Preparing herbaceous peonies for winter. Tree peony: preparation for winter, shelter for the winter, photo

In autumn, the peony requires more attention than in spring or summer.

Proper care during this period helps to ensure bright bloom next season.

It's time to prepare the peony for winter.

What you need to know about autumn peony care

In autumn, the plant needs additional nutrition, which is the key to flowering in the future, and also helps to accumulate required amount nutrients for a good winter. How to prepare a peony for winter?

Peony feeding

All fertilizers are applied in the fall before the onset of frost, somewhere in mid-September or early October. But in northern regions you have to look at the weather. Why fertilize a peony in the fall? The root system of the plant has some features; it actively grows in autumn. Peony care during this period should be complete.

As a rule, phosphorus-potassium fertilizing is applied in autumn, leaving nitrogen fertilizers for spring application. The use of such a feeding scheme gives the following advantages:

In the next season, larger and better buds appear;

Peony bloom will be full, brighter and more memorable;

In response to the received top dressing, the bush begins to grow actively, increases in size.

Fertilizers are applied in several ways:

in liquid form;

Dry way.

If the weather is dry, then it is more expedient to make a liquid root dressing of the plant. For this mineral fertilizers dissolved in water, the bush is watered with the resulting solution. The consumption of the working mixture is 1 liter per plant, depending on its size.

Rainy autumn dictates its own rules, and it is better to apply fertilizer in a dry form. The point is that the application liquid fertilizer unjustifiably. When the soil is waterlogged, root system stops absorbing useful material from her. Dry granular top dressing will come to the rescue. They last longer, and the minerals come in doses. A handful of granules are scattered around the shrub, lightly embedded in the soil.

Peony care: autumn pruning

So that the neighbors in the country would not advise, but pruning of the peony should not be postponed until spring. It is carried out in autumn. It is better to trim the aerial part of the shrub with the onset of the first frost. Sometimes, it falls at the end of October or the beginning of November. But every region is different.

Important! Earlier pruning of a peony weakens the plant, it will not tolerate winter well, which will affect further flowering.

How to prune a peony? You need to trim the shoots at ground level, slightly deepening the tool into the soil. All garbage is removed from the site and burned, this will avoid contamination of the earth with various diseases. The place of cuts and the bed are sprinkled wood ash.

How to transplant peonies in autumn

Autumn - best time for reproduction and transplantation of peonies. This procedure is carried out in late August - early September. The soil for planting delenki is prepared in advance. To do this, they dig a hole, about 60 cm in size. The root system of the peony grows in breadth, which should be taken into account when planting. The distance between plants is left sufficient for their development. The optimal interval is about 50 cm to 1 meter.

The first layer in landing pit there will be drainage. It is equipped with sand or broken brick. The thickness of the drainage layer is up to 30 cm. Next, there is a layer of nutrient soil with the addition of fertilizers. Humus, ash, compost, potassium sulfate, superphosphate are added as top dressing. The thickness of this layer does not exceed 30 cm. Then the hole is filled with soil and left for a week. During this time, the earth will sag, compact, which is important for autumn. proper fit peony rhizomes.

Important! It is highly not recommended to deepen the rhizomes during planting, since as a result the flower bed will be left without flowers. The shrub will grow a lot of lush greenery, but will not produce buds.

It should also be remembered that in the first year after planting, the peony will not bloom. But at the same time, the plant should look healthy, and not lethargic. Buds will appear when the maturity of the plant comes. But if in the third year of cultivation they are not, then you need to look for errors.

Reproduction of peonies in autumn

Peonies are long-lived in a flower bed, so their transplantation is extremely rare. It is done once every ten years. During this time, the shrub will grow and require division. This is the best way to propagate peonies.

However, old rhizomes do not tolerate transplantation well, the resulting plants are inferior to others in all qualities. Experienced gardeners it is advised to propagate shrubs after 4-5 years of cultivation. The resulting young peonies meet all quality standards. Their flowering is distinguished by pomp, and the bushes are attractive in appearance.

Transgress to the procedure for dividing mother bushes better in autumn. As a rule, the peony is propagated in September. But no later than a month before the expected frost.

How to prepare a plot for planting?

