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Caring for peonies in the spring is the key to active and lush flowering of these plants in the summer. The first activities are usually carried out after the snow has melted in the garden and young shoots begin to appear in the beds. In the spring, it is important to properly free the peonies from their shelter, organize the correct watering and fertilizing regime for them, and properly loosen and mulch the soil. It is also necessary to take care of the health of the bushes, paying attention to preventive treatment against diseases. The set of care measures begun in the spring should be continued in the summer, when the plants have already bloomed. If you follow all the recommendations given by experienced gardeners and follow their advice, the peonies on the site will remain beautiful, healthy and blooming for decades.
Caring for peonies after winter
Caring for peonies in the spring at your dacha or garden plot should begin even before the first shoots appear in the beds. First of all, cover is removed from the plantings, the condition of the bushes is inspected after winter, and dry shoots and debris are removed from the beds.In the spring, peonies sprout, then leaves, buds form, and finally begin to bloom. At this stage, they begin to systematically water and feed them, as well as loosen the soil and, if necessary, get rid of weeds.
Caring for peonies in the spring begins even before young sprouts appear in the beds.
When and how to open peonies after winter
Spring care for peonies growing on the site usually begins with removing the covering material, which provided plants wintering in the open ground with protection from frost and low temperatures. It is necessary to remove the shelter from the plantings after waiting for the snow to melt, the soil to thaw, and the return of night frosts to cease.
This must be done gradually:
- First, you need to carefully remove the mulch (dry leaves, sawdust) from the root neck of the peony, lifting a layer of coniferous spruce branches or agrofibre.
- The top cover should be removed a little later, making sure that a stable “plus” temperature has been established and giving the plants the opportunity to gradually get used to the surrounding conditions.
- If dry stems are found under the shelter, remaining from last year due to insufficient pruning of the bush, they should be removed so that a new generation of young shoots can grow freely.
- Further care consists of removing debris and lumps of hardened soil from the garden bed, as well as carefully loosening the soil between the small reddish sprouts.
First watering and fertilizing
An important stage in caring for peonies in the spring at the dacha is organizing abundant watering.At the stage of bud formation, shoot and leaf growth, plants require a large amount of moisture, so the gardener must make sure that there is enough of it.
In spring and summer, peonies require regular, not very frequent, but abundant watering.
Caring for peonies in the form of regular watering should begin when dry weather sets in. As a rule, it is enough to perform this procedure once every 7-10 days, spending 2 to 5 buckets of water on each bush, depending on its size.
Basic Rules:
- do not allow the soil under the peonies to dry out and a hard crust to form on its surface;
- it is desirable that the water be warm;
- when watering, moisture should not fall on the leaves of the plant;
- It is advisable to make holes around the bushes so that water can better saturate the soil;
- caring for the soil at the roots after watering involves necessarily loosening it to ensure better access to oxygen;
- Peonies must be watered before the beginning of September.
Mandatory measures for caring for peonies in the spring include feeding the bushes with organic and mineral substances. The approximate procedure for applying fertilizers is as follows:
- At the stage of swelling of the shoots, approximately at the end of March, rotted manure (5 l) or a complex nitrogen-potassium mixture (20 g) is embedded in the soil under each peony bush. The fertilizer is evenly distributed inside the hole at a distance of approximately 15-20 cm from the plant itself. After this, the soil is dug up to the depth of a spade bayonet, covered with a 4-centimeter layer of compost to retain moisture and watered with clean water.
- 20 days after this, peonies are fed with complex mineral compounds.You can choose a ready-made fertilizer with a predominant content of phosphorus and potassium, or prepare the mixture yourself by dissolving 10 g of ammonium nitrate, 20 g of potassium salt and 30 g of superphosphate in a bucket of water.
- After the first shoots appear, it is advisable to diversify the care of peonies by applying foliar fertilizers. It is recommended to spray shoots and leaves three times a season with an interval of 10-15 days. First, it is recommended to use an aqueous solution of urea (40 g per bucket), then the same composition with the addition of a tablet with microelements, and, finally, only microelements dissolved in water.
In the spring-summer period, it is important to properly organize the application of root and foliar fertilizers
How to care for peonies in spring and summer
Caring for peonies in the summer largely continues the activities begun in the spring. It is also aimed at maintaining the health of the bush and achieving abundant flowering.
Preventative treatments
When caring for peonies in spring and summer, one should not forget about disease prevention.
Thus, the first treatment against fungi is carried out immediately after the snow melts, watering the soil with a solution of potassium permanganate (1-2 g per 5 liters of water).
At the stage of leaf expansion in mid-May, peonies are prevented from being damaged by Borthrix, or gray rot, by spraying the plant and the soil around the bush with solutions of copper preparations (CHOM, copper sulfate, Borodos mixture 0.5%).
The second treatment with the same preparations against gray rot and rust is carried out after 10-15 days.
Caring for peonies involves another spraying with fungicides - after flowering.
Loosening and mulching the soil
A set of measures for caring for peonies in the spring at the dacha or in an open garden also includes systematic loosening of the soil. This is usually done using a flat cutter or cultivator, retreating approximately 3-5 cm from the bush shoots. It is necessary to loosen the soil to a depth of 5 cm, carefully so as not to damage the shoots.
The rules for caring for peonies in spring and summer involve loosening the soil after each watering or heavy rain, in parallel with removing weeds (if necessary). It is also recommended to perform this action:
- in mid-April, after mass emergence;
- in mid or late May, when budding begins;
- at the beginning of August.
Every time after watering or rain, you should carefully loosen the soil under the peony bushes.
It is recommended to mulch the soil in the spring to better retain moisture and heat, as well as to prevent the appearance of weeds. For these purposes, it is best to use a small layer of rotted manure. Straw or rotted leaves are also often used, but they can cause an outbreak of fungal diseases.
Tips from experienced gardeners for caring for peonies in spring
It is worth taking into account some additional recommendations from experienced gardeners on how to care for peonies in the spring so that they grow well and bloom luxuriantly:
- if a lot of water appears during the snow melting period, it is advisable to temporarily dig special drainage grooves near the peony bushes that will drain excess moisture from the roots;
- It is recommended to remove the top cover at the beginning of spring in cloudy weather in order to avoid sudden exposure to sunlight on young shoots;
- It is best to water peonies in the early morning or evening, waiting for sunset;
- When feeding along the leaf, you can add a little soap or washing powder to the composition so that the drops do not roll down too quickly;
- to avoid breaking off shoots in strong winds, peony bushes of herbaceous varieties or those that produce large flowers are usually surrounded by a strong support of pegs with crossbars;
- Experienced gardeners do not recommend tying up peony shoots, as this may cause most of the buds to simply not open;
- In order for the flowers to be large and lush, at the end of May, about a third of the ovaries are usually removed, and the side buds are also trimmed.
A strong support around the peony bush will prevent the shoots from breaking from strong winds or under the weight of flowers
You can also learn about the main secrets and subtleties of caring for peonies in the spring from the video:
Conclusion
Caring for peonies in spring and summer consists of gradually removing the winter cover and cleaning the beds, organizing systematic watering, applying root and foliar fertilizers, and preventing the most common diseases. The soil under the bushes must be mulched and periodically loosened, and if necessary, weeds must be pulled out. For the best flowering, it is recommended to remove part of the ovaries at the end of spring, and in order to preserve the integrity of the shoots, it is advisable to build a strong and comfortable support for the bushes. Measures and subtleties of caring for peonies in spring and summer, which are based on the experience of experienced gardeners, will help maintain the beauty and health of these plants in your garden plot, so that you can admire their lush flowering for a long time.
