Fine-leaved Peony - a view from the Red Book of Russia. In the steppe and rocky regions of the North Caucasus, Krasnodar Territory, the Balkans, and Crimea, a wild-growing peony with terry red flowers is found in its natural habitat. The view differs from the usual peony with carved thin leaves similar to dill or pine needles.
Thin-leaved peony (Paeonia tenuifolia) - what kind of plants
This rare flower in domestic gardens deserves close attention and wide distribution.
Short description and characteristics:
- Perennial.
- The height of the bush is 40-50 cm.
- Flowering at a time.
- Diameter of a flower is up to 7-9 cm.
In natural habitat
- The color of the outer petals is bright red, raspberry, dark cherry with a satin tint. Anthers yellow, purple threads. In the wild species, 10-12 petals arranged in one to three rows have a terry form (Rubra Plena).
- The smell is thin, pleasant.
- Flowering is very early (in late May and first half of June).
- Frost-resistant, can grow in climatic zones 2-8 (up to minus 45 degrees).
Other names
In different regions and among local residents there are other names for this plant:
- narrow-leaved peony,
- Holly peony
- peony fern,
- peony Voronets,
Pion fruit
- Voronets,
- Funnel (by seed color),
- Zelenika
- Red azure
- Azure flower
- Fringed peony.
Advantages and disadvantages of the species
The view is distinguished by very bright colors and decorative foliage. It blooms simultaneously with tulips, after flowering it retains decorativeness. Unpretentious and almost not sick. Greens can be used for decoration of bouquets. In one place it grows to 15 years.
Poisonous, attracts ants and aphids. Loses attractiveness in the second half of summer. It blooms only for 4-5 years.
Use in landscape design
The species is used both on monocultural beds, and as part of large rock gardens, among stones, against the background of talus, in mixborders. It is interesting for creating steppe plots where it can be combined with cereals, flax, saxifrage and wormwood.
Attention! The thin-leaved peony is very interesting for breeders to develop new varieties.
Varieties of great success among gardeners
There are few varieties of peonies of this species because of its exoticism, but besides official ones, breeders can find different forms of wild plants that differ in colors and leaves from each other.
- Eaglet
Dark red flowers with 6-9 petals in a row and dissected small foliage, pleasant smell. The bush is up to 0.6 m high.
- Tiny Tim
Very early variety with semi-double flowers, bush of the correct form.
- Rubra plena
Terry peony, small-leaved variety, one of the most decorative and in demand.
Terry grade Rebra Plena
- Airlie Scout (Early Scout)
Dark green small leaves, cherry flowers.
- Merry Mayshine
A simple flower with a diameter of 13 cm, dark red with golden stamens, petals more than 6 cm wide. Upright strong stems, dark green long-lasting foliage. Good cut. The aroma is weak.
- Terry leaf
Basically, this description applies to Rubra Plena, but terry and semi-double forms are found in narrow-leaved field peonies.
- Other
There are descriptions of yellow, pink and white inflorescences, semi-double and terry forms of thin-leaved peony. Noteworthy gardeners are the dwarf Little Rime, tall hot pink Rose Garland, dark cherry with almost black buds of Chocolate Soldier and many others.
Growing a flower, how to plant in open ground
The species is propagated by seeds, dividing the bush or root cuttings, stem cuttings, layering.
Planting with root cuttings
Peony must have at least 2-3 kidneys on the root neck, and the root must be at least 15 cm long.
Small rhizomes with 1-2 buds, if they have at least one root, can also be planted. They are quite viable and well rooted with a slight delay in the development of the bush.
What time is the landing
Transplanting, planting and dividing the peony bush are done from mid-August to mid-September. At this time, there is an increase in overgrowing small roots, due to which the bush is nourished.
Partial rooting of plantings, which continues intensively immediately after thawing the soil in spring, contributes to a more rapid onset of peony blooming. At other times, it is necessary to ensure the safety of not only the roots, but also the shoots.
