For a long time, flower growers thought that tree peonies were unsuitable for growing in Central Russia due to their low frost resistance. However, in places where these plants are found in nature, there are constant sharp changes in annual temperatures: cold snowy winters and hot dry summers.
Today, tree peonies come to Russia, as a rule, from Dutch and Polish nurseries. Basically, these are cuttings of treelike peonies grafted onto herbaceous roots. According to the testimony of amateur flower growers, not all specimens survive the winter.
Choosing the right location for the peonies is important. It should be located far from large trees, not be blown by winds, provide shelter from direct sunlight (in this case, partial shade is ideal). With this arrangement, the flowers last longer and do not fade. It is no coincidence that in Japan and China, peony bushes are often covered from the sun, wind and rain with a canopy.
Treelike peonies grow mostly in deciduous leaves and shrubs on mountain slopes, usually on calcareous soils. Therefore, they should not be planted in clayey wetlands with a high level of groundwater. Peonies also do not tolerate excess water during floods, so plants need good drainage from sand and gravel. In China, tree peonies are often placed on raised terraces.
Peonies prefer alkaline soils to acidic ones. It is advisable to add bone meal and wood ash to the ground. The best time for a transplant is the second half of August - mid-September. Every spring, it is necessary to cut out dried shoots, and shorten the old ones to a height of 10 cm. Every 20 years in China, the bush is pruned almost to the level of the soil. It is believed that this not only does not harm the plant, but, on the contrary, contributes to its rejuvenation.
If seeds are not needed, it is recommended that after flowering, cut off the faded shoots to the upper axillary bud. After such an operation, the plant will bloom more abundantly the next year. For a peony, planting depth is important. Too shallow will lead to the fact that roots and shoots will not develop, too deep will oppress the plants. A distance of at least 1.5 m is left between the specimens. The earth around the bush is not trampled.
The life span of a plant depends on whether the bush is properly formed. In China, there are five hundred-year-old specimens, they are carefully protected, but on average, the plant usually lives for 100 or more years.
It is advisable to regularly loosen the soil around the bush, and apply a full set of fertilizers (potassium, nitrogen, phosphorus) before flowering. In order not to burn the roots, the plant must first be watered.
Do not get carried away with fertilizers, which contain a large percentage of nitrogen, as peonies become susceptible to gray rot. At the slightest sign of wilting of the stems, it is necessary to cut off and burn the damaged parts.
The tree peony is painful to transplant. Often lush and strong specimens wither after it and cannot recover for several years.
The branches of peonies are very fragile and break easily in winter, so in late autumn it is better to tie and cover the plants with spruce branches. It will protect plants from hares, as well as from frost and the scorching rays of the spring sun.
Marianna Uspenskaya, Candidate of Biological Sciences, Art. Researcher of the Botanical Garden of Moscow State University
