What is the meaning and flower language of peony?
Today, we will introduce the meaning and flower language of peony, as well as some small experiences in plant cultivation to understand the symbolic meaning of peony. Next, we will provide a comprehensive introduction.
Nickname of peony: Willpart, Parting Grass, Last Spring, Yu Rong, Li Shi, Boneless Flower, Black Pull夷, Red Medicine, etc.
I. Flower Language
Its flower shape is large, with bright and diverse colors, comparable to peonies, and it is deeply loved by people. Its flower language is beautiful and moving, with deep affection, difficulty in parting, and reluctant to let go. It is usually used to express the feeling of parting, and is therefore also known as 'Willpart Grass'.
II. Symbolic Meaning
Just like peonies, peonies are also flowers of wealth and rank, symbolizing beauty and nobility. In ancient times, people exchanged them to convey longing, expressing their思念 for each other, as well as parting and sadness. In addition, it also symbolizes steadfast friendship.
III. Legends
It is said that, like peonies, they are not ordinary flowers. In one year, a plague broke out among humans, and the flower god or the fairy girl stole the fairy pills from the Queen Mother of the West and sprinkled them in the mortal world, some of which turned into peonies and others into peonies. Therefore, the leaves and rhizomes of both peonies and peonies can be used as medicine.
Morphological Characteristics
It prefers sunlight and is drought-resistant. The developmental changes of peony plants throughout the year, following the rhythms of the climate, are mainly manifested as alternating cycles of growth and dormancy periods. Among them, the vernalization stage of the dormancy period and the photoperiodic stage of the growth period are the most critical. The vernalization stage of peony requires a low temperature of 0℃ for about 40 days to complete. Then the mixed buds can germinate and grow. Peony is a long-day plant, and the flower buds need to develop and bloom under long-day conditions. After the mixed buds germinate, if the lighting time is insufficient or under short-day conditions, they usually only grow leaves and do not bloom or have abnormal blooming.
Roots
The roots consist of three parts: the root neck, tuberous root, and fibrous root. The root neck (different from the "rhizome," the root neck is a root, and the rhizome is a stem) is the upper part of the root, with a darker color and bearing buds; the tuberous root grows below the root neck, fleshy, robust, spindle-shaped or cylindrical, 0.6-3.5 cm in diameter, with a light brown or grayish-purple exterior and white interior, rich in nutrients. The tuberous root generally does not directly produce buds, but can germinate smaller new buds after breaking. Therefore, collecting broken roots 5 cm or more in the fall can also be used for propagation. Fibrous roots mainly grow from the tuberous roots, are the main organs for absorbing water and nutrients, and can gradually evolve into tuberous roots. According to the appearance of the roots, peony roots are generally divided into three types: thick-root type, sloping-root type, and uniform-root type. Thick-root type has sparse and thick roots; sloping-root type has roots extending in all directions, with uneven thickness; uniform-root type has roots with appropriate density and uniform thickness. The roots can be used as medicine.
Buds
They grow in clusters on the root neck, fleshy, overwintering underground in winter, and sprouting out of the ground in early spring as the temperature rises. Initially, they are water red to light purple, or also yellow, and after growing out of the ground, the color deepens, generally becoming deep purple, protected by scales. Peony buds are mixed buds, developing into both reproductive organs - flowers, and nutritional organs - stems and leaves. Before germination, the buds are 2.5-4 cm long. The color and shape of the buds also vary depending on the variety, from deep purple to brown, and the bud shapes can be divided into three types: short-round, bamboo shoot-shaped, and pen tip-shaped. Short-round type has short buds with a rounded tip; bamboo shoot-shaped type has longer buds with an acute tip, resembling bamboo shoots; pen tip-shaped type has longer buds with a gradually pointed tip, resembling the tip of a pen. Peony germination is one of the most spectacular scenes, as it embodies the sprouting and vitality of life, and therefore has high ornamental value.
