Peonies are the most spectacular heralds of the beginning of summer. Lush large flowers immediately stand out among their neighbors in the garden. The splendor of this bush is striking: juicy bright buds, lush greenery, light fresh aroma. They come from China, where peonies are considered not only the most beautiful, but also the most powerful flowers. They were planted in the most prominent places: in front of palaces and temples, in the squares of large cities. It was believed that they protect from evil spirits.

In our country, there are peonies in almost every garden. They are resistant to temperature changes, but do not like excessive drought and soil moisture. They are considered unpretentious plants, but this belief is erroneous. Comprehensive care, which includes pion trimming, is necessary for development and lush flowering.

There are many rules that must be observed when planting a plant. If you give him the right top dressing, then for three years in a row the peony will not need additional fertilizer.

peonies care

Care must begin with disembarkation. Properly chosen place and prepared soil is the key to good growth of any plant. Fertilizer is placed at the bottom of the dug hole. This nutrient mixture should occupy more than half of the recess. The peony itself is planted in ordinary soil, its rhizome should occupy the upper third of the dug hole. But at the same time, there should be about 3-4 cm from the very top of the rhizome to the ground. The rhizome of the peony grows rapidly upwards.

After the sprouts reach a height of 10 cm, the first top dressing is performed. The second dressing is appropriate after the ovary of the first buds. The third time the plant is fertilized during flowering, and the last - after the buds have faded. You will be disappointed if you want to see a blooming garden in the year of planting. Peonies bloom lush buds only in the second year. Impatient gardeners often try to plant large, vigorous shrubs instead of small sprouts. Often this experiment fails. Peonies really bloom in the year of planting. But next season, the bushes rot and die.

Peonies are distinguished not only by lush flowers, but also by lush greenery. The vegetative part of the bush plays an important role in its life support. During flowering, you just want to cut the bouquet and decorate the bedroom with it. However, certain rules must be followed.

1. Always leave two leaves on the stem when cutting the flower.
2. Don't cut all the buds. 2/3 of the flowers should remain on the bush.

pruning

Pruning is a necessary event for many plants. The main mistake of many gardeners is cutting the stem immediately after the peonies bloom. For some time the bush should remain untouched. This will give him the opportunity to store strength and form new kidneys. Wait until all the buds bloom and bloom, do not rush to the bush with a pruner to cut flowers that faded yesterday. When every single petal has dried up, you can remove the flowers. To do this, cut off the bud and part of the stem to the first leaf.

In the first three years, gardeners are advised to remove every single bud after they have faded. This will provoke an increase in the number of buds next spring. However, if you want to get fewer flowers, but a larger size, it is better not to touch the top buds.

A controversial issue is the cutting of leaves. This should be done only if necessary (for diseases). Greenery plays a very important role in the circulation of nutrients through the bush, so removing it can cause the death of the entire plant.

Even if the foliage needs to be cut, then try to remove only half. This should never be done in spring or summer. The procedure should be carried out in autumn in warm weather (approximately in mid-October).

During the flowering period, the petals gradually crumble. Do not let the petals of the bush fall asleep. Peonies are unstable to moisture. If a layer of petals lies on the foliage, mold and rot will begin to form under them. Gray rot is a common disease in these flowers. For prevention, it is necessary to carry out preventive spraying of bushes with a solution of copper oxychloride (40 g of powder is needed for 1 bucket of water). The first spraying is done after the shoots are released, the second - during the ovary of buds, the third - after flowering.

Pruning for the winter

By mistake, inexperienced gardeners cut too early for the winter, which leads to the death of the bush. The plant will give you a sign. You can cut the bush only after all the stems fall to the ground. You need to cut to the root. All cut leaves and stems are collected and taken out of the garden. Leaving them on the ground, you will create a favorable environment for the reproduction of fungal organisms. The cut bush is advised to sprinkle with peat.

Do not forget about preventive spring pruning, which consists in removing broken branches, dry leaves, diseased shoots.

Tree peony: care features

Tree peony should be pruned in the spring. Old branches, broken shoots are removed, on which the foliage dries.

Pruning required after flowering. The seed heads of faded buds are removed. If the plant has grown too large, pruning is allowed.
A properly conducted event will improve the quality and quantity of flowering buds next year.

