Content
Growing peonies from seeds is not a very popular method, but some gardeners use seed propagation. For the procedure to be successful, you need to carefully study its features and rules.
What do peony seeds look like?
Peony seeds are quite large, their average size is from 5 to 10 mm. The color depends on the type of peony and can be light brown, dark brown, or beige. The seeds have a glossy shine, are round in shape, smooth to the touch, slightly elastic and not hard.
Fresh peony seeds should be smooth and glossy
Is it possible to grow peonies from seeds?
Growing peonies from seeds at home is associated with certain difficulties.It is quite possible to obtain flowers in this way, but they rarely resort to seeds for breeding peonies. The procedure has more disadvantages than advantages.
Pros and cons of propagating peonies by seeds
Growing peonies from seeds has only 2 advantages:
- During seed propagation, varietal characteristics are not preserved. Theoretically, as an experiment, you can grow a completely new variety, which in appearance will differ from the usual varietal peony.
- Peonies grown from seeds usually adapt better to climatic conditions and demonstrate high hardiness.
But the seed method has quite a lot of disadvantages. These include:
- low decorative value, since seedlings do not retain the characteristics of the variety; most often, adult flowers do not have special value and beauty;
- very slow growth, the first flowers appear only 5-7 years after planting the seeds;
- a complex cultivation procedure, in order for the planting material to sprout, the seeds must be stratified, and then special attention must be paid to their germination;
- high risk of death of seedlings at a young age, even if the seeds sprout, not all of them will be able to grow stronger.
For all of the above reasons, peonies usually prefer to be propagated using vegetative methods.
Seed propagation does not bring results very quickly, so it is rarely used
What peonies can be grown from seeds?
Not all varieties of peonies are, in principle, suitable for seed propagation. Usually the following varieties are sown in the ground with seeds: black and wild peonies, evasive peony Maryin root, thin-leaved and milky-flowered peonies. The tree-like variety also reproduces by seeds, but its seeds are covered with a dense shell and germinate very slowly.
Timing of peony propagation by seeds
Plants raised by seed grow slowly - only a few centimeters per year. Even when using fresh seeds, the first shoots may take several months to appear. It is possible to wait for flowers only after 4-7 years, depending on the variety, the density of the seed shell and growing conditions.
The first sprouts during seed planting can appear not only after six months, but also after 1-2 years
How to grow peonies from seeds
Since growing peonies from seeds is especially difficult, it is important to follow all the rules during the process. Neglecting the growing algorithm will reduce the chances that the seeds will germinate at all.
Selection of containers and soil preparation
You can germinate seeds at home in almost any container. Shallow wooden pallets, tin cans without bottoms, or ordinary short cups are best suited for this purpose. You can also plant seeds in special peat pots. Before planting peonies, trays and cups are sterilized to eliminate the negative influence of microorganisms.
Flowers are not too demanding on the soil, but prefer loose neutral or calcareous soil. The optimal solution for peonies is a mixture of fertile soil, sand and peat with the addition of lime.
What to do with peony seeds before sowing
The shell of peony seeds is very dense, so without special preparation, seedlings can germinate for up to 2 years. To speed up the process, the following treatment is carried out before sowing:
- the seeds are very carefully filed or lightly scratched with sandpaper, the shell loses strength and the sprouts emerge faster;
- The seeds are soaked for a day in water with the addition of a growth stimulant; you can also take a regular dark purple solution of potassium permanganate.
If you prepare correctly, you will have to wait much less for the first shoots to appear.
Before planting, the seeds must be thoroughly soaked to soften the shell.
How to germinate peony seeds
After preparation, the seeds need germination; this can be accelerated if the planting material is provided with sufficiently high temperatures.
Pour wet sand into a shallow but wide bowl, sow seeds into it and lightly sprinkle sand on top. After this, the bowl is placed on a warm surface - on a heating radiator or an electric heating pad. For 6 hours, the seeds are provided with a stable temperature of at least 30 °C, after which it is reduced to 18 °C for 4 hours.
In this mode, the bowl with seeds must be kept for about 2 months. All this time, the sand is regularly moistened so that the seeds do not dry out - when you squeeze the sand in your hand, drops of moisture should appear.
How to sow peony seeds
If germination in warmth was carried out correctly, then after 2 months the seeds will produce the first roots. After this, you will need to carefully remove them from the bowl with sand, lightly pinch the root at the tip and sow them in a pre-prepared container with a soil mixture of peat and sand. The seeds do not need to be planted too deeply; the layer of soil above them should be only 5 mm.
Next, the seeds must be kept in a well-lit place at a temperature of about 10 ° C and at low humidity, no more than 10%.The cold stage continues until the first green leaves appear; this may take about a couple of months.
How to grow peonies from seeds
In late spring, after the soil has completely warmed up, young peonies are planted in the garden plot. A place for them is selected that is half shaded; the soil must be nutritious and fairly loose, neutral or alkaline. The sprouts are buried by 4 cm, not forgetting to leave a distance of about 5 cm between them, watered and mulched.
Flowers are transplanted into the growing soil only after the soil has completely warmed up.
