Detailed Explanation of Key Techniques for Sowing, Seedling Cultivation, and Seed Collection of Tree Peony

Growing Techniques Jan 1, 1970 0 views

What are the key points for sowing, seedling cultivation, and seed collection of tree peony? Sowing and seedling cultivation of tree peony includes timely sowing, seed treatment, bed preparation and sowing, seedling stage management, transplanting of seedlings, and selection of seed collection fields. Overall, the cultivation and propagation methods of tree peony are quite simple. Please see the key points for sowing, seedling cultivation, and seed collection of tree peony compiled by the editor below.

[Sowing and Seedling Cultivation Techniques for Tree Peony]

I. Timely Sowing

1. Seed selection: Tree peony seeds need to be collected and sown in the same year.

2. Sowing time: Sow from late August to early September.

II. Seed Treatment

1. Before sowing, soak seeds in 50°C warm water for 24-48 hours. The seed coat softens and the seeds absorb water and expand, which is beneficial for seed germination.

2. After soaking, mix the seeds with an appropriate amount of plant ash before sowing, which is beneficial for seedling emergence.

III. Bed Preparation and Sowing

1. Apply sufficient basal fertilizer, deep plow and level the soil, then make beds and sow (bed height 8-10 cm, width 35-50 cm, bed spacing 30 cm).

2. Sowing density: Sow in holes at a row spacing of 6-9 m and a plant spacing of 3-4 cm. The seeding rate is 25-35 kg per mu. After sowing, cover with 2 cm of soil. After covering with soil, a plastic film can be added to retain moisture and prevent rain impact. Remove the plastic film in February of the following year.

IV. Seedling Stage Management

1. Seeds will send out young roots 30 days after sowing. When the seeds begin to sprout, remove the covering soil and plastic film, and shallowly loosen the surface soil.

2. Seedling growth mainly relies on basal fertilizer. For 2-year-old seedlings, nursery management should be strengthened, with timely topdressing and watering, and timely loosening of soil to preserve moisture during the rainy season.

V. Transplanting of Seedlings

1. Transplant one-year-old seedlings in September. When lifting seedlings, dig a 60 cm deep trench from one end of the bed, then insert the spade vertically into the soil, and forcefully loosen the soil and seedlings together into the trench, then pick out the seedlings. Plant them separately according to size. Large seedlings are reserved for planting, and small seedlings are densely planted together in the bed until they grow larger for transplanting.

2. Transplanting density of seedlings: row and plant spacing are generally 60 cm × 50 cm, with 22,200 holes per mu. Plant two plants per hole for 1-year-old seedlings and one plant per hole for 2-year-old seedlings.

VI. Selection of Seed Collection Fields

Select seed collection fields well according to the age and growth condition of tree peonies. Seeds produced by 5-year-old tree peonies are plump and full, and are the main object for seed selection and retention.

[Key Points for Seed Collection of Tree Peony]

I. Seed Collection Time

1. In autumn, when the follicle fruits turn crab-yellow, they can be harvested. Tree peony harvesting should not be too early or too late. If too early, the seeds are not mature enough; if too late, the seed coat turns black and hard, making it difficult for seedlings to emerge.

2. When planting tree peony, if seed collection and sowing are too late, the seedling emergence rate will be reduced, and it will not be until the third year that seedlings can emerge.

3. Because tree peony varieties differ, harvesting needs to be adapted to local conditions and carried out in batches.

II. Seed Collection Methods

When harvesting, pick the crab-yellow fruits and pile them in a cool, ventilated place to let the seeds continue post-ripening. After that, turn them once every 2-3 days. After 10-15 days, the seeds will change from yellow-green to brown to black, and the fruit skin will crack. At this time, do not expose them to the sun. They should be piled in the original place until the seed coat becomes hard (the piling place must not be too humid, to avoid seed rot). Five days before sowing, pick out the seeds and sow them.

What Are the Classifications of Herbaceous Peony Herbaceous Peony Sowing Methods

The fruit of herbaceous peony is spindle-shaped, and the seeds are round, oblong, or pointed-round. Herbaceous peony is praised as the "Flower Fairy" and "Flower Minister," and is listed as one of the "Six Famous Flowers." It is also called the "May Flower God." Because it has been regarded as the flower of love since ancient times, it is now honored as the representative flower of Qixi Festival. So what classifications are there, and what are the sowing methods? Let us tell you.

What Are the Classifications of Herbaceous Peony

The flower is composed of a single flower

1. Thousand-layer subclass: Petals increase naturally centripetally, arranged neatly, similar in shape, gradually becoming smaller from outside to inside; stamens only grow around the ovary, correspondingly decreasing and even disappearing as petals increase. Flower shape is flat.

1.1 Single form: Petals in 2-3 whorls, broad and large, with normally developed stamens and pistils, usually referring to the original species type.

1.2 Lotus form: Petals in 4-5 whorls, broad and large, similar in shape and size. Stamens normal, or individual stamens petaloid into broken petals, lanceolate petals, or filamentous petals scattered among the stamen group; pistils normal.

1.3 Chrysanthemum form: Petals in more than 6 whorls, gradually becoming smaller from outside to inside. Stamens normal, fewer in number; pistils normal, increased or decreased in number.

1.4 Rose form: Petals extremely increased, gradually becoming smaller from outside to inside. Stamens all disappeared; pistils normal, degenerated and smaller, or completely disappeared.

2. Tower subclass: Outer petals broad and large, in 2-3 whorls; stamens petaloid centrifugally, pistils normal, petaloid, or degenerated. Flower shape raised or towering (except for the golden stamen form).