Peonies are unpretentious plants. In fact, they are able to grow in almost all soils. But in order for the flowering to be plentiful, lush and bright, some efforts must be made, but even without them the peony will bloom, but weaker.

In its beauty, the peony is able to outshine all the flowers growing next to it, including roses. But in this case, you need to make some effort. You need to start work immediately after the bush has faded. In this case, next year the plant will decorate the next year's site with brighter, stronger and more beautiful flowering. Therefore, it is worth figuring out how to care for a peony.

Sequencing

The duration of flowering of peonies is relatively short - about 2 weeks. Further, within 2-3 months, it is important to pay due attention to the flower, since at this time it is restored after flowering and is gaining strength for wintering and flowering next year. It is also at this time that new buds are laid at the very base of the bush, from which young shoots will appear next year.

The entire care process during this period consists of:

1. Cleaning. As soon as the buds have faded, they begin to crumble. A mass of small petals completely covers the entire area next to the bush. They not only spoil the appearance, but are also very dangerous, since they create optimal conditions for the development of the fungus. For this reason, it is necessary to immediately remove all crumbled petals.
2. Glaze. In order for a peony to form new buds, it needs moisture. Many gardeners stop watering immediately after flowering and thereby make a gross mistake, which leads to a decrease in the abundance of flowering bush in the future. But you also need to know how to water. If, for example, a bush drank 20 liters of water at a time in the summer, then immediately after flowering it is reduced by about 5 liters, then another 5 liters, and so on gradually, until autumn.
3. Soil loosening. It is necessary to loosen the soil next to the peony after heavy rains and watering, otherwise a crust will form on the surface, through which all moisture will come out. In addition, loosening will help get rid of growing weeds that take away nutrients. You can refuse loosening if you mulch the soil around the peony. To do this, use mowed grass, sawdust or humus. Additionally, mulch will serve as a good fertilizer for the flower.
4. Top dressing. The plant can do without them, but this will affect its beauty. Therefore, if you want to decorate the site with a beautiful plant, fertilizers must be applied to the soil. This should be done not only immediately after flowering, but also in early spring, during the period of growth and flowering. Alternatively, you can use organic matter, such as mullein. It is diluted with water 1:10, thoroughly stirred and poured into a circular groove around the flower. Such top dressing activates the growth of new stems, buds and root systems. In August, top dressing is repeated, but mineral fertilizers are already used. Suitable potassium-phosphorus complex fertilizers. One bush will require 30-40 g of fertilizer, previously dissolved in water and applied to the soil also in a circular groove. Top it after watering sprinkled with earth. Additionally, you can spray the plant with mineral fertilizers, choosing dry and calm weather.
5. Clippings. It is not worth trimming the foliage of a peony immediately after flowering, since photosynthesis processes are still taking place in it. Therefore, if you cut the stems immediately, the peony will lose them. It will certainly bloom next year, but the luxuriant buds will suffer significantly. You can immediately cut off only the stems on which there were buds. The green part should be left for now, until the first frost. The stems are cut at a height of 2-3 cm from the ground.

In order to allow the plant to rest and recover before winter, as well as to provide sufficient moisture for future shoots, it is necessary to carry out inflorescences and this must be done correctly.

When, and most importantly - how to prune after flowering, we will consider in this article.

When is the best time to cut?

Not all beginners know that pruning immediately after they have faded is detrimental to the plant. Wait until the whole bloom and the inflorescences wither. Next, it is worth cutting off the bud and part of the stem, but it is better to leave the leaves untouched, through which future buds are fed. A suitable period for this falls at the end of June. For the next couple of months, the roots gain strength through uncut stems, and only then is the ground part of the plant pruned. When they "lie down", cut them off at the root, leaving stumps 1-2 centimeters long and covering them from the cold.

Basic Rules

Following certain requirements in the process of pruning peonies in the fall, you will get a lush flowering plant for the next year.

Follow these pruning tips:

1. The most suitable period to cut peonies for the winter is the second half of October, when the first ones strike.
2. It is worth trimming the entire ground part of the plant, leaving minimal stumps.
3. Cut stems, branches and leaves must be removed from the area where the bush remains to winter, otherwise they will serve as a medium for the development of fungi and roots.
4. If the place where the stems are cut is dry, the area near the root is plentiful.
5. Bring in the feed. Often, resin, bone and ready-made mixtures are used for this.
6. Sprinkle the cut with the mixture. This will protect the roots from the cold.

