Peony prefers shade or sun
Let me share with you whether peony prefers shade or sun and the planting methods and maintenance knowledge of peony flowers. Detailed content will be shared next.
Before planting peony flowers, choose a high and dry place with good drainage, requiring deep, loose, and fertile sandy loam soil. In areas with heavy salinity and alkalinity, it is necessary to replace the soil; in low-lying areas, it is necessary to build a high platform and have sufficient clean irrigation water. Peony dislikes continuous cropping. In field cultivation, it is generally rotated every 3 to 4 years, otherwise the growth will weaken and the damage from diseases and pests will be serious. When unable to rotate on schedule due to limited land, deep tillage should be carried out 1-2 months before planting. The depth is 60-100 centimeters, and 1500-2000 kilograms of decomposed dung or 200-250 kilograms of cake fertilizer can be applied per 666.7 square meters. Remember not to use raw fertilizer that has not been decomposed.
1. Planting time: Whether it is seedlings or division seedlings, the planting time in Heze is from late August (End of Heat) to late September (Autumn Equinox), and in Yangzhou, it is from late September (Autumn Equinox) to early November (Start of Winter). It is generally combined with division.
2. Planting specifications: For garden ornamental cultivation, the spacing between plants can be 1 meter by 1 meter, and the planting points can be arranged in a "品" shape. This arrangement can evenly and reasonably utilize the land, which is beneficial for the balanced growth of the plants, but field operations may sometimes be inconvenient. For convenient field management and observation, the "square" arrangement method is commonly used. The specifications of the planting holes are about 35cm in depth and 18cm in diameter at the top. When digging, the hole should be narrow at the top and wide at the bottom. For ornamental cultivation, the thick roots are not removed, while for medicinal cultivation, the root-promoting seedlings after removing the roots are used, and the hole is about 25 centimeters wide. If the peony head after removing the roots is used directly, the depth can be shallower.
3. Planting method: Apply decomposed dung or cake fertilizer at the bottom of the hole and mix it with the subsoil. Before planting, treat the peony seedlings with a mixture of thiophanate-methyl 700 times solution and methyl isothiocyanate 1000 times solution to prevent damage from diseases and pests. Hold the peony seedlings with your hand, place the roots loosely in the hole, and when the soil is half-filled, shake and lift the seedlings to make the roots tightly combined with the soil. The height of the lifted seedlings should be such that the buds are level with the ground. After watering, the soil pit will sink, which is the appropriate planting depth. If planted too deep, the buds will not easily sprout from the soil, and even if they do, the growth and development will not be vigorous. If planted too shallow, the rootstock will be exposed to the ground, and it is prone to death due to exposure to sunlight in summer. Finally, fill the soil to the full, tamp it down, and make a soil pile about 10 centimeters high to prevent cold and moisture, which also serves as a marker and protective function. Depending on the soil moisture, if the soil is moist, there is no need to water after planting; otherwise, water immediately after planting.
The planting of peony flowers mainly relies on traditional propagation methods, including division, seeding, cutting, and layering, among which the division method is the easiest and most widely used. The seeding method is only used for cultivating new varieties, producing rootstocks for grafting peonies, and producing medicinal materials. The rapid propagation of ornamental varieties is an urgent issue that needs to be solved and has always been hoped to be achieved through tissue culture. Both domestically and internationally, much work has been done in this area, and although there has been progress, there is still a considerable distance from practical application.
Peony prefers shade or sun
Peony flower planting methods
1. Cutting method
Select a high and well-drained area for the cutting bed, loosen the soil, and then lay a 15 cm thick layer of river sand, which should be disinfected with 0.5% potassium permanganate. The cutting substrate can also be vermiculite or perlite. Set up a 1.5-meter-high sunshade shed on the bed. According to experience from Changchun and other places, cutting and planting in mid-July yields the best results. The cuttings are 10-15 cm long, with two nodes, one compound leaf, and a few leaves left; the next compound leaf, along with the petiole, is cut off. After dipping in a solution of 500×10 to 1000×10 naphthyl acetic acid or indole acetic acid, the cuttings are planted with a depth of about 5 cm, spaced so that the leaves do not overlap. After planting, water thoroughly and cover with a plastic shed. Observations show that the best rooting occurs at a substrate temperature of 28-30°C and humidity of 50%. Keeping the temperature in the shed at 20-25°C and humidity at 80%-90% allows for rooting in 20-30 days and the formation of dormant buds. After rooting, reduce the amount of watering and gradually remove the plastic and sunshade sheds. The cuttings grow slowly and need to be covered with soil to overwinter on the bed, and then transplanted to the open ground the following spring.