2.1 Golden stamen form: Outer petals broad and large, in 2-3 whorls. Stamens have enlarged anthers and thickened filaments, and the stamen group is bright golden yellow; pistils normal.

2.2 Anemone form: Outer petals broad and large, in 2-3 whorls. Stamens completely petaloid into filamentous petals, needle-like petals, or lanceolate petals, slightly larger from outside to inside, standing erect within the outer petals; pistils normal or petaloid into ligulate petals. The color of the ligulate petals or petal tips is often the original color of the stigma.

2.3 Golden ring form: Outer petals broad and large, in 2-3 whorls. Most stamens are petaloid, and the petaloid petals are towering, but a ring of normal stamens remains between the petaloid stamens and the outer petals; pistils normal or petaloid.

2.4 Crown form: Outer petals broad, large, and flat-spreading, in 2-3 whorls. Close to the inner ring of the outer petals, a small number of filamentous petals, needle-like petals, lanceolate petals, or broken petals grow, above which are ligulate petals or lanceolate petals petaloid from stamens, erect, raised, clustered within the outer petals, with a small number of stamens in the center, or degenerated into a short, small state; pistils normal, petaloid, or degenerated.

2.5 Hydrangea form: Most stamens are petaloid into ligulate petals, resembling secondary outer petals. When fully open, the whole flower is full and shaped like a hydrangea. Central stamens are very few or degenerated; pistils become smaller or degenerated.

Sowing Methods for Herbaceous Peony

1. Seed collection

When the follicle fruits turn yellow, they can be harvested. If too early, the seeds are not mature; if too late, the seed coat turns black and hard, making it difficult for seedlings to emerge. Fruits mature at different times, so harvest in batches. When the fruit skin cracks and disperses the seeds, they can be sown. Never expose the seeds to the sun, which would harden the seed coat and affect seedling emergence. If sowing cannot be done in time, sand storage with moisture retention can be used, but the seeds must be taken out and sown before they send out roots.

2. Sowing time

Herbaceous peony must be sown promptly after seed collection in the same year. For example, in the Heze area, sowing is done from late August to late September. If later than late September, roots cannot form that year, and the germination rate will be greatly reduced the following spring; moreover, even if seedlings emerge, because the seedling root system is not well developed, it is difficult to resist spring drought and the seedlings easily die. Therefore, several spring sowing experiments in Heze all failed.

3. Sowing methods

Seed treatment: Before sowing, remove shriveled grains and impurities from the seeds to be sown, then use water selection to remove unfilled seeds. Although the seed coat of herbaceous peony is thinner than that of tree peony and more easily absorbs water and germinates, if seed treatment is carried out before sowing, germination will be more uniform and the germination rate will be greatly increased, often reaching more than 80%. The method is to soak seeds in 50°C warm water for 24 hours, then take them out and sow immediately.

Bed preparation and sowing: The land used for sowing and seedling cultivation should be given sufficient basal fertilizer, deep plowed, and leveled. If the soil is relatively moist and suitable for sowing, beds can be made directly for sowing; if the soil moisture is poor, irrigate fully, then make beds and sow. The bed width is about 50 cm, the bed spacing is 30 cm, and seeds are sown in holes at a row spacing of 6 cm and a seed spacing of 3 cm; if seeds are sufficient, broadcast sowing can be done, with a seed spacing of not less than 3 cm; after sowing, cover with moist soil about 2 cm thick. Use about 50 kg of seeds per 666.7 sq m, or about 100 kg for broadcast sowing. After sowing, cover with plastic film and remove it after sprouting and emerging in the following spring. Drilling can also be used, with a row spacing of 40 cm and a seed spacing of 3 cm, covering with 5-6 cm of soil; or hole sowing can be used, with a hole spacing of 20-30 cm, placing 4-5 seeds per hole, and after sowing piling 10-20 cm of soil to help prevent cold and preserve moisture. Rake flat before sprouting in the following spring.

Herbaceous Peony Sowing Method Can Cultivate New Varieties

There are many traditional propagation methods for herbaceous peony. The sowing method is only used to cultivate new varieties, produce rootstocks for grafting tree peony, and produce medicinal materials. Today we mainly learn about the techniques of the herbaceous peony sowing method.

Seeds of herbaceous peony: The fruit of herbaceous peony is a follicle, and each follicle contains 1-7 seeds. When the seeds mature, the follicle cracks and disperses the seeds. Fruit ripening periods vary by region. For example, Mudanjiang in Heilongjiang Province in early September, Heze in Shandong in late August, Luoyang in Henan in early to mid-August, and Yangzhou in Jiangsu around late August. Seeds should be sown immediately after collection. As sowing time is delayed, seed moisture content decreases and the germination rate declines. Seeds have double dormancy characteristics of the epicotyl and hypocotyl. After sowing, the autumn soil temperature causes the hypocotyl of the seeds to break dormancy, and the radicle develops and roots. The better the rooting in the current year, the more vigorous the growth in the following year; if sowing is too late, the soil temperature cannot break hypocotyl dormancy, roots cannot form, and the germination rate in the following spring is greatly reduced. After rooting from autumn sowing, after a long period of low temperature in winter, the dormancy of the epicotyl can be broken. In the following spring, as the temperature rises and humidity is suitable, the plumule emerges from the soil.

Because the offspring produced by sowing horticultural varieties of herbaceous peony will undergo trait segregation and cannot maintain the excellent traits of the original variety, the sowing method cannot be used for the propagation of variety seedlings.