Planting and caring for a tree peony

The tree peony is a shrub up to one and a half meters high and has a spreading crown. Planting and caring for a tree peony has its own characteristics. It is especially important to plant the plant correctly so that it hurts as little as possible. As a rule, peonies are propagated by dividing the bush, although seeds are also possible, just seedlings grow very slowly, even seedlings appear only after two winters. In addition, the color of the seedlings may differ from that of the parent plant. Planting should be done in July - August, after the plants have faded and four weeks have passed. A place for them is chosen protected from the winds and well-drained.

A couple of weeks before planting, a planting pit is prepared with a depth of 70 centimeters, on the bottom of which a layer of sand is poured, then a layer of rotted manure and earth with the addition of peat, humus, bone meal. The plant is placed in a pit, the roots are straightened and filled with water. When the water is absorbed, the hole is covered with earth so that the root collar is at the level of the soil, but is not covered by it. The plant will hurt for a while. And in general, planting and caring for a tree peony requires patience from the gardener, since peonies grow very slowly. Lush flowering, when dozens of flowers appear on the bush at the same time, you will have to wait about 10 years from the moment of planting.

The plant is fed with ash, bone meal and mineral fertilizers with a high content of potassium and phosphorus. Usually one dressing is done a couple of weeks before flowering, and one after flowering. For the winter, the shoots of the plant must be tied up and covered with spruce branches, having built a hut out of it. In the spring, when the buds awaken, the shoots are cut to the first living bud.