2. Root cutting method
Use the broken roots during the autumn division of peonies, cut into 5-10 cm root segments, and plant them in a沟 that has been deeply tilled and leveled, with a layer of fine soil 5-10 cm thick on top, and water thoroughly.
3. Layering method
In spring, insert the tender sprouts that have just emerged through the pot holes of a flower pot into a pot with a diameter of 15-20 cm, gradually fill the pot with soil as it grows, and keep the potting soil moist. By summer, it can root, and before winter, cut off the stem below the pot to form a potted peony.
4. Modern tissue culture method
Plant tissue culture, also known as aseptic culture technology, is based on the theory of the totipotency of plant cells. Using isolated organs, tissues, or cells of peony (such as roots, stems, leaves, etc.), it induces callus, adventitious buds, and adventitious roots in sterile and suitable artificial culture media, as well as under appropriate lighting and temperature conditions, to form complete plants identical to the parent in genetic characteristics. This technique is also known as cloning technology, which achieves rapid propagation and has broad application value.
The main steps for peony flower cultivation revolve around the following four points, hoping to help flower enthusiasts with their daily maintenance of peony flowers.
1. Temperature
Peony is a typical temperate plant that prefers warmth and is cold-resistant, with a wide ecological adaptability range. It can be grown outdoors in the northern regions of China, with strong cold resistance. In the Nenjiang County of Heilongjiang Province, where the annual growing period is only 120 days and the extreme minimum temperature is -46.5°C, it can still grow and bloom normally and overwinter outdoors. It prefers a cool climate in summer but is also heat-resistant, as in Bozhou, Anhui Province, where the extreme maximum temperature in summer can reach 42.1°C, it can still safely oversummer.
2. Light
Peony requires sufficient light during the growing period to grow luxuriantly and have bright flower colors; however, it can also grow normally under light shade. During the flowering period, it can slightly reduce the temperature and increase humidity to avoid sunburn from strong sunlight, thus extending the ornamental period. However, excessive shade can cause etiolation, weakened growth, and failure to bloom or sparse flowering.
Peony is a long-day plant that differentiates flower buds in the short-day season of autumn and winter and blooms in spring under long-day conditions. The development of flower buds and flowering both require long-day conditions. If the day length is too short (8-9 hours), it can lead to slow development of flower buds, accelerated leaf growth, poor flowering, or even no flowering.
3. Soil
Peony is a deep-rooted plant, so it requires deep soil layers. It has thick and strong flesh roots, and it is suitable for loose and well-drained sandy loam soil. It grows poorly in clay and sandy soils, and excessive soil moisture and poor drainage can easily cause root rot. It prefers neutral or slightly acidic soil and is not suitable for planting in saline-alkali soil. It grows better in fertile soil, but the nitrogen content should not be too high to prevent excessive vegetative growth. Phosphorus and potassium fertilizers can be appropriately applied during the growing period to promote robust growth and beautiful flowering. Peony dislikes continuous cropping. In traditional peony production areas, it is a common practice to continuously plant peony in the same plot of land for many years, which has caused significant losses, not only severe diseases and pests but also reduced yield and quality, and even large-scale death. Therefore, a scientific and reasonable crop rotation system must be implemented.
4. Water
Peony prefers a high and dry environment and does not require frequent irrigation. Since peony has flesh roots, it is particularly intolerant to waterlogging, and积水 for 6-10 hours often leads to root rot. Low-lying areas are not suitable for China's peony production areas. Flooding usually results in devastating losses for peony, with only those plants in high areas that were not flooded surviving.
The above sharing about whether peony prefers shade or sun and the planting methods and maintenance of peony flowers is for reference by green plant enthusiasts, hoping to solve your problems in green plant and flower management.