The King of Flowers: Peony Planting Methods, Symbolic Meaning, and Care Precautions
Peony, also known as Luoyang flower and wealth flower, is one of the flowers unique to China and is hailed as the king of flowers. The peony is graceful and magnanimous, blooming in wealth and honor, and is a symbol of auspiciousness and prosperity. In recent years, keeping peonies as potted plants in the home has gradually become a fashion and trend. So what are the peony cultivation methods and precautions?
The peony is a plant of the genus Paeonia in the family Paeoniaceae, and is a perennial deciduous shrub. The stem reaches up to 2 m tall; the branches are short and thick. The leaves are usually twice ternately compound, occasionally the leaves near the branch tips have 3 leaflets; the terminal leaflets are broadly ovate, green on the surface, hairless, light green on the underside, sometimes with a white bloom, the lateral leaflets are narrowly ovate or oblong-ovate, the petiole is 5-11 cm long, and both it and the leaf rachis are hairless. The flower is solitary at the branch tip, with 5 bracts, oblong; 5 sepals, green, broadly ovate; petals 5 or double, rose-colored, purplish-red, pink to white, usually highly variable, obovate, with an irregularly wavy apex; anthers oblong, 4 mm long; the floral disc is leathery, cup-shaped, purplish-red; 5 carpels, rarely more, densely pubescent. The follicles are oblong, densely covered with yellowish-brown stiff hairs. Flowering period May; fruiting period June.
The flower is brilliant in color, jade-like in smile and pearl-like in fragrance, elegant and unrestrained, magnificent and splendid, and has long enjoyed the reputation of “king of flowers”. Among cultivated types, it can be divided into hundreds of varieties mainly according to flower color.” There are many peony varieties and many colors as well, with yellow, green, flesh-red, deep red, and silver-red being superior, and especially yellow and green being precious. Peony flowers are large and fragrant, hence they also have the name “national beauty and heavenly fragrance”.
Geographical distribution
Native to the Qinling area of our country. It has a long history of cultivation and is widely distributed in North China and Central China.
Peony cultivation methods and precautions
Soil requirements for peony cultivation
1. Soil texture: Peonies are suitable for loose, fertile soil with a deep soil layer. The soil must have good drainage capacity.
2. Soil nature: Neutral or neutral slightly alkaline soil.
Water requirements for peony cultivation
As the saying goes: Peonies prefer dry conditions and not wet ones. The peony has deep-rooted fleshy roots and fears long-term waterlogging, so it should not be watered too much normally and should be kept appropriately on the dry side.
Fertilization requirements for peony cultivation
As the saying goes: Clear peony, turbid herbaceous peony. When cultivating peonies, the base fertilizer must be sufficient. Base fertilizer can use compost, cake fertilizer, or manure. It is usually best to fertilize three times a year, namely spraying a phosphorus-based fertilizer solution plus flower-strengthening agent half a month before flowering; applying a compound fertilizer half a month after flowering; and applying compost once before winter to ensure flowering the next year. Spraying New High Lipid Film greatly increases the effective ingredient rate of pesticides.
Temperature requirements for peony cultivation
Peonies are cold-tolerant and not tolerant of high temperatures. In East China and the central region, they can overwinter in the open field, and when the temperature reaches 4°C the flower buds begin to gradually swell. Suitable temperature: 16~20°C; below 16°C they do not bloom. During high summer temperatures, the plant enters a semi-dormant state.
Light requirements for peony cultivation
Shade for camellia, sun for peony. Peonies like sunlight but do not like being scorched. When planting in the ground, choose a higher, east-facing sunny spot; when potted, place it on a sunny east-facing balcony. If placed on a south balcony or rooftop platform, shade must be provided on the west side.
Peony cultivation methods
When planting peonies, adapt to local conditions. The planting site should be chosen in a high, dry, sunny place; in shady places the plant grows weak and cannot bloom. It grows best in spots with side shade. The soil should be loose, fertile, deep, and well-drained sandy loam or loam, with a soil pH value preferably neutral; slightly acidic or slightly alkaline is also acceptable.