Location selection
Peonies reach a maximum of development for 4-5 years and, with good agricultural technology, bloom profusely for another 8-12 years. The plant loves lighted areas and reacts to severe dimming with a decrease in flowering profusion and paler colors. A place is chosen taking into account the absence of roots of shrubs, trees and nearby groundwater.
The ideal place is well-lit, with a day openwork penumbra, away from the building and large trees, protected from the wind.
Important! Water stagnation and high groundwater levels are unacceptable!
How to prepare the soil for planting
Fleshy perennial roots of peonies with a large supply of nutrients for the normal development of plants require fertile, well-cultivated soils and seats with a depth and diameter comparable to the size of the bush and its root system.
Groundwater level should not be higher than 1 meter. The peculiarity of the narrow-leaved peony is rocky, moderately moist and slightly arid places.
To grow peonies, well-drained soil with good water and air permeability is required. At the bottom of the seats, drainage is laid from bricks, stones, rusty iron can be added.
On heavy clay soils, sand is added to the pit, and on sandy and sandy clay. Rotted manure or compost is added to the mixture, per well, depending on the volume of 100-200 grams of superphosphate, 100-150 grams of potassium sulfate and dolomite flour, lime or ash in acidic soil. Fertilizer dosages are best clarified in the instructions. The soil is slightly compacted.
The upper part of the pit (15-25 cm) is filled with ordinary fertile soil without fertilizers, and a plant is planted in this layer.
For reference! Recommended soil acidity is slightly acidic (pH 5.5-6.5).
Preparing a seedling for planting
Inspect the deal, damaged and rotten roots are removed, sections and broken off parts of the root are dusted with ash, charcoal, a growth stimulant. Large roots are cut to 1/3 of the length.
Important! The seedlings should be handled carefully, the roots break easily.
Peony planting procedure step by step:
- Choose a place.
- Prepare a landing pit by arranging a drainage layer, fill it with soil and fertilizers. Make a hole.
- Prepare peony seedlings (cuttings, young bush).
- Set the level, indicated by a stretched rope or board
- Put the seedling in the prepared hole, checking the deepening of the kidneys. Large roots are placed in the pit without bending to avoid fracture. The seedling growth points should be at a depth of 3-4 cm. After the subsidence of the soil, the seedling settles by 1.5-2 centimeters.
- Cover the hole with fertile soil.
- Hands gently squeeze the earth, ramming it around the roots.
- Spill abundantly with water at the rate of 1-2 buckets per plant. If necessary, add more soil if it sags.
- Mulch with compost, straw, peat, chopped bark.
- In case of delayed plantings, provide shelter for the seedling.
Seedling
Seeding (for breeding)
Peony fruit is a star-shaped many-leafed tree, each of which contains several large shiny seeds of black or brown color, according to which the species got its name "Voronets".
The time of gathering planting material is when the fruit bursts and seeds that are not yet dark can be seen through the half-open leaves. If you plan to grow seeds in the garden - you need to get them out of the boxes, mulch with wet sand, bark, light soil and refrigerate until planting, not forgetting to constantly control the humidity of the sand.
In open ground, it is enough to sow the seeds on a prepared place in shallow grooves. Sprouts appear in the second year.
For faster germination of peony seeds, three periods are necessary - warm-cold-warm.
- In the first warm period, sprinkle the seeds with sand, pour warm water. Put in a mini-greenhouse. It is necessary to maintain the temperature from +16 to +25 degrees, ventilate and moisten the sand until the appearance of roots 1-2 cm long.
- In the cold phase, plants in which the roots appeared, planted in peat soil. The temperature should be + 6 ... +10 degrees. Monitor the humidity (it should be about 10%) and the absence of sudden changes in temperature. The cold phase lasts 3-4 months, daily ventilation is necessary.
- In the second warm phase, growing peony sprouts is no different from growing other plants.
Plant care
The species is unpretentious, plants will grow almost without care. But compliance with simple rules will allow them to be more magnificent, bloom earlier and more abundantly.
Young plant
Watering and feeding
In the first two or three years after planting, fertilizing is not needed, the plants receive a sufficient amount of nutrition from the planting mixture.