Mistakes of beginner growers

To properly prune peonies for the winter, you need to know how to carry out this procedure most painlessly for future flowering. To do this, avoid the most common cutting errors:

• Pruning immediately after flowering. New shoots will have time to grow and freeze in the very first frost, which means that you will have a lush flowering plant in the summer.
• Late pruning. A “permanent” bush does not allow the root system to be updated, and, as a result, the root may rot.
• Slice of flowering inflorescences. This applies to bushes that serve as part of the territory. An eye-pleasing bouquet will last only a couple of days, but the abundance of flowering of the bush itself will clearly decrease next year.

Did you know? The most difficult thing was to bring out the yellow peony. This was succeeded by the Japanese scientist and breeder Toichi Ito in 1948.

Feeding after flowering

At the time of the formation of renewal buds, both peony feeding and feeding are important. Before fertilizing, it is necessary to make indentations around the place where the stems are cut. Such grooves accept top dressing in both dry and liquid form.

Immediately after flowering, you can make a solution that helps strengthen the roots and form buds. The solution will have the same effect.
In August, you need to fertilize the peony with macronutrients. To do this, you need a mixture of phosphorus and in equal parts. Such a mixture can be applied in a dry form, and then fill the grooves.

Did you know? Peony is the national flower of China. Chinese people call it "flower fairy".

If the question of whether it is necessary to prune peonies for the winter has already been answered, now we will consider the option when your plant needs to change its place of residence.

A transplant is worth doing if:

• the bush interferes with the plants nearby;
• the place where the bush grows is very dry or very close to constant moisture;
• in surplus/lack of fertilizers;
• elevated plot;
• the plant was planted too deep.

Important! The buds of the plant should be at a level of 5 centimeters deep into the soil. If planted too deep, the bush may rot.

Produced. Before digging up a bush for transplanting to another place, it is necessary to moisten the root area sufficiently and carefully tie the stems. Usually this event is carried out the day before the transplant. You need to pry the root of the plant with a pitchfork, so as not to crush the root system.
Next, move the bush to a new hole, placing it in the center.

Novice flower growers often ask the question, peonies have faded - what to do next. The advice of experienced gardeners will tell you how to care for flowers after flowering in order to avoid mistakes when growing.

Growing peonies.

Do peonies need to be pruned after flowering?

Peonies are perennials. After budding, they form new buds, from which flowers grow the next year. For active growth, the shrub needs nutrients and a large green mass. Without leaves, pruned plants will weaken and die. A faded bush to the root cannot be immediately cut off. This is a major newbie mistake. Do only decorative pruning.

Under the root, you can cut the bush in late autumn, when the first frosts come. Small stumps 2-3 cm high are left above the buds and covered with a layer of compost or humus at least 10 cm thick. The shelter protects the plant from winter frosts, in early spring it will give energy and vitality for development.

Peonies bloom. The illustration for the article is used under the standard license © site

Care for peonies after flowering

Caring for faded peonies is as follows:

1. Cleaning dry buds.
2. Watering.
3. Soil loosening.
4. Application of fertilizers.
5. Division of an adult bush.

Cleaning

Peonies are lush flowers with a short flowering period, from 10 to 15 days. Then the buds dry out, lose the petals, which crumble inside the bush. This can lead to rotting of the root system and fungal diseases of peduncles and leaves, such as gray mold. Dry flowers are collected and burned.

At the beginning of summer, peonies are considered one of the most remarkable and vibrant flowers in the garden. Spectacular lush buds of different shades, a unique fresh aroma and lush greenery overshadow most of the neighbors in the flower garden for the entire flowering period. Such beauty is possible only with a competent integrated approach to growing garden plants.

Responsible attitude to nature and proper care is the key to the full development of flower crops. One of the essential care items is peonies pruning. It is from its competent and timely implementation that the quality and duration of future flowering depends.

Both herbaceous and tree-like varieties of peonies are recommended to be cut three times a season - in early spring, after flowering has ended and before winter. Each of these procedures has its own goals, which ultimately lead to one thing - to improve the health of peonies and their longevity.