In the first year, young peonies can be fed with urea at the rate of 50 g of fertilizer per bucket of water. With the onset of autumn, the plantings are covered with fallen leaves, lutrasil or spruce branches.
In the second year, peonies are transplanted to a permanent place; this is best done in August. The plant is immersed in a hole about 50 cm deep along with the former earthen ball; broken brick or crushed stone is first laid at the bottom of the hole as drainage. Also, during planting, fertilizing is applied - superphosphate, potassium sulfate and dolomite flour.
After planting, the plants are watered abundantly, and subsequently caring for peonies is reduced to standard measures. You need to water the flowers once a week or twice a month in rainy weather. They are fed three times a year with complex fertilizers - in spring, early summer, and autumn. For the winter, peonies are insulated with lutrasil or spruce branches.
Features of growing peonies from seeds from China
Since seed propagation is not popular, finding peony seeds on sale is not so easy.Most often, gardeners purchase planting material via the Internet from China; suppliers promise excellent germination rates and very decorative results.
Seeds from China look very attractive, but real reviews from gardeners claim that planting material has its drawbacks:
- Seeds from China do not have a very high germination rate; on average, only 20-25% of the total number of seeds germinates.
- Adult peonies from seeds at home do not always look as attractive as in the picture on the package. In addition, when purchasing planting material from China, you cannot get firm guarantees that the package will contain seeds of the exact variety indicated in the description.
- Gardeners note that Chinese seeds often die after germination 2-3 weeks after germination, despite the quality conditions.
Before planting purchased seeds, you need to carefully examine their appearance. Good peony seeds should be smooth and glossy, not too hard to the touch. If the seeds are very dry and wrinkled, then the chances of successful germination are low.
Peony seeds from China do not give 100% germination, usually it does not exceed 25%
How to germinate peony seeds from China
The algorithm for growing Chinese seeds is practically no different from the standard one. The main difference is that planting material needs more careful preparation:
- Since purchased seeds are often not very fresh and dried, the first step is to soak them in water for 2-3 days. This will soften the shell a little, and the likelihood of germination will increase.
- It would be a good idea to scarify the seeds, that is, scratch them with sandpaper or cut them with a sharp blade.
- Germination of seeds from China is carried out using the warm method at the end of winter.Planting material is placed in a flat container with moistened sand, after which it is heated to 30 °C during the daytime and only to 15 °C at night.
If the seeds are of high quality, then after about 2 months they will produce the first shoots.
How to plant peony seeds from China
The germinated seeds are transferred to fertile soil consisting of leafy soil and peat mixed with sand. There is no need to deeply bury the seeds; just make holes about 5 mm deep for them and lightly sprinkle them with soil. After this, the tray or pot with seeds is placed in a well-lit place with a temperature no higher than 10-12 ° C and continues to be regularly moistened until germination.
Growing Chinese seeds is practically no different from ordinary ones
How to grow peony seedlings from Chinese seeds
When the first green leaves appear in the pots, the seedlings will need to be kept indoors for a few more months. It is recommended to move peonies into the ground in mid-August. Until this point, the seedlings need to be watered, keeping the soil constantly moist, and keeping the room temperature at about 18 ° C.
Open ground for peonies should be loose, mixed with peat and sand. When planting, it is recommended to feed the peony seedlings with complex fertilizers and maintain weekly watering until the onset of cold weather. Before winter, young peonies are protected from frost with spruce branches or lutrasil.
When and how to collect peony seeds
When propagating from seeds, the best results are shown by fresh peony seeds that have not yet had time to dry and harden. Therefore, if there are fruit-bearing flowers in the garden, seed material can be collected from them; the varieties Maryin Root, Michelangelo, Raphael, and milky-flowered peonies are suitable for this.
Planting material must be collected during the ripening process, before the carpels open.
Seeds are collected at the end of summer, between August 20 and September 15. You need to choose light brown shiny seeds with an elastic structure that have not yet opened the carpels.
Planting fresh seeds is considered optimal. But the process of seed propagation usually begins in the middle of winter, so autumn seeds are most often stored for storage. To do this, they need to be dried - laid out on paper on a flat surface and left in a dry and ventilated place until completely dry. From time to time, the seeds are turned so that they are completely dry on all sides and do not become moldy.
After drying, the seeds are threshed through a sieve to remove small debris and placed in paper envelopes or bags, not forgetting to attach labels to them with the name of the flowers and the time of collection. Planting material should be stored in dry conditions at a temperature not exceeding 12 °C.
The germination of peony seeds lasts up to 2 years on average. But it is recommended to plant the material during the first year; then it will be more difficult to germinate flowers.
Expert advice
For seed cultivation, professionals recommend taking small peony seeds - 3-5 mm. Large seeds take longer and are more difficult to germinate because their shell is denser.
To quickly grow seeds, you should use the home breeding method. Some gardeners sow seeds directly into open ground before winter for natural stratification, but in this case, sprouts may appear only after a year or two.
Small flower seeds germinate easier and faster
Conclusion
Growing peonies from seeds is a difficult but exciting activity. This method is usually chosen by gardeners who are inclined to experiment, and if all the rules are followed, they achieve a positive result.