In autumn, the mother bush is dug up, carefully removing it from the ground. The rhizome is shaken off the ground and washed, trying not to damage the growth buds. Old shoots are cut to the very root. The prepared rhizome is left to dry for outdoors until it becomes slightly soft. Such a root can be divided without much damage.

Starting to divide, the rhizome is well examined. All areas with voids are cut off, and the cut points are washed with disinfectants. After dividing the old root, several seedlings are obtained, each of which has well-developed growth buds. It is important that the plots are the same size, as too large plots take longer to get sick after transplantation, and small ones die.

Peony planting is carried out in the usual way, not forgetting about the shelter of young plantings.

Preparing for Winter: Sheltering Peonies

Pruning and top dressing are not all the features of caring for a peony in the fall. The plant needs quality shelter, especially in regions with harsh winters.

The depth of the peony growth buds is at the level of 3-6 cm from the surface of the earth. Therefore, with the onset of cold weather, the shrub needs to be spudded.

sawdust;

Lapnik;

dry foliage;

Humus.

You can not use the cut shoots of the peony itself for shelter. They attract pests and are a breeding ground for most bacteria.

A shelter for a peony is formed with a thickness of about 15-20 cm. This allows you to save the plant from severe frosts and cold winds.

Summing up

Autumn peony care is not too complicated, it consists of a number of necessary activities:

top dressing;

pruning;

Transfer as needed;

Shelter and mulching.

If all the actions were performed correctly and on time, then you can not worry about the safety of peonies in winter. Spraying the soil and shrubs will help prevent the appearance of fungal diseases. blue vitriol. It is important to remember that fungal spores overwinter in the foliage, so they always keep order in the flower bed. Do not forget that in harsh winters, snow will help to further insulate the flower bed, which will only benefit the plants.

It is believed that the peony does not need careful care, so many gardeners do not touch the perennial in the fall. Meanwhile, holding certain agrotechnical measures will be beneficial to the plant.

Every year I prepare a peony for winter: I cut it in correct timing stems, fertilize and organize shelter. These measures have a positive effect on the health of the perennial, and every summer it pleases me with lush inflorescences.

Inexperienced gardeners are often interested in specialized forums whether it is necessary to dig up peonies for the winter. Many flowers really need a comfortable wintering in a cellar, refrigerator or cool pantry, because being in freezing ground will lead to their inevitable death.

It is not necessary to dig up peonies in the fall, since the perennial winters well and endures severe frosts under reliable shelter. They dig up a peony only for transplanting to another place or for the purpose of propagating a flower.

pruning

Most milestone preparing peonies for winter - pruning stems. Many gardeners neglect this procedure or do it too early, thereby harming the perennial. What is pruning for and how to do it correctly?

Should I prune peonies in the fall? It is necessary, moreover, these events are aimed not only at the aesthetics of your site, but also at facilitating work in the spring. Even if the leaves were not affected by any pests and fungi in the summer season, they must be removed without fail.

With the onset of cold weather, insects, including those not entirely useful for perennials, are looking for shelter for wintering. Unharvested foliage becomes an ideal haven for them, and in spring, pests actively lay their eggs and larvae in the ground and plant tissues.

Also, leaves softened in spring can become a place where pathogens begin to hide, which can subsequently harm young shoots.

Thus, autumn peony pruning becomes a mandatory sanitary measure. When is the best time to remove leaves and stems?

Pruning timing

In order not to harm the peony, it is worth pruning within a clearly limited time frame. Some gardeners completely prune the perennial at the end of its decorative period, and this is a colossal mistake.

In the foliage until mid-autumn, very important processes photosynthesis, during which the roots accumulate specific substances in themselves.

These elements help the plant to successfully restore its strength after lush flowering, prepare for the cold, overwinter and actively begin growth with the onset of heat.

In summer, only dried flower stalks should be cut, while the foliage should not be affected. Removing the entire above-ground part, which has already become unnecessary due to the loss of its decorative effect, will colossally harm the perennial and deprive it of important nutrition. If the plant does not die, then next year will definitely be weakened.

In autumn, peony pruning is done only after frost has been established. The plant is already fully prepared for wintering, so removing the leaves will not harm it. You can determine the right moment for pruning by the state of the foliage - it should lie completely on the ground.

