Peony is a popular garden perennial. Its decorative, large flowers are presented in the garden at the turn of May and June. Among the genus, you can find some of the most popular species of herbaceous plants with ornamental values, grown in gardens and parks. Medicinal peony has also found its application in medicine.
Will the peony flower survive the winter? Are peony and peony the same flower? Are you considering planting a peony on your plot? Check out our tips for growing and caring for it.
Contents:
- Peony: characteristics
- Peony: cultivation and requirements
- Peony: care
- Peony: when does it bloom?
- Peony and peony - is it the same flower?
Peony: characteristics
Peony is the only genus in the peony family. It is native to Asia Minor, western parts of North America and Europe. Peonies can be bushy, woody or herbaceous. Some species of peonies grow up to 4 meters. There are as many as thirty herbaceous species. They have beautiful, branchy, large flowers with an intense fragrance. They are most often white, pink and purple, less often yellow.
The most popular species of peonies are:
- Delicate peony(Paeonia tenuifolia) - also called dill or narrow-leaved peony. It grows in Southern Europe, Asia Minor and the Caucasus.It is a low perennial, growing up to 40 centimeters. It looks decorative in rock gardens, between larger stones. It has delicate, feathery leaves that resemble fennel. In May, intensely red flowers appear on it. They are more delicate and smaller than other peonies. This species prefers a sunny position and light soil. It is frost-resistant, although rarely cultivated in Poland,
- Chinese peony(Paeonia lactiflora) comes from the area of China and Siberia. It is a tall plant, growing up to 2 meters. It has bulbous roots and stiff woody shoots. Dark green leaves are its decorative value. It blooms at the turn of May and June. It can have full or single flowers. An anemone peony with outer petals in a whorl and a spherical center is also known. Its flowers have a delicate rose scent. Peony - the flower of the Japanese.They love it, often plant it and enjoy great popularity there,
- Peony medicinal(Paeonia officinalis) is a species native to Central and Southern Europe. A monoecious plant, growing up to 60 cm in height. It has flowers of large size, spherical. They are composed of pink or red petals and yellow stamens. It blooms in May and June. Due to this time, it is also called a picnic. All parts of the plant contain poisonous substances. Despite this, it has been used in medicine for centuries,
- Bush peony(Paeonia suffruticosa), whose natural habitats are China, Japan and Korea. It is a tall, spreading shrub, reaching up to 4 meters. In Poland, it is grown as a plant up to 3 meters high.It has huge flowers in the shape of a crown, rose or an anemone. They bloom in May and June. They can be as large as 20 centimeters in diameter.
Peony - varieties created from individual species differ in height, color and shape of flowers. They can even be two-colored, which we cannot find in the natural state. The shapes and sizes of the leaves are also different. Peony varieties even differ in smells.
Peony: cultivation and requirements
Peony is a demanding plant. If we prepare it the right conditions for growth, it can decorate a garden for up to 100 years. He doesn't like overdoing it. Needs fertile, slightly moist soil. It prefers moderately acidic and alkaline soils. It cannot grow in dry or wet soil. Lined with litter, it will maintain the appropriate level of moisture in the substrate. Prefers a sunny and warm position.In winter, they should be additionally secured with bedding.
Peony - planting:A hole up to 50 centimeters deep should be enriched with fertilizer. Place the buds about 4 centimeters above the ground. You need to keep one meter between the bushes. Plants planted deeper will not bloom. If the flower is caught in the place prepared for it, it will bloom after three years. August and September are the best times to grow peonies. The cuttings are carefully dug up so as not to damage the roots.
Peony: care
Peony immediately after planting should be constantly watered. In the following year, special attention should be paid to the systematic watering of the flower during vigorous growth and the period of setting buds (from May to August). The soil cannot be shed. So that the water does not linger where the peony grows, it is best to plant it on a slight hill. It can be watered once a week.At other times of the year, no additional water source is needed.
In March and April it is good to fertilize peonies with manure, compost or granulated fertilizer. We sprinkle it on the outside so as not to burn the peony roots. If the soil in the garden is fertile, there is no need to fertilize this plant. Peony leaves are cut in fall when they begin to turn yellow. We shorten the shoots 10 centimeters above the ground. We remove the blooming inflorescences.
Peony: when does it bloom?
Peonies - flowering:the plant has branchy leaves and hard stems that die during the winter. In the spring - in March and April, they sprout new shoots from the ground. Flower buds were formed in the previous season, which is why they bloom in May and June. Their flowers are like large, colorful balls. They can be white, purple, pink, red and purple. The hybrids also include two-color varieties.
Peony and peony: are they the same flower?
Peony can be interchangeably called a peony. The nomenclature is derived from the Latin word for the genus Paeonia. The species typical of peonies is Paeonia officinalis.
Paeonia is also a Greek name referring to the mythological character - Paeona. He was the doctor of the gods, identified with Apollo - the god of beauty, sun and art. In the world of myths, the peony in the hands of a doctor was a salvation for the warriors of the Trojan War. Considered a medicine, a weapon against black magic, and also as a Christian symbol of the Mother of God.
