What to do if a potted peony doesn't bloom the second year? Let me teach you a trick

23. A potted peony doesn't bloom the second year - how to fix it? Let me teach you a trick!

This is an excerpt from Lan Yao's original "Peony Cultivation" column article

Many gardening friends who are just starting to grow peonies run into this problem: a peony planted in autumn blooms with big flowers in spring, but the second spring it doesn't bloom at all!

Why is that? Today Lan Yao will analyze the reasons for you.

To know why a peony doesn't bloom, we first need to understand under what conditions a peony can bloom.

Conditions for a peony to bloom

1. Sufficient fertilizer and water

For a peony to bloom, the first condition is sufficient fertilizer and water. When the peony grows strong and healthy, it will naturally meet the conditions for blooming. Plants in nature bloom and bear fruit in order to reproduce the next generation, so the plant itself must be strong and mature enough to do so.

2. Going through low-temperature vernalization

Peonies need 2-3 months of vernalization at temperatures below 10 degrees to bloom. Without the low-temperature vernalization process, they cannot develop flower buds and naturally cannot bloom.

Good, now that we know the necessary conditions for a peony to bloom, let's look at why our peony can bloom the first year but not the second year.

Reasons a peony doesn't bloom the second year

The reason a peony doesn't bloom the second year comes down to inadequate care on our part - we didn't do a good job of restoring the peony's vigor.

1. Insufficient fertilizer and water

We gardening friends are often eager to see flowers, so even a peony potted up the first year is allowed to bloom, and blooming consumes a large amount of nutrients. If after blooming you also let it set seeds, that is undoubtedly a huge drain on the peony.

If after blooming you don't fertilize in time, then.......

Well, think back - did you fertilize your peony after it bloomed? Summer is the period of flower bud differentiation for peonies, and nutrition has a crucial effect on whether the peony blooms the following year. Yet we didn't fertilize in time, which naturally affects blooming the next year.

2. Improper watering

You might say, I did fertilize, and it still doesn't bloom! Then have you managed the water well?

Have you followed the principle of watering thoroughly only after the soil has dried out? Overwatering a peony easily damages the root system and weakens the plant. If the plant isn't strong enough, it will only grow leaf buds and not flower buds.

3. Invasion of pests and diseases

Well, even if you did the above two things well, have you done anything to prevent pests and diseases? Has your peony lost its leaves early, or do the leaves have black spots or scorched, withered areas?

Pests and diseases likewise weaken the peony plant so it cannot form flower buds. (For an introduction to peony pests and diseases, please refer to the article from a few days ago.)

4. No vernalization

You might say, my peony is managed very well, none of the above 3 points are a problem, and the peony grows with luxuriant branches and leaves, but it just doesn't bloom.

Then you need to think back to how your peony overwintered. If you're in the south where winter temperatures stay above 10 degrees, that's not your fault.

If the winter temperature in your area meets the conditions for peony vernalization, but you keep the potted peony indoors in a warm room to overwinter, then that's on you.

My personal suggestion is to keep the peony in winter at around 0 degrees in a spot with plenty of light. Don't put it in a heated room or an air-conditioned room - if it can't complete vernalization, it definitely won't bloom.

5. Too short a time since potting

Of course, besides management problems, it could also be a problem with the seedling itself. If the seedling is relatively small and not strong enough on its own, it also cannot bloom. Of course, usually it won't bloom the first year either.

If the time since potting is too short and the plant's growth hasn't recovered, that can likewise cause the phenomenon of not blooming.

In summary, if you want a peony to bloom year after year, management must be done properly: timely fertilizing and pruning. When buying seedlings, try to choose strong, healthy ones and give up the idea of buying small seedlings. If your management isn't great to begin with, and you then buy small seedlings with poor stress resistance, then who knows when they'll grow enough to bloom.

Besides the problem of not blooming the second year, peonies sometimes bloom in a form you don't recognize, with few and thin petals. What's the reason for that? Please keep following tomorrow's update.

(The text of this article is original by Lan Yao; the images come from the internet. If there is any infringement, please contact me to delete them.)

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