Transplanting peonies to another place: how and when is it better to spend in a summer cottage

Peonies are one of the most popular garden flowers, rivaling roses in their beauty. They belong to the Peony family, and there are only about 40 species. May be shrubby or herbaceous. Gardeners consider them unpretentious, but peonies still need periodic transplantation.

Why do you need a transplant

Peonies are considered centenarians. Sometimes it turns out that even non-transplanted bushes can live and bloom for decades. But this happens in rare cases. Most often, after 5-7 years, peonies begin to bloom worse and smaller, with each season they become smaller.This happens because the root neck ages, hollows form inside, goosebumps, slugs and worms settle in them with pleasure. And this clearly does not contribute to the development of the plant.

Buds are laid deeper and deeper every year, as a result, the growing season is slower. Peonies bloom less or stop blooming altogether. To avoid this, it is necessary to transplant the bushes to a new place in time.

Optimal timing

Not all growers know when is the best time to repot peonies and make a common mistake.

Spring

Many gardeners consider spring the best time to transplant. But in fact, everything is completely different. It is undesirable to transplant peonies in the spring. The root system of the bush has suction roots that are damaged or completely broken off during transplantation in the spring.

With such a transplant, the plant will adapt for a long time, the first flowering may occur only after 2 years, and the death of the bush is also possible.Therefore, spring is still not the best time of the year for transplanting peonies. An exception to the rule can only be young plants that are not more than 2 years old. They tolerate spring transplant more easily. But this is done in case of emergency.

August

Experienced gardeners transplant their peony bushes just at the end of the last summer month. Everything is explained simply, by the end of summer, the peonies' suction roots die off, and the bushes can be divided and planted in a new place without harming them.

Autumn

Autumn, and more precisely in September, is also a good time for transplanting peony crops. This procedure is allowed to be done throughout the month.

How to dig

Peony bushes are dug in with an indent from the base of the bush by 30 cm. Then, with the help of a pitchfork, the soil is loosened and the bush is carefully removed along with the clod to the surface of the earth.This will not be so easy to do, because the root system of peonies is quite massive and grows about a meter deep.

Preparing the plant for transplanting

The rhizome of the flower is washed under running water, making the pressure not very strong. Next, cut off the upper part of the bush, this is done almost to the very root. Now the plant is left outside in the shade for 5-6 hours. This is necessary so that the root dries up and grafts a little, this will make it not so fragile. After that, the old roots are cut off, leaving a length of no more than 15 cm. The cut is made at an angle of 45 degrees.

How to split a bush

The next step is dividing the bush. If the bush is old, then it will be most convenient to divide it by driving a wedge into the rhizome with a hammer. Thus, it will turn out to be divided into several parts. Often, voids or rotten areas form in the middle of old roots. They must be cut out and treated with a concentrated solution of manganese, and then with a fungicide.

When separating the root, you need to take into account that on each separated part there should be a root neck, about 3 eyes and roots. Divide the root into approximately equal parts. Do not make too large pieces, they will hurt after transplantation. And there should not be too small pieces, such delenki do not always take root, often dying.

Preparing the soil at the new location

In order for the peony to grow and develop well in a new area, you need to choose the right place and prepare the soil.

Choosing a seat

Peonies love sunny areas. They easily tolerate semi-shady places, but flowering there will not be as active.

Don't transplant peonies to places with drafts, where they will develop worse and fade quickly.

Also, gardeners do not recommend placing bushes close to the house or other buildings. Their walls will give off heat, and this will lead to overheating of the root system. The distance between walls and plants should be at least 2 m.

Ground requirements

Peonies are not planted in swampy and damp areas. Flowers do not tolerate strong soil moisture, so if groundwater is less than 1 m away, bushes are planted on hills.

If you ignore this condition, the rhizomes of the bushes will begin to rot and die.

Loamy soils with an acidity of 6-6.6 pH are suitable for the Peony family. Peat, river sand and humus must be added to heavy clay soils. Clay and humus are added to sandy soil. And sand, organic fertilizers and wood ash are mixed into peat soils.

