Content
The reasons why peonies do not bloom are most often the mistakes of novice gardeners in planting agricultural techniques and subsequent care of the bushes. Plants do not form buds when the flower bed is placed on poor soil and after improper pruning, but the age of the bushes and the variety of peonies are also of great importance. Depending on what species the plant belongs to, it may bloom at different times.
When do peonies begin to bloom after planting?
Many novice gardeners, after planting a peony, begin to worry if it does not bloom the next year, but this is nothing unusual. Depending on the variety, the bush blooms for the first time only in the 2nd, or even in the 4th year of life.
For example, herbaceous peonies usually bloom in 2-3 years, in April-May. Tree varieties usually form buds 4 years after planting, in May-June. And that hybrids bloom mainly in June, but both earlier and later varieties are found.You should not expect flowering immediately after planting; the bushes form buds at least 2 years after being placed in open ground.
On the other hand, if the shrub was planted quite a long time ago, and the peonies have not bloomed for several years, this is a good reason for concern.
List of reasons why peony does not bloom
The reasons why there are no flowers on bushes can be very different, from improper planting to plant disease. Sometimes gardeners themselves damage peonies when they try to stimulate flowering and divide the bush - too small divisions may stop forming buds. To ensure that the plant does not stop blooming, each seedling must have at least 3-4 buds. It is also not recommended to replant too often - this procedure greatly weakens the bushes. To prevent them from stopping blooming, it is advisable to carry out the procedure no more than once every 5 years.
Age of flowers
If a peony does not bloom for many years, it is quite possible that the bush is simply too old and has long ago exhausted its strength. For most varieties, the approximate limit is 10 years, after which the bushes need to be renewed - dug up, divided and replanted. Do the same when thickening the crown.
Too young plants also sometimes do not bloom, despite their healthy appearance. In most cases, this is quite natural - after planting, the seedling takes 2-3 years to take root, only after which the peonies bloom.
On the other hand, plants planted in the fall often begin to bloom the following season.
During transplantation, peonies are dug up, trying not to damage their root system too much.
Weather
If peonies suddenly stop blooming, even despite their young age and good care, a possible reason may be unfavorable weather conditions. For example, renewal buds in peonies are formed two years before flowering, and if you neglect to water the flowerbed during a severe drought, it will not bloom for the next few seasons.
Prolonged rains during the budding period lead to moisture accumulating in the flowers. Eventually, their petals darken and turn brown, and the buds remain closed without blooming. Sudden temperature changes have no less detrimental effects on peonies.
Poor quality planting material
Peonies bloom poorly if the flowerbed was grown from low-quality planting material. On a healthy seedling, flower buds should be clearly visible, each of which has a diameter comparable to the size of a little finger. You should also pay attention to the roots - peonies will not bloom if the seedlings have too small a root system. The optimal rhizome length for full development is 10 cm or more.
The size of the storage roots is ideally close to the size of an average carrot. Too large shoots are cut off, treating the cut area with ash.
A high-quality seedling does not have cavities, rot or other physical defects
Incorrect variety selected
The variety of planting material is of no small importance for the development of plantings.Even with the best care, some varieties will not bloom if the plant was planted in an unsuitable climate for that variety. For this reason, heat-loving subspecies are not bred in the northern regions.
Violation of landing rules
Peonies do not bloom if the seedling was incorrectly placed in the planting hole. Under no circumstances should it be buried; surface planting is also harmful. Ideally, from the topmost bud to the ground surface there should be 3-5 cm on heavy loams and 6-7 cm on light sandy soil. This way, the seedlings will not suffer from returning spring frosts and dry air in the summer months.
Another common mistake is planting in lowlands. In this position, the root system of peonies is flooded with excess water, as a result of which they stop blooming. Strong shading also does not benefit the flower bed. It is better to plant flowers in moderate sun or openwork shade.