If you do not have the opportunity to be on the site during the first frost, you can remove almost the entire above-ground part of the peony on the last day of the outgoing season, leaving 3-4 central stems with leaves, which will ensure the progress of photosynthesis processes and nutrition of the root system.

top dressing

Fertilizing for peony in the fall should be about 2 weeks before the predicted frost. Depending on the climatic zone, perennials are fertilized from the 20th of September to October 10th.

It is important to choose optimal composition preparations that will help the flower to successfully overwinter, and in the spring to quickly grow and grow the right time present the gardener with their luxurious lush inflorescences.

For successful wintering the root system of the peony requires phosphorus and potassium, but nitrogen is strictly contraindicated. The last element stimulates the growth of green mass, these processes are this stage completely unnecessary and even dangerous.

A plant that has gone into growth is capable of dying, because it does not have time to prepare for winter.

Fertilizing in the fall has several goals:

• the root system is strengthened and the plant qualitatively survives the onset of cold weather;
• the foundation is laid for the development of strong and large buds that will produce powerful foliage and large buds.

Top dressing for peony can be applied both in dry form and with solutions of complex preparations. If autumn turned out to be without precipitation, then it is better to use the liquid version, spilling about a liter of the drug diluted according to the instructions under each bush.

Long rains involve the use of granular fertilizers: they are scattered around the near-stem circle of perennials, coordinating the consumption with the recommendations of manufacturers.

Dry top dressing can be shallowly embedded in the soil, loosened with a chopper, or left to lie on the surface: under the influence of rainwater, the granules will gradually dissolve, and the micro and macro elements contained in them will go to the address - to the peony root system.

Shelter

Pruning and top dressing are not all the activities that you need to carry out when preparing peonies for wintering. In regions where severe frosts are set in winter or the amount of snow is not enough to protect the perennial, the flower must be provided with shelter.

In the middle lane, where severe frosts are set, as a rule, after heavy snowfalls, the question is quite logically brewing whether it is necessary to cover peonies for the winter. If the perennial grows in an elevated or windswept area of ​​your site, then you will need to protect it.

If the peony grows near the northern fence or is surrounded by trees and shrubs, then creating a shelter will not be necessary.

• in Siberia, mulching with closing the place from blowing is mandatory;
• in the Urals, thorough protection of peonies from frost is also necessary;
• in the middle lane, peonies for the winter only mulch or only spud;
• in the Volga region, standard hilling is sufficient.

If the listed factors and the climatic conditions of your region tell you to create a shelter, proceed to manipulation with the onset of the first dry frosts and a steady drop in temperature to -5 0.

It is necessary to protect the perennial from the harmful effects of frost in several stages:

1. Since the growth buds of a peony are located at a depth of only 6 cm, the main measure to protect them from frost is hilling. After pruning, sprinkle the earth on the bushes to thereby increase the plant's resistance to frost.
2. From above it is necessary to pour a thick (15-18 cm) layer of mulch.
3. On top of the mulch layer, to protect against blowing, it is necessary to install a wooden or plastic box, an ordinary bucket or apply spruce branches.

Separately, you should consider the issue of mulching material. In no case should cut leaves of peony and other garden plants act in its role.

Decaying organics will attract insect pests and pathogenic flora, which will lead to dangerous perennial diseases. For the same reason, it is not recommended to use straw or manure for shelter.

Popular mulching materials such as needles, fresh sawdust, tree bark, contribute to soil acidification, which can adversely affect the health of the peony.

Of course, if you have no other means of organizing shelter, you can use them, but every year you should test the pH of the earth with litmus strips and leach it in time with the help of available preparations.

The ideal mulch that does not affect the pH of the soil is high-moor peat and packed sawdust.

If you live in the area all year round, then it is recommended to scatter the snow cleared from the tracks on top of peonies and other perennials. The larger the covering layer, the better plants endure frost. In addition, melting snow will qualitatively nourish the earth and give the flowers strength for full growth and development.

In early spring, during the period of active snowmelt, the shelter must be dismantled. Most of the mulch should be raked away from the peony so that it does not lead to overheating of the root system and growth buds.