When to prune peonies after flowering in summer

Pruning dates for peonies in the summer

For each individual flower bush, pruning time is determined individually. The signal for its beginning will be the complete end of flowering, the absence of buds and inflorescences on the plant. They should bloom and fall off or wither naturally so that only bare flower heads remain on the crops.

A favorable time for the procedure depends on the climate of the area, on average, this is the period from the second half of June to mid-July.

An earlier pruning (a day or two after flowering) will make the culture weak and will not give full flowering the next year.

Cutting technology

Pruning after flowering consists in removing all wilted inflorescences and dried buds, along with a small part of the stem, but only up to the first leaf plate. During the procedure, you can also cut the leaves, but only dry or yellowed ones, you do not need to touch the rest. Each stem should have at least three or four leaves.

The flowering period takes a lot of strength from peonies and takes a lot of nutrients. Dried inflorescences notify flower growers of the beginning of a new period of pion development - the period of formation of new buds. At this crucial stage, plants cannot do without additional dressings.

Top dressing and fertilizers should be applied approximately two weeks after the petals fall. It is recommended to feed peonies in the basal and foliar way.

Important! Top dressing should be applied only to moist soil or along with irrigation water. Do not allow the solution to enter the middle of the rhizome. To do this, special grooves are made at the base of the plant - grooves. After the nutrient solution is absorbed into the ground, loosening should be carried out near the bush .

Based on their preferences, flower growers can choose mineral or organic fertilizers.

• Mineral top dressing prepared from ten to fifteen grams of potassium nitrate and fifteen to twenty grams of superphosphate.
• organic fertilizer consists of ten liters of water and one liter of a solution of mullein or bird droppings. Consumption: two to three liters per bush.
• For spraying the solution can be prepared from any complex of trace elements in the form of tablets, which are offered in a large assortment by specialized gardening stores. Usually two tablets are dissolved in ten liters of water, but you should still read the instructions before cooking.

Autumn peonies pruning dates

The autumn season is considered the best time to prepare peonies for winter and pre-winter pruning. Most species and varieties remain in lush greenery until the first frost in October. Only crops affected by pests or diseases dry up and wither. This can happen as early as August or September.

It is important that it is during this period that the root part continues to restore the deficiency of nutrients and pruning under the root is strictly prohibited. Pruning a bush during these months will not only weaken the immunity of the peony, put it into a stressful state, but can also lead to the death of the entire plant.

There are several signs - signals that indicate that it is time to trim:

• all stems fall to the ground;
• the stems turn brown;
• leaf mass begins to fade gradually.

The optimal time for pruning a bush at the root is from October fifteenth to November tenth, but in different climatic conditions this period can shift in one direction or another. If you focus on temperature indicators, then the average air temperature should be in the range of five to seven degrees Celsius.

Rules and technology

The autumn pruning technology includes several mandatory items:

• disinfection of garden tools before and after the procedure using an alcohol or manganese solution;
• cutting off the aerial part of the bush;
• immediate removal of the cut parts of plants from the garden plot and their complete destruction (after drying) away from the flower garden;
• watering and fertilization and top dressing;
• applying a mulching layer as insulation for the winter.

The opinions of experienced gardeners on the height of the stumps remaining after pruning at the root differ. Some recommend leaving a height of one to two centimeters, others from three to five centimeters, and still others generally advise cutting the stems to the level of the ground surface (without stumps).

Important! It is necessary to carry out the pruning procedure only with a sharp and sterile clean instrument in order to avoid introducing various infections into the places where the stems are cut. The further development and life of the flower bush will depend on this.

After removing the aerial part of the peonies, it is recommended to moisten the soil abundantly and add nutrient solutions or dry mixtures. There are several options for mineral and organic top dressing.

• A thick layer of compost or rotted humus (about one large bucket for each plant) is applied to the bush and near it around the circumference in the second half of November (with the arrival of frost).
• Immediately after trimming, the cuts are sprinkled with wood ash powder or crushed activated charcoal (for disinfection), and later one large glass of bone meal is added under each plant.
• Complex mineral fertilizers for flowering horticultural crops containing potassium and phosphorus are scattered on the surface of the earth near each bush in the dosage indicated on the package.

In regions with severe snowless winters, peonies are spudded with a dry peat mixture, then covered with sawdust, fallen leaves or spruce branches.

