhizomes have not dried out from prolonged exposure to the air.

Having bought peonies in late February - March, immediately plant them in a pot. The grafting site, if any, should be sprinkled with a sand-ash mixture, which will protect the junction from rotting.

If you get a plant with buds that have not yet awakened, place it in a cellar or any other cool and dark place. If the buds have already woken up, the pot should be placed on the window, where there will be optimal conditions for this stage of plant development - an abundance of natural light and an air temperature slightly below room temperature. In addition, for an already awakened plant, it is highly advisable to extend the daylight hours with artificial light for another 2-3 hours.

Thanks to this content in the pot, by the beginning of summer the peony root system acquires suction roots. And since their presence is required in order to plant peonies in the country in the spring, it makes sense to prepare a flowerbed only after visually examining the earthen clod. However, experienced gardeners prefer to wait until autumn, when late August - September is the optimal period for planting these plants.

If you buy seedlings with a closed root system, that is, in a pot, planting can be done at any time, the main thing is that it is warm outside and the earth is warm enough.

Varieties of garden peonies

The culture has been known since ancient times. It was grown in the gardens of ancient Greece and Rome. Doctors of that time used the root of the plant to prepare healing infusions. Chinese and Japanese breeders have been working for two millennia to create uniquely beautiful ornamental flower varieties.

The first peonies came to the territory of our country from Japan and China, but the culture became seriously widespread only in the 19th century, when English, French and Dutch specialists began breeding it. Today, domestic gardeners cultivate more than 1,000 varieties of these flowers, most of them of foreign origin. About 150 varieties and hybrids are registered in the State Register of Breeding Achievements of the Russian Federation.

A wide range allows you to choose varieties with different colors, degrees of terry, size and strength of flower aroma

In floriculture, classifications are adopted based on information about the origin of plants and their life forms. In accordance with it, three groups are distinguished:

Itoh hybrids are highly valued for their increased hardiness and the unusual yellow color characteristic of many of them.

In the time of our grandmothers, herbaceous peonies could be found in almost every garden. Despite the short (about 2-3 weeks) flowering period, gardeners liked the plants for their decorative effect, durability and ease of care. In recent decades, tree-like varieties began to appear on the plots, and then Ito hybrids, the latter becoming even more popular due to their winter hardiness and the huge variety of flower colors. Planting peonies is not considered difficult, but some nuances still exist for plants belonging to different groups.

How to choose seedlings?

In order for your garden to be decorated with lush, noble peony bushes, and not bald flower beds, you need to understand not only how to plant peonies with tubers in the spring, but also how to choose planting material wisely. In particular, when purchasing seedlings, consider the following:

1. avoid overdried seedlings with blackened buds - they are only suitable for a herbarium, but not for planting in a flower bed;
2. do not believe sellers who claim that a hopeless seedling can be revived with growth stimulants;
3. avoid stores that sell “blue” or “black” peonies - this exotic does not exist either in nature or in breeders’ nurseries;
4. Don’t chase low prices - they usually sell quality defects cheaply.

If in Soviet times amateur gardeners did not have much choice and had to take what they had, today the retail chain offers almost all the main varieties of peonies. So don't compromise and don't buy something you don't like. If suddenly your flower shop doesn’t have the variety you need, look for another store or, at worst, buy seedlings on the Internet. Moreover, today there are many specialized web resources where amateur flower growers like you exchange planting material for practically nothing.

Errors and their prevention

Gardeners often buy peony shoots in late winter and early spring. Beginners make a huge mistake that can destroy the plants: they are stored in unsuitable conditions before planting.

Peony is a perennial plant that requires a “cold start” (this also applies to hybrids). This means that the seedlings will begin to grow rhizomes only at low soil temperatures (from 0 to +10 degrees). If you keep it on a heated windowsill or near a radiator, it will produce a lot of buds. This may initially seem like a good sign. However, such shoots quickly die. This happens because at high temperatures, all nutrients from the soil go to the above-ground part (foliage). The roots quickly exhaust the remaining reserves and die.