A small layer must be left - it will serve to retain moisture and protect the ground from the dispersion of weed seeds.

Preparation of peonies for winter should be carried out in certain deadlines and right. It depends on how well the peony bushes will prepare for the next season, will not suffer from frost in winter, and from frost in early spring.
Caring for peonies in the fall and preparing bushes for winter has a number of features. At this time, 1-1.5 months after flowering, the buds of renewal and the development of the root system are being laid. Therefore, it is very important to do everything right in order to get lush flowering next season. Peony needs feeding and watering, especially during the laying and formation of renewal buds, which occurs shortly after the end of flowering. Therefore, in the fall, peony bushes also need care. During the season, in spring and summer, the care of peonies does not contain any special techniques. This is watering, loosening the soil, mulching, weed removal, pruning of flowering buds.

And what should you do in the fall, when your peony bush is actively preparing for winter?

In the fall, it is advised to perform the following peonies care activities:

• Loosening the soil, no deeper than 5 cm in a radius of 50 cm, so as not to damage the roots.
• Mulch the soil around the bushes.
• Remove fallen and dry leaves, petals, faded flowers and buds, to prevent fungal diseases
• Make autumn pruning of bushes - it is advisable to do this as late as possible.
• Shoots and leaves in autumn are cut as close to the ground as possible and burned.
• Carry out top dressing of peony bushes.
• If transplanting or dividing is required, autumn is the best time to do so.
• Abundant watering in late autumn contributes to a good wintering.

Feeding peonies in autumn

After active growth and flowering, by autumn, the root system of peonies is greatly weakened. Namely, at this time, the formation of points of growth and roots begins. In order for new roots to successfully form and the plant to enter the winter prepared, it must be fed.

The root system of peonies accumulates minerals and nutrients in autumn, for the active growth of the bush in spring and the formation of large inflorescences.

In autumn, it is best to feed peonies from mid-September to mid-October, 1-1.5 months before pruning and the first frost. It was at this time that the peony bush most actively accumulates strength and nutrients.

The benefits of autumn feeding peonies

1. In early spring, the buds will be much larger and stronger.
2. The peony bush will grow faster and the flowering will be more lush.
3. The bushes are stronger and quickly increase in size.

In autumn, phosphorus-potassium fertilizers are needed. Nitrogen-containing fertilizers are used for spring feeding, to enhance the growth of the aerial part of the plant. With the growth of young shoots in the fall, they will freeze during frost.

Peonies should be especially carefully fertilized from mid-September to mid-October, preferably 1–1.5 months before pruning. Plants should be fed from the third year after planting.

Top dressing and pruning peonies in the fall-video

When pruning peonies in autumn

The most suitable period is considered to be late autumn, before the first frosts. Usually this time falls at the end of October or the beginning of November. Premature pruning will deprive the plant of the necessary nutrients, and belated pruning can cause death. IN last resort if you need to prune the shrub earlier, leave three to four leaves on each stem. Thus, the peony will be able to accumulate strength for laying buds next year.

Autumn pruning of peonies is also required so that plants do not spend energy on the aerial part in winter instead of developing the root system. Another reason is diseases of a fungal and bacterial nature, often affecting leaves in the fall.

In autumn, peonies should be pruned until cold. A sure sign of the plant's readiness for pruning is the lowering of the branches to the ground, dried, withered leaves, they will no longer be needed. This indicates the end of physiological processes, readiness for winter period recreation. In case of infection, preparation for winter should be carried out earlier by treating the cut sites and the soil around with a fungicide solution.

Rules for pruning peonies in autumn

Peony stems are completely cut off in the fall, before the first frost. If you need to prune the shrub earlier, leave at least 2-3 leaves on each stem, which will process useful elements from the root system. Thus, the peony will be able to accumulate strength for laying buds next year.

When cutting flowers from a bush in the summer, it is also necessary to leave at least three leaves on the stem.

Peony pruning sequence:

• preparation and disinfection of the instrument;
• removal of shoots, leave a small stump (1-2cm) so as not to damage the growth points;
• in tree-like peonies, it is impossible to remove skeletal branches, but only leaves;
• after pruning, sprinkle fertilizer, loosen, mixing with top layer soil;
• remove and burn plant residues;

Transplanting peonies in the fall and dividing the bushes

For more details see this article on our website.