Young plants actively consume moisture in late June - July, when the buds and the formation of growth buds occur. Watering plants is better only under the roots.
Frequency of irrigation in the absence of rain - once a week, consumption per plant 10-15 liters of water. Watering if you want to maintain decorativeness continues until the end of August. Voronets refers to a species with a pronounced period of summer dormancy, therefore, with a lack of moisture, the bush will soon lose its color after flowering.
In the following years, plants are fed organic and mineral fertilizers immediately after the plants awaken. Plants after top dressing are abundantly watered; when dried, the soil is loosened and mulched.
Important! Potassium and phosphorus should predominate in the composition of fertilizers, an excess of nitrogen can adversely affect flowering, lead to the occurrence of fungal diseases and lodging of shoots.
Mulching and cultivation
Peony develops well on light loose soils, so after watering you need to loosen the soil around the bush. The ground can also be mulched with straw, hay, crushed bark, cut paper or cardboard can be used.
Plant Prevention and Protection
In the planting pit and at the base of the stems, the soil is sprinkled with ash, the plant is treated with fungicides if necessary.
Protection against aphids and ants is necessary, and in the period before flowering - from the May beetle.
Period of activity and rest
Peony vegetation period is from May to October. The presence of powerful rhizomes with food reserves allows you to use the view for distillation, but in this case it is necessary to provide a large space for the bush and active illumination.
Flowering peonies
A peony blooms in mid-May - early June, after which the color of the foliage deteriorates, the plant leaves during the summer dormancy, but with continued watering, the bush retains its beauty.
Care during and after flowering
It is not recommended to cut off all flowering shoots, as this will greatly weaken the peony, and it will bloom much weaker next summer. After flowering, you can remove the inflorescences along with part of the stem. Removing the entire stem is not recommended.
If you cut too many stems, then they will have time to grow again and even throw away the buds.
Interesting! If after flowering the peony is not watered, the plant goes into hibernation, the leaves fall off, the shoots dry out. This state of rest is quite normal.
Peony does not bloom - possible reasons for what to do
The main problems due to which the peony does not bloom:
- the seedling is planted too deep;
- buds froze due to a harsh winter or insufficient shelter of the plant;
- the seedling is weak, planted in poor condition or replanted several times;
- the bush is old - in this case it is required to divide the bush;
- an unsuccessful place, a full shadow or bush is filled with water;
- the plant is sick or damaged by pests.
Transplanting an adult bush
A transplant of a healthy bush without visible problems is advisable not to do at all. But if necessary, the bush in the spring or in August-September is transplanted with a lump of land or combine transplanting with the division and reproduction of the bush.
For a transplant that does not injure the plant, an annular ditch of the largest possible diameter is dug (at least 10-15 centimeters from the crown projection), the bush gently rises from several sides onto the shovels, or under it, a sheet of metal is planted under a digging and an annular ditch (a snow shovel is suitable), which plant is being transported to a new place. Planting is carried out according to the same rules as an ordinary seedling.
Winter preparations
Shoots after wilting cut off at ground level as low as possible. Do not tighten with trimming, in this case, the root system can rot.
Bushes mulch for the winter, the thickness of the layer depends on the climate and condition of the bush. Young bushes planted this year are best protected with additional covering material or spruce branches. For shelter, it is best to use humus, bark. In the spring, the mulch is removed.
Diseases, pests and ways to combat them
Wild peony of this species is almost not affected by diseases and pests. But some owners report such issues:
- Rust. There are spots on the leaves and shoots. They need to be collected and burned, the plant is sprayed with 1% Bordeaux liquid.
- Because of their attractiveness to ants, they are susceptible to attack by aphids. In this case, insecticides are used.
- In May, shoots and buds can be damaged by the May bug and return frosts.
Peony of this species is decorative, unpretentious and is able to decorate the collection of a professional breeder and a flower garden of a novice gardener. The once popular, forgotten and newly returned to the nurseries plant with exquisite flowers and unusual foliage deserves close attention.
