Fine-leaved peony is a herbaceous perennial or shrub with pinnately compound leaves and single flowers from 5 to 7 cm in diameter. Belongs to the peony family. It grows in South-Eastern Europe and the Caucasus, usually in meadows, in the steppe. The height of the bushes is about 30-50 cm. The leaves are twice (sometimes thrice) trifoliate, linear-lanceolate lobes. The flowers are mostly raspberry, but some are white and pink.
Peony is an unpretentious flower, but it requires certain conditions. He likes to grow in a sunny and open place. A slight dimming is acceptable during the midday hours. Peonies can grow even in deep shade, but bloom in such a place - no. To avoid the development of diseases, it is necessary to plant plants at a distance from trees, shrubs, buildings (for air circulation).
Thin-leaved peony is watered infrequently, but plentifully - for each adult bush, two or three buckets of water in order to wet the soil right up to the depth of the root composition. For convenience, you can dig drainage pipes (50 cm long) near the bushes and pour water into them. After watering, be sure to loosen the ground to help retain moisture in the soil and improve aeration. It also keeps unwanted weeds from growing.
The peony flower is propagated by layering,vegetatively, dividing the bush. The most promising is the last method. Bushes grown from seeds bloom only in the fourth or fifth year. It is best to plant freshly harvested seeds. Then they can germinate in the spring of next year. It should be sown in August in moist, loose soil. Lying seeds germinate only in the second or third year.
The use of root cuttings shows the highest multiplication rate. The planting unit in this case is a small piece of rhizome with a small dormant bud. It is separated from the bush in July, and in September it takes root. But these cuttings develop too slowly and bloom only in the fifth year.
Fine-leaved peony can be planted and replanted only in autumn. It is important to immediately choose the right, good place for them. And prepare it at least a month before planting. Given the fact that over time the plants will grow strongly, they should be placed no closer than 1 meter from each other. The pit should be 60x60x60cm in size. Fill it two-thirds with a mixture of compost or humus, sand, peat and garden soil (one bucket each). 500 g of bone meal, one teaspoon of potash, one tablespoon of ferrous vitriol and 900 g of wood ash are added to this mixture. The space that remains must be filled with ordinary garden soil. The soil in the hole will be compacted by the time of planting and will not sag in the future.
Feeding a flower - watering, top dressing, mulching. Before frosts, in late autumn, the stems must be cut correctly - at the level of the soil and then burned. Sprinkle the rest of the stems with ashes (3 handfuls for each bush).
In order to avoid diseases and pests, thin-leaved peony in the spring, after the appearance of young shoots, is treated with copper oxychloride or Bordeaux liquid, pouring three liters of solution under adult bushes. This should be repeated three times at ten-day intervals.