Mistakes in preparing peonies for winter

The main mistakes in preparing peonies for winter:

• too early pruning, before the onset of the first frost - the process of formation of renewal buds is disrupted;
• do not immediately remove withered foliage and cut shoots - buds and buds are affected by fungal diseases;
• insufficient nutrients in the soil - there will be few buds;
• with an excess of nitrogen, shoots may be without buds;
• incorrectly cover peonies for the winter.

Planting depth peonies

When planting a peony, do not deepen the growth buds of the plant, otherwise you will not get lush flowering. Proper depth - growing points should be 3-5 cm below the soil surface.

• if the peony is planted incorrectly, you need to transplant in the fall
• the peony is not planted deep - the bush suffers from frost in the spring
• the bush is planted very deeply, many shoots are formed, but few buds.

Prevention of diseases in autumn

Prevention of fungal diseases of pions in the fall after leaf fall consists in treatment with copper sulphate (3–4%) or Bordeaux mixture (2–3%).

And to increase the resistance of the peony to diseases, it is recommended to use phosphorus-potassium fertilizers and trace elements, while eliminating excess nitrogen. Drugs must be alternated.

Shelter of peonies for the winter

Shelter of peonies is necessary, since the growth buds are located close to the soil surface, at a depth of only 3-7 cm, and they must be protected from frost.

Depending on the climatic conditions, sheltering peonies for the winter is a little different. But where it is necessary to protect the bushes, general principles the following:

• After pruning the bushes in the fall, they need to be spudded.
• A layer of mulch with a thickness of at least 15-18 cm should be laid on top.
• In tree-like peonies, the root system is covered with a layer of peat of 20-25 cm, and the stems are covered with lutrasil.
• As a covering material, sawdust, spruce spruce branches, high-moor peat, dry foliage, humus or compost are used.
• You can not use the cut foliage of the peonies themselves, straw, so as not to infect the infection.
• In winter, additionally cover the peonies with a layer of snow to protect them from severe cold.
• When removing the material in the spring, you can leave it partially as a mulch.

Why peonies stopped blooming

Peonies are beautiful and rather unpretentious flowers, but even the most undemanding flower needs proper and regular care. Caring for peonies in the fall and preparing them for winter include fertilizing, pruning and sheltering the flower, as well as a number of other procedures that are optional, but undoubtedly useful.

What work do peonies need in preparation for winter

Winter cold is a serious test for plants. Peonies are quite persistent, but survival experiments are still not recommended.

For good protection from severe frosts, the height of the shelter should be at least 10–15 cm.

Peony care in the fall includes the following procedures:

• cutting stems during the first frost;
• top dressing of bushes (liquid or dry);
• separation and transplantation of heavily overgrown specimens;
• inspection of each bush for damage by diseases and pests;
• carrying out treatment and preventive procedures, if diseases are detected;
• abundant watering of each bush, if the summer was dry and the autumn was warm;
• covering with spruce branches, dry leaves, peat or sawdust.

All procedures are simple, the main thing is to carry them out on time and carefully, following simple rules, developed by experienced flower growers.

Autumn care steps

In the warm season, peonies require a minimum of attention - just timely weeding and watering. Autumn is the time to take care of preparing flowers for wintering.

Top dressing: reserve of strength until spring

By autumn, the root system of peonies is very weakened - over the summer it gives all its strength to foliage and buds. In order for new roots to successfully form and the plant to enter the winter prepared, it must be fed.

Peonies need to be especially carefully fertilized from mid-September to mid-October - it is at this time that the plant most actively accumulates strength. If you live in a colder region, move the start of feeding to the first days of September, in general - 1-1.5 months before pruning.

In autumn, it is worth adding fertilizers based on potassium and phosphorus to the soil. Leave nitrogen-containing dressings until spring - they stimulate the active growth of stems, and this is undesirable before the onset of cold weather.

