Ito Hybrid Care
Ito-peonies are extremely hardy plants, so caring for them is not difficult at all.
Watering and feeding
Top dressing of Ito-peonies is carried out in spring and autumn. For this, you can use urea, ash, herbal infusions. Urea granules are scattered on flower beds in early spring. You can sprinkle ash on the plant as soon as the snow melts. In May, you can fertilize the peony with herbal infusion (1: 8), pre-watered with water or after rain.
Watering is especially necessary after flowering.
It is important that the soil does not become dry. The formation of future flowers depends on this.
Important! In hot weather, peonies are watered once a week, spending 2-3 buckets per bush
Mulching and loosening
In the fall, for better moisture retention, the peony needs mulching. Any loose material (bark, hay, stones, crushed stone, sawdust) will do. For peonies, it is best to use stones: this will also serve as a decor.
Mulching
Loosening of the soil must be done carefully so as not to damage the growth buds. At a distance of 10-15 cm from the bush, loosening can be deeper
This action helps to retain moisture and kill weed seedlings. It is necessary to loosen the soil after each heavy rain and abundant watering.
Preventive treatment
Old leaves must be removed and burned to prevent bacteria and pests. After that, the plant is treated with a solution of copper sulfate or phytosporin, and the soil is spilled with a solution of Bordeaux liquid. To prevent harmful insects and diseases from accumulating in the soil, the soil around the bush is dug up.
Diseases and pests
Like any other herbaceous plants, peonies are not immune to pests and any diseases.
With excessive use of dressings, abundant and uncontrolled watering, the peonies will surely start to hurt. The main diseases to which peonies of the "Peter Brand" variety are susceptible are:
- gray rot;
- powdery mildew;
- rust;
- Lemoine's disease and some others.
The causes of a particular disease may be different. Therefore, at the first appearance of unusual spots on the leaves or when signs of wilting are found, the plant should be immediately treated. First of all, you need to control watering, then you should change the dressing and, finally, choose a remedy for treatment. If we are talking about fungal diseases such as gray rot, then fungicidal agents for plants will help.
If insects and other pests such as ants are found, which are just very fond of settling on peonies, whiteflies, aphids, nematodes, thrips or bronzes, it is very important to take emergency measures to destroy them. Otherwise, they will slowly destroy plants.
If a bronze or scabbard attacked, then for a start it is worth collecting the pests by hand, and only then start using professional products or herbal infusions.
But aphids or whiteflies can be poisoned immediately using a selected insecticide. As a rule, insects fly to peonies from neighboring plants, which is why, in order to prevent re-infection, a comprehensive treatment should be done.
See the next video for caring for peonies.
Pests and diseases
Despite their unpretentious nature, resistance to drought and cold, peonies are still not so unique. They, like all other plants, have their own pests.
Bronze beetles. These insects "love" peonies very much, so they eat their pistils and stamens. These pests are very frequent guests of the plant. If such a beetle visits your site, you can hardly wait for the next flowering of peonies.
Do you understand how dangerous this insect is? Therefore, it is very important to protect your flower bed and not let the bronzer destroy the lush, brightly fragrant flowers. The most effective way to get rid of this harmful insect is to spray the bushes with a solution from the cheremitsa.
Sod ants
These pests, like the bronze beetles, are very dangerous for peonies. Sod ants attack the unopened buds of bushes, which secrete sweet juice, and eat the petals. You need to fight these insects in the same way as with bronze beetles, using a solution from cheremitsa.
Nematodes. These harmful creatures eat the roots of the plant, which does not allow them to develop normally, reproduce and simply exist. Before planting peonies, be sure to inspect the soil for parasites. If you don't, you risk being left without lush bushes in your yard.
Viruses. This is the worst thing that can be for a plant. The point is that they are not cured. If the plant is infected with a virus, you need to immediately burn the bush so that it does not spread to neighboring plants in your area. Unfortunately, there is no cure for them, and viruses are a frequent occurrence in the beds and flower beds of many summer residents and gardeners.
Care
Watering peonies begins with the onset of spring. The soil must be moistened, but moisture stagnation is not allowed. Pour about two or three buckets of water under a mature peony bush "Canary Diamonds". If the land around the peonies is not mulched, then weeding and loosening is mandatory. Mulching is covering the soil with various materials to reduce moisture loss and prevent soil cracking, and straw is great as the simplest mulch.
Feeding peonies should be done in three stages: as soon as the snow melts, 10 grams of potassium and nitrogen are scattered around the bush, then watering is carried out; during the period of bud growth, 10 grams of nitrogen, potassium -12 grams, phosphorus - 15 grams are also scattered; for the third time, fertilizers are applied two weeks after flowering. To do this, 12 grams of potassium and 20 grams of phosphorus are poured under each bush.
It is recommended to use dolomite flour and ash to deoxidize the soil. They can be added to the soil at any time of the year, but the preferred time to apply them is spring or fall. Dolomite flour is added to the soil once every three years. Ash has less pronounced deoxidizing properties, so it can be added more often.
Growing conditions
In order for these delightful garden dwellers to feel great and regularly delight their owner with luxurious flowering, they need to create the most comfortable conditions. This assumes the fulfillment of such requirements as:
- the right choice of place;
- suitable soil composition;
- correct irrigation regime;
- timely feeding.
Seat selection
Most of these herbaceous perennials prefer sunny places, but they tolerate a little shade quite well during the height of a hot day. Lack of lighting negatively affects the state of peonies, leading to a reduction in the number and size of their flowers.
It is very important that the place where the peonies grow is protected from gusts of wind and drafts that can harm the plants. You also need to make sure that this place is warm enough and warms up well during the day.
The soil
These perennials prefer to grow in areas where the soil has a slightly acidic or neutral reaction. Acidic soils are not suitable for peonies.
Loose, well-drained and fertile soil is optimal for these perennials.
Watering
Considering that peonies react painfully to excess moisture in the soil, they should be watered with great care. Experienced flower growers claim that in a moderately hot summer, these plants will only need two waterings: at the end of June and at the end of August.
In dry summers, flowers need to be watered more often, controlling the moisture content of the soil. Do not allow stagnation of water in the area with peonies, allowing the surface of the earth to dry out after the next watering.
In addition, timely watering during the period of bud formation, flowering and active development is also necessary for these plants. Experiencing a lack of moisture, peonies will begin to use their energy more economically, which will not have the best effect on their appearance, size and number of buds.
Top dressing
Given that most varietal and hybrid herbaceous peonies are characterized by intense growth rates and generous flowering, it is very important to feed these plants in a timely manner. So, it is recommended to apply fertilizers under these beautifully flowering perennials three times a season at such stages as:
- entering the stage of intensive development;
- the stage of bud formation;
- flowering stage.
Some growers also feed peonies after they have faded. It is believed that this top dressing will allow plants to quickly recover the energy spent on stem growth and bud formation. For top dressing, both organic and mineral fertilizers are used.
