Want to diversify the appearance of your garden, but do not know which plants to choose? We advise you to plant tree-like peonies in your area. In terms of the complexity of care and cultivation, they do not differ from their most common herbal counterparts, but are characterized by higher growth and large, lush, unusually fragrant inflorescences. Today in our article we will talk about how to plant, grow, care for plants and what varieties of tree peonies are the most popular.
Origin and distribution
China is considered the birthplace of the peony, where even now this flower is very loved and revered. In the Celestial Empire, the peony is majestically called the King of Flowers. A special role in the spread of this culture fell to the lot of Buddhist monks. Traveling around the country, they always brought seeds of varieties from different regions with them to new monasteries. More than 10,000 tree varieties have been bred in China.peonies (pictured), most of which are the result of recent times.
In Russia, until the end of the 30-40s of the last century, peonies were grown exclusively in greenhouses. The reason for this was the low winter hardiness of imported varieties.
Description of a tree peony
Often the following reviews can be heard about tree-like flowers: they do not grow, they freeze out, they do not bloom. Indeed, in too harsh climatic zones, the flower freezes out, and with improper planting and poor care, it may not bloom. However, in similar situations, this also happens with other garden plants.
Before you want to start growing a tree flower yourself, you need to understand what this plant is and what exactly it is.
The plant is a deciduous shrub. Depending on the variety, its height varies from one to two meters. The stems of the tree peony are thick, erect, have a not too bright brown tint, and are not subject to dying off in the autumn. Peonies have beautiful openwork doubly pinnate leaves and large - 12-20 cm in diameter - inflorescences. Flowers come in:
- plain and terry;
- one and two color.
The number of flower buds depends on the age of the plant and increases as it matures. Flowering begins in May-June and lasts for two to three weeks. Unlike herbaceous, these peonies are more frost-resistant. By the way, their flowering also begins earlier, on average by two weeks.
Varieties can be divided into three groups:
- Chinese-European. They have large, double, very heavy flowers, and therefore with drooping inflorescences. Pale pink to fuchsia color.
- Japanese - not too large flowers, light, as if hovering over the bush.
- Hybrids of Delaway and yellow peony. They belong to the most popular variety group with yellow flowers.
We present to your attention a photo of a tree-like peony of the Sapphire variety.
Growing Secrets
Not every amateur grower can grow these plants, many consider the peony to be a capricious flower. But this is not entirely true, in many respects the success of cultivation depends on the correct agricultural technology. Consider some of the subtleties in growing tree peonies:
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Grafted plants of this species must be immediately planted in a permanent place, they are extremely painful to transplant.
- When choosing a landing site, you should pay attention to the fact that there are no trees and other shrubs nearby, and that there is sun in the morning and evening, and partial shade in the afternoon. In the sun, lush flowers fade very quickly and bloom is shorter.
- It is necessary to protect plants from drafts.
- Too damp and waterlogged during the spring, the areas are not suitable for growing plants.
- For peonies, alkaline soil is preferablereaction than with acid.
- If the roots of the seedling are too dry, it is necessary to soak them in water for about 30 minutes before planting.
Grafted or own-rooted?
Tree peonies can be grafted or own rooted. Both have their own shortcomings and features, which must be taken into account when growing. Care requirements may also vary slightly.
Under optimal conditions, rooted peonies live a very long time - more than twenty years (and theoretically 200). They are hardy, tolerate winter well, and are resistant to various diseases. Easily propagated by dividing the bush. The disadvantages include the prolonged time before flowering: it lasts from 4 to 5 years after the planting. Plants grow up to 70 centimeters by this time.
Grafted tree peonies grow fast, and flowering begins, if not in the first year, then the next for sure. The rootstock for these plants are the most hardy and particularly resistant varieties of herbaceous peonies. They grow very quickly, on average, about 50 centimeters per year. Among the shortcomings, the following can be distinguished:
- Such peonies are not durable, because the herbaceous plants on which they are grafted grow rapidly, become hollow inside and eventually rot.
- Grafted peonies cannot be propagated by dividing the bush.
When purchasing a peony for planting, pay close attentionattention to his appearance. The roots of grafted and rooted are strikingly different from each other. The former are more like the roots of a herbaceous plant - they are thicker, 4-5 centimeters in diameter. In the second species, they are thin, longer and numerous, light brown in color. Experienced gardeners recommend growing both species on the plot at the same time: while one will develop and reach flowering age, the other will bloom magnificently.
Tree peony: planting and care in the open field
Planting this type of peonies is best done after August 15 and until mid-September. The soil is preferable to choose loamy. In the event that you have sandy soil on the site, you need to add humus, soddy soil, peat and clay to it. Clay soil is improved with sand and organic matter.
The choice of land is perhaps the most important condition for planting this crop. After all, tree-like plants are long-lived, and with proper care, they can fully grow for more than a dozen years.
Landing
Special attention must be paid to planting. On a site with groundwater, a landing hole is dug in the form of a cone with a diameter at the surface of 70 centimeters, a depth of the same size. At the bottom of the hole, a layer of broken brick, sand or gravel is poured with a layer of about 30 centimeters. 300 grams of bone meal or lime is added to acidic soil, after which the earth is poured with a cone, a peony seedling is placed in it and watered with plenty of water - this procedure is performed in order to properlyroots straightened out. When all the water is absorbed into the soil, the hole is covered with earth, carefully making sure that the root collar (required!) Is on the surface. The distance of plants from each other when planting should be at least two meters.