In a dry way, peonies are most often fertilized in especially rainy weather.

dry top dressingPeonies are most often fertilized in a dry way in especially rainy weather

Two basic methods have been developed for feeding peonies before winter:

• Dry. If summer and autumn are rich in moisture, the roots of the plants have already absorbed enough liquid. In this case, they need granulated "food" - it is more convenient to dose it, it acts much longer than liquid. After scattering granules of potassium (15 g) and phosphorus (20 g) around the bush, slightly loosen the ground.
• Liquid. An option for dry summers and warm autumns. Dilute 1 tablet of potassium and 1 tablet of phosphorus with a bucket of water, mix well and pour peonies - 1-2 liters of top dressing per 1 bush.

Apply fertilizer carefully so that it does not fall on the basal neck of the bush. It is recommended to fertilize peonies only in the third year after transplantation.

If it is not possible to buy a special fertilizer, make it yourself from improvised means:

1. Dilute 1 bucket of fresh cow dung in 5 buckets of water. You can also use bird droppings - then for 1 bucket of droppings you need 25 buckets of water.
2. Put the resulting solution in a barrel in sunny place for 2 weeks for fermentation.
3. At the end of this period, add 200 g of superphosphate and 500 g of wood ash to the barrel. Stir again.
4. Dilute the resulting product clean water(on cow manure 5–7 buckets, on bird droppings - in the proportion of 1 bucket of product to 2 buckets of water) and feed the plants. If winter turned out to be stingy with snowfalls, do not be lazy, throw a small snowdrift of snow on your flower beds

After pruning, it is good to fertilize the peonies with a mixture of 200 g of bone meal and 300 g of wood ash.

Pruning: nothing more before winter

Peonies of all varieties should be cut before the onset of cold weather. Usually pruning is done during the first frost, in the second half of October-early November (middle lane).

August-September is the time when peonies actively absorb nutrients in preparation for winter. Therefore, if the plant is cut too early, its development and flowering will be weak. The later the peony is cut, the more beautiful and healthier it will be next summer.

How do you know when it's time to cut flowers? The foliage turned red and lay on the ground - which means that the time has come, prepare the pruner. When cutting peonies, keep the tool parallel to the ground.

Without a transplant, a peony bush can grow in one place up to 10-15 years

The procedure cannot be carried out in the spring, because:

• wilted stems that have overwintered under the snow are difficult to prune in spring;
• last year's stems and foliage are an ideal breeding ground for pests;
• spring pruning - the risk of damaging the delicate buds that are hidden underground.

In pruning different varieties pions have certain differences:

• Herbaceous peonies that have withered or gone dark spots foliage, pruned in early September. If the foliage is healthy, pruning is done in late September-October. crop herbaceous varieties needed to ground level.
• Tree-like peonies are pruned, as a rule, in the spring, and before sheltering for the winter, you need to cut off damaged and diseased shoots. The best time for the procedure is when the night temperature drops to -5-7°C. As a rule, this is the beginning of November.
• ITO hybrids were obtained from pions from different climatic zones so they tolerate frost well. They need to be cut in October-November, as well as tree varieties. During the procedure, all sprouts are cut to the root - like in herbaceous varieties. These plants in autumn period can form buds that protrude slightly above the soil, so be careful not to damage them.

With proper and timely anti-aging pruning, you can save the life of a perennial for 60–80 years.

If the leaves are withered or sick, remove them as the problem arises, and pour the bush itself from the watering can with a solution of 1 teaspoon of phytosporin in a bucket of water (the solution is enough for 3–4 sq.m.).

Before pruning, flowers should be covered at night with non-woven material.

Everything that is cut from the bush must be taken out of the garden and burned to prevent diseases of the flowers and to destroy pests.

Video: how to cut peonies

Shelter: protect from frost

Varietal peonies prefer light and open areas.

In regions with severe winters, it is necessary to “wrap” peonies in the fall. In places with a mild climate, shelter can be neglected. In general, the decision to cover or not depends on the peony variety:

• ITO peonies are resistant to frost, so they can be left uncovered. The exception is weak and young plants that can be protected from the cold with spruce branches or foliage.
• Grassy peonies must be covered with the onset of a stable cold snap. Peat, loose humus, sawdust are suitable for this.
• Tree peonies have fragile branches that cannot be bent to the ground, like raspberry shoots. Divide the branches of the peony into bundles, tie them. Then mulch the trunk circle with peat - it is the only one that does not contribute to the appearance of gray rot. Cover the bush with a spruce hut, top with burlap or non-woven material.