In order not to harm the flowers, they are wrapped in plastic film and placed in the vegetable section of the refrigerator or in a cool cellar at low above-zero temperatures. You can also bury the cuttings in a snowdrift on the north side of the building. It is recommended that they remain under the snow until it melts. There is no need to worry about the shoots; this natural method of storage will not harm the plants.

When the soil warms up a little, peonies are planted in the growing bed. They are mulched on top with peat. By autumn, the shoots will take root well and will tolerate transplantation to a permanent location.

Amateur gardeners make mistakes due to which peonies do not produce buds at all or do not open them. The most common of them:

• the growth point is placed too deep in the ground (deeper than 5 centimeters) or, on the contrary, is located high above the ground (above 2-3 centimeters);
• the bushes are planted in a place that is too shaded or humid;
• the divisions are very small;
• seedlings are too large, there are not enough nutrients in the soil for flowering;
• the plant is too old and needs replanting and division;
• soil with high acidity, it must be reduced by adding lime or wood ash;
• a large amount of nitrogen fertilizers was applied;
• the buds froze in the spring (the plant must be mulched for the winter);
• the previous year the leaves were pruned early;
• the plant was affected by rot because preventive measures were not taken;
• Last season the flower was poorly watered and fertilized.

In order for a perennial plant to begin to bloom, it is necessary to eliminate the factors that impede this process. Usually a transplant to a more suitable place is necessary, carried out in accordance with all the rules and requirements. If the bushes do not bloom buds due to disease, they need to be treated with special commercial preparations (fungicides). For gray or bacterial rot, Bayleton 0.1%, Topsin M 2%, Fundazol 0.2%, Azofos help.

Features of planting peonies

Regardless of when and how you decide to plant peonies - bushes in the spring or seedlings in the fall - this undertaking will only be successful if the place for the flower bed has been chosen correctly. In order for capricious flowers not only to take root, but also to bloom profusely every year, the flowerbed must:

• well lit by the sun; if the shadow from trees or buildings covers the flowers for at least 2-3 hours a day, peonies will never bloom and will generally be stunted and weak;
• be moderately hydrated, since a lack of moisture does not allow the plant to develop normally, and its excess provokes rotting of the root system;
• have normal air circulation, which prevents the occurrence of diseases such as gray mold;
• be protected from strong winds that can damage stems and flowers;
• be located away from stone and metal surfaces, which quickly heat up in the sun and create an oven effect in the flower garden that is disastrous for peonies.

Thus, obviously the most suitable place for planting peonies is a clearing in the central part of the garden, where delicate peonies will be protected from the winds, where there is no shade and normal air circulation is ensured.

Selecting a location

Peonies are extremely light-loving plants. They need to be planted in an open place, if possible protected from the wind, no closer than two meters from bushes and buildings. There should be at least 3–4 meters to the trunks of fruit trees so that air exchange is not disturbed.

Almost any soil will do. The ideal option is well-cultivated, nutritious, loamy, neutral and slightly acidic. On sandy soil, the plant quickly produces resources and ages early. Very acidic soils are not suitable for growing peonies, but this problem can be corrected - just add ash, bone meal or dolomite meal to the planting hole. But it is almost impossible to adapt waterlogged places for successful cultivation of peonies.

Planting seedlings in open ground

When it comes to peonies, the default is to plant seedlings. It is this method that is most widespread because it is simpler and more reliable. However, you can plant peonies in the spring using seeds, which we will talk about a little later.

Before you begin planting work, you need to prepare a place for peonies. It is recommended to make the planting hole several weeks before the planned planting time. This is necessary so that the soil in the hole has time to settle.

The planting hole itself should be quite large, even if you are planting a very tiny seedling: the depth and width are about 50-70 centimeters. The main point of creating such a large “basement” is to create a sufficiently large volume of loose soil under the bush. The fact is that peonies grow very poorly in dense virgin soil, their rhizomes always develop along the path of least resistance, and in unprepared soil the root system spreads in the surface layer rather than going deep down. And since the surface layers contain little moisture, the plant becomes frail and sickly.