Stems
They grow in clusters from the roots, about 50-110 cm tall, herbaceous, with a cylindrical base, upper part multi-angled, some twisted, some straight, and the sun-exposed part often showing a purple-red hue.
Leaves
The lower part has two-pinnate compound leaves, with the terminal end consisting of three small leaves forming a bundle, and two bundles on each side, usually consisting of four small leaves each. The middle compound leaves have the same three small leaves at the terminal end, while the number of small leaves on the sides begins to decrease, from the original four gradually reducing to three, two, or one, or even disappearing. When disappearing, only three small leaves remain at the terminal end, forming a three-pinnate compound leaf, and the upper leaves are single. The leaves are 20-24 cm long, with small leaves being elliptical, narrowly ovate, or needle-shaped, with long and pointed tips, slightly wavy margins, and dense white bony fine teeth. The leaf surface has yellow-green, green, and deep green colors, while the back is mostly粉 green, with or without hair. Peony leaves also have ornamental value, as the phrase "Red lanterns glittering green dragon" refers to the leaves, so they can also be used as ornamental foliage plants.
Flower Buds
Peony buds are mixed buds, belonging to the underground bud type, which germinate and extend both flowering branches and leaves after emerging from the ground. The mixed bud is a complex of various primordia, including the apical growth point, bud scales, axillary bud primordia within the bud scales, leaf primordia, axillary bud primordia within the leaf primordia, bract primordia, sepal primordia, petal primordia, stamen primordia, and pistil primordia. This bud is called the maternal bud, while the axillary bud primordia within the bud scales and leaf primordia are the original bodies of the daughter buds. The daughter buds without bud scales are naked buds, while those with bud scales are scaly buds. In the spring, the scaly buds germinate, and the daughter naked buds follow the extension of the internodes of the maternal mixed buds to emerge from the ground, forming flower branches or branches on the trunk; their daughter scaly buds do not emerge from the ground. After the above-ground part withers in the fall, the daughter scaly buds at the top of the peony root neck become the "top buds." In fact, peony only has one top bud, which is the top bud of the seedling after seed germination. The following year, this daughter scaly bud germinates from the ground, extends branches, unfolds leaves, and blooms. Therefore, the life cycle of the naked bud is 2 years, while the life cycle of the scaly bud is 3 years.
Peony underground bud axillary buds appear around August, with the apical growth point gradually forming bud scale primordia from the outside to the inside. By the following May, four bud scales have been formed around the growth point. By the end of June, the bud scales have differentiated. Then, the apical growth point begins to form leaf primordia, which have multiple finger-like protuberances, while the bud scale primordia have only 1-3. The differentiation of leaf primordia ends from the first ten days of August to the first ten days of September.
Flower Buds
The shapes include round peach, flat peach, oblate peach, pointed peach, long peach, pointed peach,歪尖 peach, long pointed peach, and flat peach, among others. The outer sepals are 5, lanceolate, green, decreasing in size from bottom to top; the inner sepals are 3 (not including variants), green or yellow-green, sometimes with yellow-white stripes or purple-red stripes, and are obovate, broadly ovate, circular, elliptical, or irregular in shape.
Flowers
Usually singly borne at the top or near the top of the stem, or in some rare varieties, two or three flowers together. The original species has white flowers, 8-11 cm in diameter, with 5-13 petals, obovate, many stamens, yellow filaments, a shallow cup-shaped floral disk wrapping the base of the carpels, with a rounded tip, carpels 3-5, hairless or pubescent, with a beak at the top. Horticultural varieties have a rich range of colors, including white, pink, red, purple, yellow, green, black, and bicolors, with flower diameters of 10-30 cm, petals up to a hundred or more, and some varieties even have 880 petals, with variable flower shapes. The flowering period is from May to June, and the fruiting period is in August.
Fruits
Siliquae, spindle-shaped, elliptical, or bottle-shaped; smooth or with fine pubescence, with a small projection. 2-8 separate, formed by single carpels, with one chamber, containing 5-7 seeds. Has medicinal value.