Scheme of transfer to another place

A transplant should be planned, not done spontaneously, because it requires some preparation.

Preparing the pit

Pits are prepared 7 days before the planned transplant. It is dug in the form of a square, all sides and depth should be 60 cm. The distance between the pits is made about 70-100 cm.

Important! Peonies do not tolerate planting too deep. In this case, they may not bloom at all.

Drainage is immersed at the bottom of the pits, it can be broken brick, expanded clay, crushed stone, coarse sand or even broken branches. The thickness of the drainage layer is 20-25 cm.

Feeding

A layer of top dressing is applied over the drainage. To do this, mix compost and humus with limestone (100 g), potassium sulfate (100 g), superphosphate (200 g) and wood ash (300 g). This layer should be about 25 cm.

Top soil layer

Garden soil mixed with compost is poured into the pits on top of top dressing. The pits are filled to the very top and left for a week. During this period, the earth will settle, forming a hole in which the plant is planted.

Landing

In the center of the prepared hole, a hole is dug up to a depth of 25 cm. The plant is placed in the middle of the hole and sprinkled with soil. The root is deepened so that the upper kidney is underground at a depth of 3-4 cm, then the soil is well compacted. Water is poured from above, then spud and covered with compost or peat.

Further care at their summer cottage

Caring for peony bushes does not require special skills. It is enough to water, loosen and protect from diseases.

Irrigation

The bushes need regular watering, especially during the budding period and during the flowering of inflorescences. Also, special attention is paid to irrigation in September. This is the time of secondary growth of the root system. For watering, you will need 2-3 buckets per bush.

Loosening

From time to time around the bushes loosen the soil and remove weeds. This will help provide the root system of the flower with the necessary amount of oxygen that is needed for the full development of the plant.

Garter

During the rains, the stalks of peonies with large flowers often lie down. To prevent this, the bushes are tied up. To do this, stakes are driven in around the plant and a wire or rope is pulled.

Diseases and pests

Like most plants, peonies are susceptible to various diseases and pest attacks. Most often, peony bushes are faced with such diseases.

Grey Rot

One of the most dangerous diseases, as it affects all parts of the plant. First, young shoots begin to wither, and then mold appears. The affected parts of the bushes are cut and destroyed. For the winter, the shoots are cut to the very root, and with the advent of spring, they are treated with Bordeaux liquid.

Powdery mildew

Mature bushes are more likely to suffer from this disease. A light bloom appears on the upper part of the foliage.Powdery mildew does not do much harm to peonies, but it still needs to be treated. To do this, the flowers are treated with a solution of soda ash, adding laundry soap to it. A week and a half later, another treatment is carried out.

Foliage mosaic

This is a viral disease that causes spotting on the foliage of flowers. Light green stripes alternate with dark green stripes, which resembles a mosaic. With a disease called "mosaic", necrotic spots on the foliage may occur. This disease is incurable, so diseased plants are removed from the site as quickly as possible and burned. Of the pests on peonies are found.

Ants

These insects are lured by a sweet syrup secreted by flower buds. In the hunt for him goosebumps eat leaves and petals. In order to repel insects from the bush, it and the soil around it are treated with repellents.

Bronze

This is a mother-of-pearl-backed beetle. He eats flower petals. It is dangerous for peonies from early May to August. To get rid of beetles at the end of summer, loosen the soil under the bush. During this period, the process of pupation of the insect takes place. In the morning, parasitic beetles are removed manually. During the laying of buds, the bushes are sprayed with insecticides.

Aphid

These small light green flies accumulate near the inflorescences, buds and on the tops of the shoots. They suck the juices out of the bushes. If there are large influxes of aphids on one flower, then the bush quickly loses vitality, there is a possibility of death.

Almost every gardener on the site has this attractive and unpretentious flower, which pleases the eye with flowers and a delicate pleasant aroma. If you do simple care manipulations, the plant will thank you with abundant and bright flowering.

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