So, the planting hole should be filled more than half with a mixture of organic fertilizers, soil, bone meal and phosphates. The upper third of the hole is filled with ordinary soil removed from the hole earlier.

When planting peonies in low-lying areas with groundwater close to the surface, it is recommended to make a raised flower bed. Water will drain from the bulk bed faster, which means that peonies will not be threatened by root rot.

How to properly prepare a planting hole

You need to prepare the planting hole for the peony in advance, preferably in the fall, but you can do it 3-4 weeks before the event. First you need to choose a suitable place, following these recommendations:

• Flowers should be planted in a well-lit place, on the south or southwest side of the site. Peonies will take root in partial shade, but their flowering will be less lush and longer.
• The flowerbed should be protected from drafts and sharp gusts of wind, but with good access to fresh air.
• The distance between peonies and outbuildings should reach 100-150 cm.
• You cannot plant flowers in lowlands, wetlands, and places with close groundwater. You also need to take care of drainage in advance, since crops do not tolerate stagnant moisture at the roots.
• Peonies prefer light, fertile loam with a neutral or slightly alkaline reaction. If the soil on the site is too dense, then it is worth diluting it with peat or sand.

You need to prepare the place for planting according to the following instructions:

1. Dig a hole with a depth of 80 cm and a diameter of 70 cm.
2. Place a layer of drainage 10-15 cm thick at the bottom. To do this, use broken brick or slate, expanded clay, fine crushed stone or coarse sand.
3. Thoroughly mix half of the excavated soil with compost or humus (10 l), wood ash (300 g) and superphosphate (100 g). If the soil is acidic, then it is worth adding slaked lime (150-200 g) to it.
4. Fill the planting hole with the mixture. Sprinkle with the remaining excavated soil, forming a small mound.

The prepared area can be covered with film to prevent rapid evaporation of moisture.

Planting peonies from seeds

Using seeds is another way to plant peonies in spring. True, it can be called spring with a certain degree of convention, since the preparatory stage takes many months. In addition, you don’t even have to ask whether peonies planted from seeds in the spring will bloom - of course not. Seedlings produce their first flowers only in the fifth or sixth year of life.

If you already have mature peony bushes, you don’t have to buy seeds - you can use your own. The “harvest” should be collected in early autumn, when the seed pods on the bushes open slightly. If you simply plant them in the ground right away, they will sprout only in the second or third year. Therefore, it is recommended to use a more sophisticated technique.

The collected seeds are planted not in open ground, but in a pot, which, however, is still left outside until spring. At the beginning of March, the pot of seeds should be brought into a warm room and stored until the onset of April or May warmth. Only after this can the seedlings be planted in open ground.

As you can see, the answer to the question whether it is possible to plant peonies in the spring is quite affirmative. But there are specifics here that you should be aware of.

How to plant peonies in spring

After digging the hole and laying the drainage layer, it’s time to start preparing the soil mixture to fill the hole. It is prepared from:

• top fertile layer of soil;
• 1-2 buckets of old humus;
• 1-2 buckets of peat.

Fertilizing peonies in the spring is limited to adding a glass of nitrophoska or four tablespoons of special fertilizer for roses and flowers to the filling mixture.

To plant peonies, you will need a flat rod about 80 centimeters long, a ruler and a large scoop. Don't forget to wear gloves - there will be painstaking work with wet soil.

Planting technology:

1. Fill the hole with the mixture to ⅔ depth. Place in small portions and press down thoroughly.
2. Place a mound of earth in the remaining volume of the hole.
3. Place the division on a hill so that the buds located on the rhizome are buried 4-5 cm below the surface. To comply with this condition, place a strip on the edges of the pit and measure the distance from it to the kidneys with a ruler.
4. Cover the area with soil.
5. Water, use at least a bucket of water.
6. Mulch the soil with loose material in a layer of about 3 cm.