The soil level should be approximately 3-4 fingers above the root bud
Violation of the rules of care
Sometimes it happens that peonies bloom, but the buds do not have enough vitality of the plant to open. In this case, the flowerbed needs to be fed. In just a season, the shrub is fertilized 3-4 times using liquid formulations, and nitrogen is added in large quantities in the spring. In the fall, peonies cannot be fed with nitrogen-containing fertilizers; during this period, the plant needs phosphorus-potassium mixtures for a successful winter.
Also, peonies do not bloom if there is a lack of moisture in the soil. During periods of extreme heat, increase the water consumption for each bush from 15-20 liters to 30 liters, but do not increase the frequency of watering.
If peonies bloom, but the buds do not bloom, this is a sure sign that the plant is starving
Violation of cutting rules
If a peony does not bloom for several years, despite the fact that the bush looks healthy overall, a possible reason could be early pruning of the leaves. This is one of the most common mistakes - many novice gardeners remove foliage in early September, which is absolutely forbidden to do. Immediately after flowering, the plant begins to lay flower buds for the next season, so the leaves can be cut only in October-November.
Also, the splendor of flowering is affected by cutting flowers too early. In an attempt to increase the size of the buds, gardeners cut off too many flowers. It is recommended to adhere to this scheme - 1-2 buds on each shoot.
Pests and diseases
If insects begin to eat up the leaves and shoots of peonies, the plants must be treated with any suitable insecticide.
To get rid of insects, the drug "Aktara" is suitable.
Of the viral diseases, the greatest danger is from stretching shoots. Symptoms of the disease are the formation of many thin stems. There is no point in treating such bushes; they are dug up entirely and destroyed.
Fungal diseases of peonies are treatable. If a bush becomes infected with gray rot, it is sprayed with Fundazol.
If necessary, you can replace “Fundazol” with copper sulfate
What to do if peonies don't bloom
If peonies do not bloom, you can take the following measures:
- If the basic planting rules are violated, replanting the shrub to a new location, chosen taking into account all the recommendations, can improve the situation. Peonies growing in excessively shaded areas are transplanted into partial shade, preferably on a hill, to avoid stagnation of moisture.
- Bushes overfed with nitrogen, which have gained a lot of green mass, are fertilized with phosphorus and potassium, but these elements should not be abused either. Peonies are unlikely to bloom this year, but by the next season it is usually possible to correct the composition of the soil.
- If the bush is damaged by insects, the flower bed is treated with insecticides. If peonies suffer from fungus, industrial fungicides will help restore the plant.
- If the soil on the site is too acidic, then its composition is artificially adjusted. This can be done by adding dolomite flour to the soil. You can also use wood ash, slaked lime or bone meal for these purposes.
- If there is a lack of potassium in the soil, fertilize the flowerbed with potassium sulfate - 10 g of the substance per 1 m2 is enough.
- Watering is adjusted taking into account local climatic conditions. In extreme heat, water consumption increases.
Advice from flower growers
The following recommendations will help you make peonies bloom more abundantly:
- Old plants need to be dug up and divided - this will ensure lush flowering. At the same time, all old and weakened roots are removed from the divisions, immersing the remaining ones in a solution with a growth stimulator. Then the individual parts are seated, placed in a new place. Additionally, before this, you can soak the roots of the seedlings in a disinfectant solution of potassium permanganate or the “Maxim” preparation.
- If, when planting peonies, you put a sufficient amount of fertilizer at the bottom of the planting hole, you can not feed the flowerbed for several years.
- In order to get the largest flowers on the bushes, during budding, only one bud is left on each shoot, cutting off the side ones.
- If the size of the flowers does not matter, excess buds are not cut off - this way the shrub will retain its decorative effect longer, since the side flowers bloom later.
Conclusion
The reasons why peonies do not bloom can be very different: from errors in agricultural planting techniques to unsuitable weather conditions. The age of the plant and its variety are also important, but even if the bush does not form buds for several years, it can still be made to bloom using a number of tricks.
