All you need to know about peony growing

Did you know that peonies can live and grow in one place for more than 50 years! Yes, that is true and you should choose carefully the place before planting them. A sunny location protected from drafts is best. Strong winds will harm the plant because wind will crack the beautiful and huge flowers. Winds are not good for the overall growth and also negatively affect the arrangement of buds. Midday shade is ideal, mainly if you want to admire flowers for as long as possible, because continuous sunlight shortens the flowering period and petals will fall faster.

Planting

The ideal time for planting is early spring or autumn (from mid-August to the end of September). This will give the plant enough time to get strong and survive the upcoming winter. Peonies will grow in almost any soil as long as it is a well-drained soil. Overly wet and moist soil is not good. The soil pH should range from 6 to 6.5. If you have acidic soil, you need to add lime or dolomite powder before planting. Create a drainage layer (crushed stone, broken brick, pebbles) at the bottom of the planting hole and put a bit of sand on top. Pour water in and wait for it to soak in.

Photo: Pixabay

Soil

The ideal soil should be a mix of humus, peat and garden soil in equal proportions. You can also add nutrients such as bone powder or superphosphate. Use the mixture to cover roots in the hole. The root neck should be at the ground level, but a good ideas is to cover it with about a layer of soil or peat about three-centimetre thick. This protects the plant from frost and allows it to grow faster. Peonies do not bloom in the first year.

Care

Peonies need to be watered regularly, especially in the first year after planting. They need quite a lot of water (about 6 to 7 litters for each bush every two weeks). If summer months are too hot, water more often. However, from August onwards, you should gradually reduce watering until you stop completely. A good idea is to remove weeds, especially after watering, when weeds become loose. A layer of mulch around each peony will reduce weed growth and help you to maintain moisture.

Winter preparation

You need to protect young plants from frost during the first three years. Cover peonies with soil or peat (10 to 15 cm thick) in fall. If frosts reach -5 to -7 °C, you need to wrap the plant with a textile fabric folded in several layers but before you do that, tie the branches together with a rope so, that they will not break under the weight of the snow. Remove the fabric early in the spring. Adult bushes are fully frost-resistant down to -25 °C. You may weight several years before your peonies start blooming because they need to grow sufficiently big and become woody and create plenty of young shoots.

Source: https://vsaduidoma.com/…yu/

Preview photo: Pixabay