Content
Peony Madame Godichaux is a delicate variety that has won the hearts of botanists and landscape designers. For more than a century, the plant has been used to decorate public gardens, dachas and parks. Its distinctive feature is its large red buds, the shade of which changes from pale pink to crimson as it grows.
Breeding history
Madame Godichot was bred by the French botanist Millet. Selection work was carried out at the beginning of the last century and ended in 1902. At the same time, the variety was included in the official card index.
Description of Madame Godichot peony with photo
The flower has amazing immunity, which is not afraid of either harmful insects or diseases.
More often it is grown for cutting, since the Madame Godichot peony lasts in vases for just over a week
Tall herbaceous shrubs have a ball shape and dense foliage. The tallest stems can reach more than 80 cm. Dozens of strong branches are dispersed on the vertical shoots, so the Madame Godichot peony does not need a garter.
The leaf blades are quite strong, have a glossy surface of rich green color
One stem can contain up to several flowers, united in inflorescences. The diameter of an individual bud is from 16 to 18 cm. Madame Godichot is a double peony with light crimson petals. It is noteworthy that the flowers are asymmetrical, each is individual in its own way: color, shape, size.
The petals of Madame Godichot's peony exude a pleasant aroma in summer, very faint, but nevertheless perceptible.
Timing and flowering period
The plant blooms in early summer. Budding is short-lived; the owner can enjoy the flowers for no more than two weeks. However, gardeners emphasize that the period can be increased to 20-25 days if you choose a balanced fertilizer.
Advantages and disadvantages
Peony Madame Godichot has amazingly beautiful buds that can fit into the garden of any landscape.
Don’t forget about the strong immunity of culture
Advantages:
- interesting colors of buds;
- large size flowers;
- stands for a long time when cut;
- easy landing;
- no need to tie;
- can be combined with other plants.
Minuses:
- bushes attract ants;
- short flowering.
When and how to plant
To plant Madame Godichot's peony, the gardener does not have to work hard. The main condition is the seat, which should be selected taking into account the characteristics of the variety.
Soil requirements:
- drained;
- neutral in acidity;
- fertile.
Experts recommend paying no less attention to planting material. The bulbs must be whole; it is better to order them from a trusted nursery. Specimens with cracks, dark formations, thickening and rot are discarded.The raw materials that have passed the test are sent for processing: to do this, fill a cup with water, add potassium permanganate and immerse the tubers in the solution.
3 m of free space should be left between seedlings. This will be enough for the plant’s root system to quickly take root. While digging, add a little clay to the hole and check the acidity of the substrate. A small amount of drainage is placed at the bottom.
The bulbs are buried 50 cm, after which they are sprinkled with peat and garden soil. To avoid the formation of air pockets, Madame Godichaux's peonies need to be lightly compacted. The last stage of planting is abundant watering.
Care instructions
The culture is quite easy to care for. The gardener will need to water and feed the young seedlings. The soil is moistened once a week, spending about 25 liters of warm, settled liquid per procedure.
In hot weeks, the figure increases to 30 liters or more - depending on the weather forecast
As for fertilizers, the Madame Godichaux peony requires both mineral and organic additives. Flowers show good results after feeding with mullein, wood ash and yeast. Preparations based on nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and magnesium are bought in stores.
Wintering
The onset of cold weather is always characterized by increased stress in young plants. Therefore, Madame Godichot's peony needs to be protected:
- carry out short pruning, leaving small pieces of 40 mm on the surface;
- update the mulch, bring the layer height to 15 cm;
- covered with non-woven material.
Adult peonies do not need to be covered - just mulched.
Reproduction methods
Peony Madame Godichaux is propagated by seeds, cuttings or division. Each method is interesting in its own way and is used by gardeners. The most popular is division. The fact is that with such cultivation, the daughter bushes take root much faster, while the parental characteristics of the plant are preserved.
To propagate peonies by division, you will need adult specimens over 4 years old. It is necessary to dig up the crop, extract and divide the roots. A new bush should have 3 renewal buds. Planted using standard technology. Flowering can be observed by next summer.
Cuttings have a significant advantage - the ability to plant many specimens at a time. This requires a healthy shoot with an unopened bud. It is cut with a sterilized knife, the number of leaves is reduced to 1/3 and immersed in Kornevin. The cuttings are first placed in a pot and transferred to the soil a year later. Flowering is expected on average after 5 years.
To germinate the seeds, you will need a container with slightly damp sand. The temperature is maintained within +24-28 degrees, at night +14 degrees. After 60-90 days, Madame Godichot will form a root system - then the film is removed from the peonies, and the temperature is reduced to +6 degrees. With the appearance of leaves, the plants are covered again and the temperature is restored to +22 degrees.
Madame Godichot's peonies are transferred to open ground by the end of summer.
Disease and pest control
Despite stable immunity, the crop can become a victim of mosaic and Lemoine's disease.In the first case, the foliage becomes covered with spots; in the latter, the size of the buds and root shoots decreases. Infected plantings cannot be treated.
Among the pests, Madame Godichaux's peonies can be attacked by ants and aphids. Both are dealt with using insecticides. Fufanon is used against ants, and aphids are destroyed with Actellik.
Application in landscape
Designers love experimenting with peonies
Madame Godichot goes well with deciduous and coniferous trees and perennial flowers.
Peonies are planted in a flowerbed together with marigolds, hydrangeas, phlox, and irises.
Conclusion
Peony Madame Godichot is a hybrid obtained more than 100 years ago. Since then, the culture has migrated from France to other countries, including: China, Japan, Russia, USA, Germany, Austria and others. Gardeners note the plant’s unpretentiousness to external conditions, ease of planting and care.
Reviews from flower growers about the peony Madame Godichot