Video: how to cover peonies

Do not use leaves and stems cut from peonies for shelter - fungi and pests will actively multiply in them, and the plant will die. In the spring, remove the shelter as soon as the buds appear - this happens shortly after the soil thaws.

Other procedures: watering, transplanting, disease prevention and treatment

Water peonies after autumn pruning possible, but not too abundant, especially for ITO varieties.

If the bushes have grown strongly, they should be planted. This procedure should be carried out in the velvet season (end of August-first half of September), when the weather is warm and dry. The peony will get used to the new place, take root and grow quickly in the spring.

In spring and summer, it is better not to plant and replant the peony - all the forces of the plant are directed to flowering and seed production, so the risk of death is very high.

Whatever method of feeding you choose, you need to apply fertilizer very carefully so that additives do not get on the basal neck of peonies.

How to plant peonies in the fall:

1. Choose fertile loose soil, best of all - black fallow (an area that has "rested" during the year) or land on which legumes previously grew. The landing site should be sunny, not windy, away from buildings and trees.
2. 4 weeks before planting, dig ditches with a diameter and depth of up to 0.5 m, at a distance of 1–1.5 m from each other. Place drainage on the bottom: sand, gravel and pour water to settle the soil.
3. Mix black soil with humus, sand, manure, peat and ash in a ratio of 1:1. Pour the mixture into the hole, mix with garden soil. You can also add urea, superphosphate, iron sulfate.
4. Cut the peony stems to 15 cm. Carefully dig old bush. Shake off the soil and leave the dug bush in the shade for 2 hours so that the roots are not brittle.
5. Inspect them, remove damaged and dried. Cut large ones at an angle of 45-60º, leaving a length of 10-20 cm. Sprinkle slices with crushed charcoal. Place the roots for half an hour in a light pink solution of potassium permanganate.
6. After soaking, plant young peonies in separate holes, placing the buds at a depth of 4–5 cm from the surface. Each division should have 2-3 shoots, 3-4 roots and growth buds.

The most gentle method of dividing an excavated bush is to plant it on a 40–50 cm stake. The bush will spontaneously break up into the required divisions.

Video: peony transplant

Peonies can be affected by fungus (spots, powdery mildew, gray rot) or pests (bronze, aphids, caterpillars and root nematodes). Cut off the infected parts of the stems, leaves or roots and burn outside the site.

Caring for peonies will not take you much time - these flowers are perfectly adapted to survive in the cold. The main thing - in any case, do not neglect autumn care, because during this period the health of the plant is laid. Devote your favorite flowers a day or two, and they will thank you lush bloom and subtle aroma.

A rare cottage does without luxurious peonies, summer care behind which is most often limited to watering. But preparing peonies for winter involves their mandatory pruning, fertilizing and warming.

During the summer, the flowers are watered, but they need the most moisture during the flowering period. Further, the number and volume of waterings are gradually reduced, slowly bringing them to zero. Here the moment of gradualness is important. And in the fall, most of the time, there is only enough rain. A dry autumn will sooner prepare the plants for a dormant period.

In the autumn, new bushes are planted on the site, if necessary, those that are already growing on it are transplanted, adult plants are separated, simultaneously breeding and rejuvenating peonies. But to prepare them for the winter means cutting off the deciduous mass, making the last autumn dressings, and warming them in anticipation of cold weather. Everything must be done correctly and in a timely manner.

peonies pruning

In autumn, it is imperative to cut off all the stems with leaves, as they will inevitably wither, then rot. Pests can settle in them for the winter, the rotting leaves themselves usually become a breeding ground for pathogenic microorganisms. If even in the summer some infection (often fungal) nested on them, but did not cause a visible disease, then next season it will inevitably hit the plant and spread to others. For the good of your entire site, pruning should not be postponed until spring.