• Sanitary, anti-aging and decorative pruning of a tree peony is recommended only in spring.
• Sanitary "haircut" should be carried out every year. It involves the removal of dry branches completely and frozen - to a living kidney.
• A rejuvenating procedure is required for plants in fifteen to twenty years. The branches are cut at the root, which activates the growth of new shoots and gives new strength for further development.
• Formative "haircut" for the first time is carried out only in the third or fourth year of life. Remove dry, damaged, weak and thickening plant shoots.
• To enhance the growth and size of inflorescences, for more lush and abundant flowering, a certain number of small buds are pruned.
• Annual autumn pruning of a tree-like peony (at the root) is not carried out, since their thick and strong tree-like stems are not afraid of winter frosts and tolerate cold periods perfectly. But unviable old branches must be shortened by ten to fifteen centimeters.
• After the end of flowering, it is necessary to remove only faded buds, and in autumn, ripened seed pods are cut off.
• For the full development of a tree-like peony, it is recommended to cut the root shoots annually.

After intensive flowering, peonies are allowed to rest until the end of summer, and then (if necessary) a transplant is carried out. Favorable time for this is the second half of August and September. Depending on the local climate, these dates can be shifted by one to two weeks. Before the cold weather, the plants will have time to take root in a new place and get stronger in order to survive the winter.

The reason for transplantation can be several reasons and signs: a fairly large overgrown bush, spots appearing on the leaf plates, yellowing and drying leaves in the lower part of the bush, signs of disease, more than five years old.

Basic transplant rules:

• With a garden pitchfork, the bush is carefully dug at a distance of twenty centimeters from the root part, after moistening the soil.
• Prying with a shovel and holding it by the aerial part, the bush is removed from the soil along with an earthen clod.
• The aerial part is cut off by 60 - 70%.
• The earth on the roots is lightly shaken off, then the roots are washed, examined, separated, lifeless roots are removed.
• Each divided part should have one or two kidneys.
• The places of cuts of the roots are sprinkled with ash or treated with a solution of potassium permanganate.
• A drainage layer is poured into the planting pit (from wood waste, small stones, broken bricks) and a mixture of garden or garden soil, humus, compost, and a mineral complex.
• Delenki are planted, sprinkled with earth, rammed and watered.

1. After dividing the root part and transplanting, it is not recommended to water the plants abundantly in the next few months. A young plant absorbs moisture too quickly and, with its excess, the root part will begin to rot.
2. After dividing an adult bush into parts, it is not recommended to plant plants in the same area. The qualitative development of young crops - delenok is possible only on a new flower garden or flower bed.
3. Peonies are very fond of water and in large quantities, but they absolutely cannot stand wet or swampy soil. To prevent water from stagnating, it is necessary to fill the planting hole with reliable drainage material before planting.
4. Planting depth is of great importance for the growth and development of a peony. Insufficient depth can lead to the fact that after numerous loosening of the near-stem space and weeding of weeds, the buds and part of the rhizome will be very close to the soil surface. Additional hilling can save such bushes. Planting too deep will result in no flowering.
5. Renewal buds when planting peonies should not be deeper in the ground than five to seven centimeters.
6. For planting peonies in your area, it is recommended to use only young plants - seedlings. Massive, overgrown and old cultures in a couple of years will completely grow old and stop blooming. All the hassle of planting and care will be in vain.
7. Without special need, you should not disturb peonies with frequent transplants.
8. A root damaged during transplantation must be disinfected with a solution of copper sulphate, a manganese solution, or sprinkled with crushed activated charcoal.
9. Early pruning of peony foliage (immediately after flowering ends) will cause irreparable harm to crops. The next bloom will be sparse or may not occur at all.

Useful video

How to transplant peonies - video

Peonies have faded - what to do? florist mistakes - video

Even in the presence of all the conditions of maintenance and care, namely watering, fertilizing, loosening, weeding, transplanting, peonies will not please with their beauty and fragrance without proper pruning. Only timely and so necessary pruning of flowers will prepare them for weather changes, strengthen immunity, give strength and health to lay new buds and ensure lush, plentiful and long flowering next season. A minimum of care and attention to their pets and they will surely thank the flower growers, become the subject of their pride and admiration.