How to plant and care for peonies
Today, I will introduce to you how to plant and care for peonies, as well as the cultivation and maintenance tips for peony flowers. The specific content is as follows:
Peonies are known as one of the "Top Ten Famous Flowers" and are also called "Flower Fairies". Their blooming season is in May, and they are also known as the "May Flower God". They are another beautiful flower after peonies. Some friends may not be familiar with peonies and牡丹 (tree peonies), and cannot distinguish between the two. Peony plants are relatively smaller than牡丹, with a height of about one meter, while牡丹 can reach about two meters. Peonies bloom around mid-to-late April, and it takes about two weeks for peony flowers to bloom. In ancient China, people had a special affection for peonies, which is reflected in poetry and paintings. Zhang Daqian's famous painting "Peony" is very valuable today. Poets like Bai Juyi and Liu Zongyuan of the Tang Dynasty praised peonies in their poems. Peonies are a type of traditional Chinese medicine and are commonly cultivated in provinces such as Shandong, Henan, Anhui, and Jiangsu. They can be used as ornamental plants and have medicinal value, making them deeply loved by people. Peonies are perennial plants, and their propagation can be done through division and seed sowing.
1. The timing of division should be accurate, generally carried out in autumn. Choose 3 to 5-year-old peony plants as the mother plants for propagation. The freshly dug peony plants have too much moisture and should not be cut immediately. The excess liquid from the cut may slightly affect the survival rate. It's best to let the newly dug plants sit for about 40 hours to allow the nutrients to return to the roots. Then, cut at the junction where there is 1 to 2 buds or 3 buds. Since new wounds appear during the division process, this gives root rot disease a chance to infect. It is common to apply fresh plant ash to the wounds. The cutting tools should be disinfected with a 0.1% potassium permanganate solution or a 300-fold liquid of carbendazim. The planting density varies depending on the use of peonies. For medicinal cultivation, the planting density can be with a row spacing of about 35 centimeters and a plant spacing of about 25 centimeters. For ornamental peony flower planting, the density should be slightly lower, with a row spacing of about 50 centimeters and a plant spacing of about 30 centimeters. Generally, it is enough to keep 3300 to 4200 plants per mu. Division propagation should not be carried out in spring, summer, or winter, as the peonies divided in these seasons cannot ensure an ideal survival rate.
2. Peonies can be sown in autumn. Seed propagation is a quick method to cultivate peonies. Peony seeds are different from other crop seeds and require low-temperature treatment to increase germination rate. Collect fresh seeds in autumn and soak them in 40-degree warm water for one day and one night. Sow them from the end of August to the end of September. With natural low temperatures in winter, they can germinate and grow in the second spring.
3. Disease and pest control: Peony brown spot disease, also known as red spot disease, is a very common and important disease that affects peonies. You can spray 1000-fold liquid of carbendazim plus brassinolactone on the leaves at the beginning of the disease. Or you can spray with a 600-fold liquid of metalaxyl. Peonies are also prone to rust disease, powdery mildew, and black spot disease. Commonly used drugs for prevention and control include tebuconazole, myclobutanil, propiconazole, and difenoconazole.
4. Top-dressing and tillage: After planting peonies for one year, they need to be harvested after more than three years. To make peonies grow well, fertilization is essential, but it is best to use fully decomposed farm manure. Peonies prefer farm manure and dislike waterlogging. When planting, prepare ridges and ditches in advance. Peonies need to be fertilized 2 to 3 times a year. Regularly till the soil, remove weeds, and add soil. Before winter, leave 8 centimeters of the ground and cut off the upper branches and leaves, clearing the field without damaging the peony roots.
The above introduction on how to plant and care for peonies and the cultivation and maintenance tips for peony flowers are for reference by netizens.