After planting, the buds should be at a depth of 4-5 cm. This is very important. If the planting is deeper, the plant will bloom only after many years. To ensure that the planted plot does not sag after watering, it is necessary to carefully compact the underlying layers.

Enemies of peony and flower diseases

Life in open ground is dangerous for any plant if it does not have a reliable protector. Your task is to protect your pet from pests such as aphids, bronze beetles, root nematodes and various caterpillars.

Bronzovka is removed mechanically, collecting it from the bush and destroying it. The same is done with caterpillars, additionally spraying the bushes with aconite infusion.

The root nematode can be destroyed using complex fertilizers and adding plants that are dangerous to the pest to peonies.

Spraying with chlorophos solution helps get rid of aphids.

Diseases

Dangerous diseases of peonies are caused by fungi. Gray rot, rust, brown spot - all these are fungal diseases.

Gray rot begins to attack at the base of the peony stem. A characteristic gray coating spreads to the leaves and small buds of the flower. The stem dries and breaks, the leaves and buds turn black. For control, the plant is treated with fungicides; to prevent the disease, the soil is loosened, peonies are planted sparsely, and foliage and stems are carefully removed after autumn pruning.

Yellow-brown spots on the surface of the leaves are a sign of rust. Fungal spores can be found on the underside of the leaf. Under its influence, the leaves of the plant curl and dry out. Fungicides are used for treatment.

Brown and white spotting appears as small brown spots on the lower surface of the leaves. As the fungus develops, it affects the entire leaf, and the spots become lighter. Both leaves and shoots die. Spraying the bushes with Bordeaux mixture, celandine or copper oxychloride, carried out in early spring, helps prevent the disease.

When figuring out why peonies do not bloom, check that they are properly cared for. Plants planted shallowly, in the wrong place, frequently transplanted, or disturbed during the growth period will certainly refuse to bloom. Determine the cause and eliminate it.

As beautiful as peonies are in photos, they are so beautiful in real life. However, remember that the beauty of a flower is in your hands. Only competent and timely care of the plant allows you to admire its lush and fragrant flowers for many years.

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Peonies after flowering

Peonies have faded - what to do? Peonies bloom in late May or early June. Remove all faded flowers, after two weeks, apply a third fertilizing with phosphorus and potassium fertilizers and continue to water the plants regularly. In August, watering should become more abundant, since the period of formation of replacement buds begins, and the plant will need moisture.

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Preparing for winter

When the leaves and stems of peonies begin to turn yellow, watering should be gradually reduced, and when frost sets in, the above-ground part of the bush should be cut back almost to soil level. If you replanted old peonies or planted new ones in the fall, you will have to cover this area with a layer of peat mulch of 5-7 cm so that the weak peonies after transplantation feel comfortable in winter. In the spring, when peonies sprout, the mulch layer can be removed.

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In the photo: Peony seeds

Peonies in winter

Peonies spend the winter in the garden. Old bushes are not afraid of frost, and if you have covered young peonies for the winter, you can rest assured that your flowers will not die.

How not to go wrong with the variety

Many varieties sometimes cause many difficulties when choosing. We will tell you in more detail about the most popular and in demand in the Moscow region and the Moscow region. So, the following varieties are appreciated by leading flower growers:

• tree-like;
• herbaceous.

The first, in turn, are represented by the following varieties - European, Japanese, hybrid of Delaway and Yellow.

In the series of herbaceous plants, they stand out favorably - “Maryin root”, medicinal (common), narrow-leaved, Mlokosevich, Milk-flowered.

In addition, varieties also differ in the shape of the buds and the timing of ripening - double, non-double, semi-double, anemoid, early, medium, late.

When choosing varieties, take this information into account and make a bold purchase. By the way, in the nursery, in addition to peonies, you can also buy seedlings of ornamental shrubs at a profit. .