Seeds
Black or dark brown, large seeds, round, oblong, or pointed.
Growing Environment
Peony is cold-resistant, fertilizing, flood-resistant, prefers moist soil but also drought-resistant, sunny, and cool in summer. Container-grown peonies are prone to leaf burning in the hot summer sun and should be shaded. Peony has a fleshy root system with long roots, so it should be planted in fertile, well-drained sandy loam soil. Planting in clay and low-lying waterlogged areas can cause root rot.
Peony should not be transplanted frequently after planting, as this can damage the roots and affect growth and flowering. To ensure good growth of peony, it needs to be fertilized reasonably every year.
For container-grown peony, cut off the withered branches and leaves after Frost's Descent to prevent the spread of diseases and pests. During the winter, there is no need to move it indoors; placing it on a balcony or under the eaves with sufficient sunlight and keeping the potting soil slightly moist is sufficient.
Propagation Methods
Peony propagation methods can be divided into: seed propagation, division propagation, cutting propagation, etc.
First, Seed Propagation.
(1) Seed Collection: When the fruit color turns yellow, it can be harvested. If harvested too late, the seed coat will become black and hard, making it difficult to germinate. If harvested too early, the seeds may not be fully developed. Peony fruit matures in batches, so it should be harvested in batches. As soon as the peony fruit cracks open, the seeds can be collected and directly sown.
(2) Sowing Method: 1. Seed Treatment: Before sowing, the impurities wrapped around the seeds need to be removed, and the seeds should be soaked in water for a few minutes to let the unformed seeds float and then remove the floating seeds. This treated seed will have a high germination success rate after sowing. 2. Ridge Sowing: Before sowing, the land needs to be prepared, and organic fertilizer should be applied. After applying organic fertilizer, the land should be raked fine and level. After the land is prepared, ridges need to be made. The ridge width should be 50 cm, and the row spacing should be 30 cm. After making the ridges, the seeds should be sown according to a row spacing of 6 cm and a seed spacing of 3 cm. After sowing, the seeds should be covered with soil, about 2 cm higher than the ground. Using the point sowing method, 50 kg of seeds are needed for 667 square meters.
Second, Division Propagation.
(1) Division Time: The best time for division is before the soil freezes. Division at this time is beneficial for the healing of root wounds due to the higher underground temperature. If division is done in the spring, the roots cannot absorb nutrients and water normally, which can easily lead to plant death.
(2) Division Method: When dividing, the peony roots need to be carefully dug to avoid root damage. After digging up the roots, the soil on them should be removed, the old and decayed parts should be cut off, and then the roots should be split along the natural cracks with a knife. Each plant can be divided into about 3-5 daughter plants, each with 3-5 buds. Peony roots are easily broken, so the roots should be dried in the sun for 1 day before dividing. After dividing into several daughter plants, they should be dried in the shade first, then dipped in some nutritious mud before planting.
Third, Cutting Propagation.
The cutting bed should be selected with good drainage and higher terrain. After selecting the bed, the bed soil should be loosened, and then a layer of disinfected river sand should be spread on top, about 15 cm thick. The cutting substrate can use perlite, and a 1.5-meter-high sunshade shed should be set up above the bed. Cuttings are best taken in mid-July. The cutting length should be 10-15 cm, with two nodes and a small amount of leaves on top. After cutting, the cuttings should be inserted into the soil, with a depth of 5 cm and a distance between each cutting so that the leaves do not overlap. After insertion, water should be poured once, and then the plastic shed should be covered. The temperature in the cutting shed should be maintained at 20-25 degrees Celsius, and the temperature of the substrate should be 28-30 degrees Celsius. After cutting, it will take 20-30 days to root. After rooting, the amount of watering should be reduced, and the shading shed and plastic shed should be gradually removed.
The above[] introduces the meaning and flower language of peony and the detailed content of understanding the symbolic meaning of peony flowers, hoping to bring you help!