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If the rose is considered the queen of the garden, then the peony deservedly takes the place of the king of the garden. During the flowering period, it is impossible to see enough of its beauty. And the aroma is simply mesmerizing and alluring. This wonderful plant is simply a must for every flower lover and it is not in vain that gardeners are very enthusiastically collecting an increasing number of varieties and types of peony in their garden. However, for the successful cultivation of a peony, a sufficient stock of knowledge is required so that the result of cultivation meets our expectations.

There is an opinion that peonies should be planted in the fall, and spring planting of peonies causes different opinions among gardeners. Some believe that during the active growth of the aerial part, the root system will suffer and deplete, as a result of which the plant will deplete, immunity will suffer, the plant will develop slowly and weakly, and there will be no flowering. But this is not true. Adventitious roots of peonies grow equally intensively both in spring and autumn. Therefore, the correct and timely spring planting of a peony will not negatively affect its development in any way. However, during spring planting, it is necessary to observe the optimal timing.

Consider the main questions that gardeners have when buying and planting peonies in the spring.

Methods for storing peony rhizomes.

If you purchased peony tubers with an open root system early enough in January-March, then you can choose two options for storing planting material before planting in the garden.

In the first option, you can send peonies for storage in the basement, in the refrigerator, on the glazed loggia, after placing them in sphagnum moss or vermiculite. Periodically, you will need to check the condition of the rhizome. The optimum storage temperature should be 4-5 ° C. However, it is not always possible to restrain the growth of shoots. If the buds begin to wake up on the rhizome and shoots appear, a transplant into the ground will be required. However, there must be a suitable time for transplanting into the ground, so I think it is preferable to choose the second storage method.

In the second variantimmediately after purchase, the peony rhizome should be placed in a spacious container with nutrient soil, deepening the grafting site by 3-5 cm. The best way, I think, is planting the peony not in a container, but in a cardboard box of the required size. In the case of planting in a cardboard box, transplanting a peony into a planting pit can be done right in the box, thereby preserving an earthen ball without disturbing or damaging the roots, which will definitely form by the time of planting. The survival rate of the peony in this case will be better, since the peony will hardly notice this. The cardboard box itself will naturally rot in the ground during the first season. After the rhizome of the peony is placed in a box, it must be removed to a cool place in the basement or refrigerator, where the temperature will not exceed + 5 ° C. Closer to spring, the awakening of the kidneys will begin on the rhizome,

If peonies were bought quite late at the end of March or in April and without clearly awakened buds and without new shoots, you can try to overexpose them a little in a cool place until mid-April, and transplant them immediately into the ground when the soil thaws sufficiently to the desired depth (on average by 30-35 cm).

When to plant peonies in the ground?

In the Middle lane and in the Moscow region, peonies can be planted in the ground in April, when the soil thaws to a depth of at least 30-35 cm. At the same time, it is worth focusing on weather conditions. It is important to have time to plant a peony in the ground a couple of weeks before the onset of the spring heat. After planting a peony in the ground for reinsurance against possible spring frosts, it is necessary to make a small shelter, you can put arcs and cover over the arcs with a spunbond. It is possible to deepen the kidney during planting by no more than 3-5 cm. Having deepened the kidney more, you can not get a peony bloom at all.

When planting in spring, there are always some difficulties, since you may encounter adverse weather conditions, with frozen and non-thawing soil for a long time, with the possibility of damaging fragile awakened buds and sprouts, insufficient root growth, as a result of which the plant may die. But if the planting material has already been purchased, then it is necessary to strictly observe the rules of spring planting and carefully, in compliance with the planting date and conditions, plant the plant in the ground.

Choosing a place for a peony in the garden.

If you want your peony to bloom beautifully, and the bush itself to look luxurious, then it is very important to choose the right place to plant it. To do this, you must follow some rules. Peony loves a sunny place, so it should be planted in places that are as bright as possible during the day, slight shading is possible only during the hottest daytime hours. In the shade, the peony will not bloom at all. He does not like a dense planting, he needs enough space, so he should be allocated at least 1 m in diameter, and preferably 1.5 m. Do not plant him too close to the fence, buildings, under trees or shrubs, give him space. You can not plant a peony in heavy clay soil and in wet places where groundwater can be at a depth of less than 1 meter. Peony prefers fertile, light soil with slightly alkaline or neutral acidity. Cultivated loam is ideal. It should not be planted in places where drafts and cold winds.

How to plant a peony in the ground?

Before planting a peony in soil with an open root system, you must first inspect the rhizome, remove places of rot and damage, soak the rhizome in a weak solution of MAXIM (5 ml per bucket of water) or in a weak solution of potassium permanganate (potassium permanganate) for about an hour , treat the sections with ash .

Prepare a planting hole about 35 cm deep. The calculation of the depth of the pit should be taking into account 3-5 cm, by which it is necessary to deepen the kidney. It is always better to make a wider planting hole than a deep one, so that the root system does not grow in depth, but in width. With this growth of the root system, it will be easier to dig up a plant for transplanting or dividing a bush, and with such a planting, the bush will be more massive in diameter. Add a little ash, humus to the pit, mix everything, pour a bucket of water, place the plant there and carefully cover it with earth, trying not to damage the young sprouts and not deepening the buds, then water the trunk circle again, for this you can use the remaining solution with Maxim, in which the rhizome was soaked. When planting, you need to shed the peony as much as possible, this will provide him with better survival.

Will peonies bloom in the year of planting, planted in the spring?

The flowering of a peony planted in spring is not worth waiting for. Also, do not wait for the flowering of a peony planted in the fall. In the first year of planting, if buds form, then it is better to remove them. Peony flowering can occur after 2 years, and some varieties after 3 years. As an example, I will give the Coral Charm peony, which first bloomed in my garden only in the fourth year and gave me one large bud and one very small one.

For the second season, only 1 bud should be left at the peony. After opening, it must be cut short, check for compliance with varietal parameters. If there are differences, then the procedure with one bud will have to be repeated until the moment when the correspondence is complete. This can happen in 4-5 years. When planting a seedling at the age of 3-4 years, flowering will occur the next season.

Friends, share your experience, tips and observations about growing peony in the comments. Advise gardeners on the peony varieties you like, talk about them.

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