Terms of pruning plants for the winter

In summer, as a rule, only fading flowers are cut, and the leaves continue to perform their decorative function on the site. The roots grow until the very cold weather, accumulate strength for subsequent flowering, and the process of photosynthesis that occurs in the leaves actively helps them. Therefore, it is necessary to cut off the green mass when this process is inhibited in a natural way. The ideal time is after the first frost, when the leaves fall to the ground.

If for some reason you need to cut the peony earlier, you should leave a few leaves on each stem so that the plant can further absorb nutrients without stopping photosynthesis completely. Depending on the beginning of winter, pruning is carried out approximately from mid-September to mid-October.

pion pruning pattern

Grassy peonies are cut with a sharp disinfected pruner almost at the very ground, leaving only a couple of centimeters from the branches. It is better to destroy all cut greens by taking them away from the site. It is not suitable for compost due to possible contamination.

If you leave high stumps of the stems, they will dry out, but they can become a breeding ground for pathogenic bacteria, so they are usually cut so low that subsequent hilling will completely hide the bush from the eyes.

Care and feeding after pruning

After pruning, the ground around the bush is freed from all leaves, branches, grass, it is loosened with special tools not very deep, so as not to damage the roots. This is the best time for the last feeding of the plant. You can use any ready complex fertilizers containing potassium and phosphorus. Some flower growers prefer to make bone meal with wood ash. The main thing is that you do not need to use nitrogen-containing fertilizers, so as not to inadvertently provoke the growth of new shoots, which will inevitably freeze.

Fertilizers can be scattered around the bush, loosening will mix them with the ground, and subsequent rains will carry them to the root. If the autumn is dry, then it is better to breed them according to the instructions and pour approximately 1 liter under each bush.

Video "Preparing peonies for winter"

In this video, a specialist will tell you how to properly prepare peonies for the winter period.

Shelter of peonies for the winter

When deciding how to cover peonies for the winter, it is necessary to proceed from assumptions about the degree of severity and snowiness of winter. Cold frosty winds, combined with a snowless winter, can destroy plants, and the snow that falls in time will itself serve as the best shelter. The only pity is that we cannot accurately predict this, so it is necessary to organize a shelter suitable for all cases.

The tree-like perennial peony, oddly enough, endures the winter cold quite easily. Care for him does not involve total pruning, he is cut only for the purpose of shaping or rejuvenation. Buds for next year's flowers are laid on skeletal branches, so they are only shortened to the desired length. But usually all pruning of a tree peony is carried out in the spring.

From autumn events mandatory are: cleaning the bush and the surrounding area from fallen leaves, grass, branches, loosening the earth and applying potassium-phosphorus top dressing. An adult peony will survive the winter well, one has only to spud its trunk. But a young, still low plant must definitely be spudded high, mulched at least 20 cm, and completely covered with a box or bucket from above.

Features of preparation for winter in the regions

The buds of future branches of herbaceous peonies are no deeper than 6 cm below ground level. You need to decide how much to insulate the plant for the winter, depending on the region. So, in the southern regions, peonies do not insulate at all. For the Volga region, a good layer of mulch 10–15 cm high is sufficient. Summer residents middle lane and the Moscow region are afraid strong winds and lack of snow, so they prefer to cover the plants with spruce branches or lutrasil, in addition to the usual mulch.

In the Urals and Siberia, it is imperative to put a high layer of mulch - 20–25 cm thick, arrange a box or box on top that will provide a layer of air, they are also covered with a special non-woven fabric. And in the spring, this shelter is gradually dismantled as the air temperature rises.

Common Mistakes When Preparing for Winter

Peonies are very undemanding plants, they do not require constant attention, in the summer they only need to be watered. Most often, even fertilizers are applied exclusively in spring and autumn. Most manipulations are carried out with them in the fall in preparation for winter. It is important not to make mistakes here, as they can have serious consequences.

The most serious mistake is the refusal of autumn pruning of bushes. The result can be not only a greatly weakened peony, but also plants nearby that have fallen ill with all sorts of infectious (most often fungal) diseases.

After pruning, you can’t cover the roots with the same leaves - the result will be the same, pests and pathogenic microorganisms will happily overwinter and get stronger, but peonies, on the contrary, will weaken and get sick.

A common mistake is to prune too early - this will also weaken the plant. And sheltering not in accordance with the expected winter can completely lead the plant to death.