1. Habits: Peonies most prefer places that are cool in summer and not excessively cold in winter, with moderate rainfall (or spraying), and sufficient light (slight shading is needed from strong midday sun in summer). The soil should preferably be loam or humus-rich clay loam (but not overly heavy clay). Avoid saline-alkaline soil; drainage must be good, and moderate moisture is required, without being too dry in summer.
2. Planting: The peony is a deep-rooted flowering tree, so deep plowing should be carried out before planting, and base fertilizer should be applied (such as bone meal, oil cake, chicken manure, etc.).
3. Fertilization: It is best to fertilize 3 times a year. The first time is when new shoots emerge and the leaves and flower buds are just extending, mainly with quick-acting fertilizer; the second time is after the flowers fade, still mainly with quick-acting fertilizer; the third time is in autumn and winter, mainly with base fertilizer.
4. Cultivation: Several days after each watering, cultivate the soil in time, but the depth should preferably not exceed 5 cm.
5. Pruning and trimming: After the flowers fade, cut off the remaining flowers. To make the crown low and the flowers dense, pruning can be done before July to avoid branches being too dense and affecting flowering. It is best to keep 5-6 main branches per plant.
6. Others: Peonies are not tolerant of waterlogging (good drainage is required), but they also must not be too dry, and should be kept moderately moist.
7. If conditions permit, the peony can be planted in the ground together with its flowerpot, and then it does not need much attention as long as it is not very dry. This will save a lot of trouble.
Peony cultivation precautions
1. If there is too much water in the cultivation soil, its fleshy roots are prone to rot.
2. Peonies are not tolerant of high temperatures, so cooling measures should be taken promptly when the weather is hot in summer.
3. Provide shade for them to prevent leaf drop. If they are left to suffer heat and drop leaves, this will seriously affect later flowering.
Common problems during peony planting:
1. You often see peony seeds the size of broad beans sold on the street. Can such seeds bloom?
Answer: Yes, but it takes a long time. From sowing to flowering, it takes four or five years. These seeds generally are not divided by variety, and after a few years most of the flowers that bloom are white single-petaled, with a few pink single-petaled ones, commonly known as seed-grown white or seed-grown red, which are primitive peony varieties.
2. For growing peonies at home, how should peony seedlings be selected?
Answer: For growing peonies at home, it is best to choose peony seedlings. Generally choose peony seedlings more than three years old; planted in the first year, they will bloom the next year. To buy peony seedlings, you can go to a flower market or go to Tuqiao Village and Zhongtou Village of the Mangshan office to buy from flower farmers, and be sure to buy grafted ones.
The price of peony seedlings varies according to variety and market conditions. Generally speaking, varieties such as black, yellow, and green are relatively rare and more expensive. Residents growing peonies at home can choose, according to their own preferences, varieties such as Luoyang Red, No. 18, Chunhong Jiaoyan, and Shou'an Red, which are widely planted in the Luoyang area, have local characteristics, and are highly vital. The varieties planned for planting in the Evening News readers' peony garden this time are also mostly these.
3. When and where is it suitable to plant peonies?
Answer: As the saying goes, plant peonies at the spring equinox, and they will never bloom even when old. The time for planting peonies is preferably from the autumn equinox to cold dew each year, that is, September and October. As the saying goes, “The land and veins of Luoyang are most suitable for flowers, and the peony is especially wonderful under heaven.” Luoyang's climate and soil conditions are favorable for peony propagation.
In addition, if you want peonies to grow well, it is best to choose sandy loam. If residents have a yard at home, the survival rate of planting peonies will be somewhat higher. If it is a potted peony, then planting requires more care; you can use garden soil, leaf mold, and sandy loam to make a mixed soil. In addition, peonies should not be watered frequently. Although they like sunlight, they fear heat and avoid direct strong light. It is better if there are trees nearby when planting.
Finally, a little about the uses of peony flowers. Li Shizhen pointed out: For peonies, only the red and white single-petaled ones are used as medicine; all other varieties are artificially cultivated and “their flavor is impure, so they cannot be used.” The red-flowered ones tend toward dispersing, and the white-flowered ones tend toward tonifying.
Peony flowers are suitable for facial melasma and skin aging. Drinking it regularly can make qi and blood abundant, the complexion rosy, and the spirit full.