Off-season Peony Blossom Management
Today, I will introduce some related contents about raising peonies at home, focusing on the management of off-season peony blossom, as follows:
Peonies have a graceful and noble posture. Placing a pot of peonies indoors can make the whole room glow. However, some people place them indoors after purchasing, and the flowers do not bloom as expected. Usually, there will be buds that fail to bloom or become僵蕾 (stuck buds), and even if the buds bloom, the flowers are small, the color is faint, and they lack vitality. The leaves are thin and long, and the edges are burnt and withered. Therefore, some people say that peonies are flowers of wealth and are difficult to care for.
In fact, as long as you understand the habits of peonies, these problems can be completely resolved. First, the nutrients in off-season peonies come from the root system. The more and thicker the roots, the more abundant the nutrients. Therefore, when choosing a potted plant, you should select a peony that is planted in a slightly larger and deeper pot under the condition of a robust plant. It is best to have about 10 sturdy branches in a pot, most of the flower buds should be in the initial blooming stage, and the leaves should be flat and strong.
Secondly, peonies are light-loving plants. The off-season peonies are just controlled by light, temperature, water, etc., to create a suitable environment for them to bloom as needed, while still following the light-loving nature. During the bud stage, they should be placed in a well-lit area. In full bloom, they can be placed in a location with scattered light. This way, the unopened flower buds will develop normally, and the flower buds will not become僵蕾, the flowers will be large and upright, the color will be rich and bright, and the leaves will be flat and robust.
If the new leaves of peonies have curled, burnt, or withered edges, it might be due to the indoor temperature being too high and the humidity being too low. You should promptly spray water on the leaves to increase humidity and relatively increase the air humidity. Also, it could be because the potted plant is placed outdoors or near an indoor vent, where it is directly affected by the cold winter wind, causing frost damage. The preventive method is to avoid the cold wind.
For off-season peonies, the daytime temperature indoors should be above 10℃, and the nighttime temperature should be around 8℃. This will make some flowers with exposed colors bloom faster, but it will also allow some buds without exposed colors to develop and bloom normally.
Since peonies have fleshy roots, the off-season peony plants do not need to be too moist and the potting soil should be slightly dry. Water about 250ml every 2-3 days. Also, be sure to remove the flower buds on the side branches, ensuring that there is only one flower at the top of each branch, and remove the basal sprouts and withered flowers.
After flowering, it is necessary to change the soil. The potting soil of off-season peonies is usually garden soil or fine soil mixed with coal cinder, which allows for good drainage but lacks nutrients. Choose a deep pot, fill the bottom with a layer of base fertilizer, and then cultivate with a mixture of river sand and fertile garden soil in a 1:3 ratio. If root rot or death is found, you can cut it off and disinfect with a 1% copper sulfate or carbendazim powder.
The last thing to note is that when spring comes, you should promptly remove the flower buds as soon as they appear on the plant to avoid a second blooming, which would consume too much nutrition. After purchasing off-season peonies, a single flower can bloom for 3-5 days, and a single plant can bloom for 15-20 days.
The detailed explanation of the management of off-season peony blossom introduced above is for reference and suggestion only!