Growing peonies from seeds
The most difficult way to grow these plants. Under the best circumstances, the flowering of a peony grown from seeds can begin six years after planting. In addition, due to the underdevelopment of the embryo of the seeds of tree-like peonies, they must be subjected to mandatory stratification. It is carried out in two ways: first warm, then cold. But even the implementation of these complex manipulations does not give any guarantee that all efforts will succeed.
Care
Only a small part of the huge variety of these plants is shown in the photo. Tree peonies are undemanding in care, but they love an attentive attitude. In the event that you do not know how to care for them, treat them exactly the same as with grassy counterparts. Watering should be with the same frequency and intensity. Loosening the soil after watering should be carried out regularly (within a radius of 50 cm and no deeper than 5 cm), weeds should be removed, and the soil should be mulched. We remind you of the irrigation regime: twice a month we pour seven liters of water under each bush, on hot days we water more often. We have been reducing it since August and will soon stop completely.
Feeding
When caring for tree peonies, do not forget about timely feeding. It must be remembered that peonies of this species are considered champions in the consumption of nitrogen and potassium. At the very beginning of the growing season, plants must be fed with nitrogen. Caring for tree-like peonies (bright representatives of this type of plant in the photo) at the time of laying their buds and until the end of the growing season has its own characteristics. It should be remembered that plants are especially in dire need of phosphorus and potassium, and directly during the flowering period we add the same nitrogen to them. By the way, overfeeding a plant with this trace element can develop a predisposition to gray rot in it. Just before fertilizing, be sure to water the soil well with water to protect plants from burns later.
First bloom
It often happens that the first flowers do not reflect all the beauty of their variety. Most often this occurs in representatives of terry and varieties with "fantasy" petals. They begin to correspond to their variety from the second or third year of flowering. The very first flower on the plant in the first year must be removed so that it accumulates strength in order for new inflorescences to fully develop.
If there are two flowers on a peony in the first bloom, the top one is removed before it opens, but only when it has fully gained color. In the case when this happens earlier, the probability of death of the shoot growth point is high. The second flower is removed after full opening.
Cutting
Tree peonies tolerate pruning quite well, and new ones quickly form on themshoots. At the very beginning of spring, peonies are given a rejuvenating pruning, while shortening the shoots to a growth point. If there are sprouts frozen in winter, they are removed in late spring.
When starting pruning, you must remember that flowers bloom on last year's shoots. Plants that are more than 10 years old are cut under the "stump". To get larger flowers, gardeners are advised to remove a third of the formed buds. In grafted tree-like peonies, root shoots from the rootstock begin to form, which must be removed so that it does not interfere with the full development of the plant.
Preparing for winter
This type of plant is fairly winter-hardy, it is not afraid of frost. But a damp and too warm autumn is unfavorable: the peony continues to grow and does not have time to “fall asleep” and prepare for the cold. Therefore, the plant must be prepared for winter as follows:
- It is recommended to stop watering at the end of summer.
- If the last month of summer and the beginning of autumn are rainy, it is recommended to make canopies to protect the bushes from excess moisture.
- Dig deep around the trunk circles and mulch the ground abundantly.
- In early October, it is necessary to trim the leaves to 2/3 of the length.
- Insulate peonies with any of the covering materials, but it is better to roll it up in several layers. We do not wrap the bottom of the plant so that there is air access.
Varieties. Souvenir de Maxime Cornu
We offer an overview of the most popular varieties of tree peony withphoto of a wide variety of shades, with terry and non-terry petals.
This variety belongs to the yellow peony hybrid. Grows in height up to 150 centimeters. The flower is nodding, heavy, its diameter is 16 centimeters, densely double, very voluminous. The color is yellow, along the edges of the petals there is a carmine-pink border. Abundantly leafy plant with juicy green leaves. It has an incredibly light, pleasant aroma. It is one of the very first yellow peony hybrids, unsurpassed in beauty, and therefore is particularly popular. Perfectly preserved when cut.
Vesuvius
Vesuvius tree peony variety grows up to 75 centimeters. Numerous crimson-red petals. The flowers have pale yellow anthers and short red filaments. Pale green pistils with purple stigmas.
Gauguin
The height of the bush reaches 120 centimeters. The flowers are very large, rich crimson-red hue. The petals have dark crimson veins, along the very edge with a magenta tint. The staminodial disc is a deep dark pink. The stamens are quite large, the filaments are dark red.
Marianna
Tree variety of peonies, very compact. Grows up to 140 centimeters. The petals are arranged in three rows, the edges are corrugated. The color of the petals is pale salmon, with a dark crimson spot. Staminodial disk of juicy beet color. The leaves are bright green in color.
Kuindzhi
Planthybrid variety. The flowers are non-double, with wide petals of a bright yellow color, at the base there is a red spot. The flower has staminate filaments and a yellow stigma, the staminodial disc has an open shape, a bright red color. With a very gentle and exciting aroma. A flower grows up to one and a half meters, sprawling. It blooms not too long, but plentifully. The peony variety has a late flowering period.
Coral
Another variety of tree peonies, hybrid. The plant has non-double flowers, with a red spot at the base and red-purple petals. The staminodial disc and the stigma are a very delicate pink. Filaments are purple. Leaves are juicy green. Among all common tree peonies, this variety is considered one of the best. A plant of low growth, grows up to one meter. It has an unusually delicate aroma.
