Peonies are considered an unpretentious culture, but they also need the right fertilizers for full growth. Top dressing in spring and throughout the year plays an important role in maintaining abundant flowering plants.
How to fertilize peonies in spring, summer and autumn, you will learn from this article. It contains not only the basic rules of the procedure, but also examples of drugs that can be used as fertilizers.
It is known that peony bushes can grow in one place for up to 50 years, while blooming every year in lush color. All that is needed for this is proper care, which includes watering, loosening, the introduction of nutrients, the fight against diseases and pests.
This procedure is especially important in spring and summer, during the growing season. The task of this article is to tell in more detail about the timing and methods of carrying out such procedures, to reveal their features and rules.
What is spring feeding for?
Among all seasonal feeds special place takes the spring. After all, it depends on her how quickly the bushes will awaken after winter, whether they have enough strength for abundant and long flowering (Figure 1).
For this reason experienced gardeners in the spring, they carry out a whole range of measures aimed at introducing necessary nutrients into the soil.
Peculiarities
Spring make-up is carried out in several stages. The first one starts in late April - early May, when the sprouts rise slightly above the soil surface, a complex of organic and mineral preparations (well-rotted cow or horse manure + nitrophoska) is introduced into the soil, which is scattered over the surface of the earth, followed by digging it to a depth of 8-10 cm.
Figure 1. Features of spring feeding 2-3 weeks after the first one, the second feeding is carried out, the task of which is to provide the plant with nutrients during the flowering period. This time, a liquid fertilizer is prepared, consisting of 20 g of potassium and 40 g of phosphorus substances per bucket of mullein infusion. Pour 2-3 liters of the prepared solution under each bush.
The third follows 2-3 weeks after flowering. It is carried out using liquid mixture mullein infusion with the addition of 30 g of superphosphate and 15 g of potassium sulfate in a bucket of infusion.
It is also useful for young bushes to carry out foliar procedures every month with a solution of a complete mineral preparation.
Rules
When feeding the bushes of these flowers, some rules should be followed.:
- All types of drugs are best applied in the evening hours or cloudy weather.
- For a foliar procedure, it is recommended to add to the prepared solution not a large number of laundry soap or washing powder(1 tablespoon per bucket of solution), which will allow the liquid to linger on the surface of the leaves, and not drain from it.
- It is necessary to start feeding at the end of April - beginning of May. Subsequent ones are carried out 2-3 weeks after the previous ones at important stages of plant development: in the germination phase, during the formation of buds, after the end of flowering.
- When scattering humus or mineral fertilizers under the bush, it is necessary to ensure that they do not fall on the leaves, as this can cause their burns.
Immediately before applying root fertilization, it is necessary to well moisten the soil under the bush for more efficient penetration of nutrients to the roots of the plant.
How to fertilize peonies in spring
The most important elements for crop growth are nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus. In this case, the first feeding should include nitrogen and potassium in order to ensure the growth of green mass for the plant. Phosphorus is included in the second feeding. And if for the first time nitrogen prevails, then in the second all the elements are taken in approximately equal amounts (10-15 g).
Experienced gardeners know how to fertilize peonies in spring, but newcomers to growing flowers will need some helpful tips.
The most popular fertilizers in the spring are(picture 2):
- Kemira, which can be applied three times per season. The procedure for its introduction is simple: you should put a handful of fertilizer in a depression under the bush and sprinkle it with earth. For everybody separate stage the development of the plant, a variety of the drug is used: Kemira-Universal is applied in early spring before flowering, and Kemira-Kombi is used for the second feed. This drug dissolves so easily that it is simply poured onto the surface of the ground and watered.
- Baikal EM-1 is widely used among organic preparations. It not only nourishes the soil, but also improves its structure. In autumn, this drug must be mixed with compost, which is used as a mulching material for the winter.
- Chicken manure can also be used as a source of nutrients. To prepare it, half a liter of droppings are poured into a bucket of water and infused for 2 weeks. The infusion is applied diluted with water in a ratio of 1: 3. For greater effect, it is also practiced to add a handful to it. wood ash.
Figure 2. The main types of fertilizers for flowers: Kemira, Baikal and chicken droppings For foliar dressing, any complex fertilizers are used that dissolve in water according to the instructions. In early spring you can also use a solution of urea (50 g per 10 l of water) with the addition of microelement tablets to it a month after the first.
Learn more from the video useful tips and practical recommendations for spring make-up.
Feeding peonies with yeast in spring
Experienced gardeners also use preparations based on yeast, which ensures lush flowering of the bushes. To prepare such a fertilizer, you will need 100 g of baker's yeast, which is poured in a small amount warm water with a glass of sugar dissolved in it and leave overnight (Figure 3).
Figure 3. Features of feeding with yeast The fermented solution is filtered and poured into a bucket of water. This composition is watered on bushes that are just beginning to grow.
Fertilizing peonies in summer
Young bushes begin to bloom intensively in the third year after planting. Therefore, it is during this period that mineral makeup is needed, which is carried out three times in the spring-summer season.
Peculiarities
The last stage of replenishment with minerals falls on the first summer month, when the bushes have already faded and they need strength to renew in order to ensure abundant flowering in the next season.
At this stage, potassium-phosphorus feeding is carried out using 10-15 g of potassium and 15-20 g of phosphorus. In this case, fertilizers can be applied both in dry form and in the form of a solution. It will also be nice to add 1-2 tablets of micronutrient fertilizer per bucket of water to the irrigation solution.
Rules
It is recommended to add nutrients in the evening, when the heat subsides, or to choose cooler days for this. When applying the fertilizer in dry form or in the form of a solution, care must be taken that substances do not fall on the stems and leaves, as this can cause thermal burns, which significantly weaken the plant.
Remember that any drug is absorbed by the plant better and faster if it is applied to a well-moistened soil.
Top dressing of peonies in autumn
In addition to fertilizing, which are carried out during the most intensive stages of plant development, it is important and required space takes the autumn procedure, which ensures the future "harvest" (Figure 4).
What is it for
The thing is that even in autumn, in September-October, the roots of these ornamental shrubs continue to grow, while accumulating in separate thickened areas nutrients, necessary for the plant in order to successfully survive the winter and germinate in the spring. That is why in no case can you ignore the introduction of nutrients in the fall.
Peculiarities
Most important elements for plants in the fall, potassium and phosphorus are used. These substances not only nourish the plant, but also stimulate the development of new buds, which is the key to beautiful flowering in the new season.
Figure 4. Rules for caring for peonies in autumn Potassium-phosphorus dressing can be applied both dry and liquid. That is, it is recommended to pour 15 g of each fertilizer under each bush, or dissolve them in a bucket of water and water the plant.
Rules
You should know that when applying potassium-phosphorus fertilizers in a dry way, you must first shed the soil under the bush and only then sprinkle (seal up) the granules. In this case, it is necessary to ensure that fertilizers do not fall on the neck of the plant. When feeding with a solution, try to water the plant so that the liquid does not fall on the leaves, because this can cause their burns.
Valuable tips from gardeners on feeding and choosing plant fertilizers are shown in the video.
Luxurious hats of peonies on strong peduncles are the pride of any garden. Their bloom is especially desirable after a long winter. Peonies are perhaps one of the largest perennial flowers. In order for the bushes to always please with a lush healthy flowering, they need to be properly looked after: fertilize, feed, water and protect against diseases and pests in a timely manner.
Peony care in spring
In the spring, caring for peonies in the garden in the Moscow region begins even before the snow melts. First, the shelter is removed, mineral fertilizing is carried out, and then.
As soon as the temperature stops dropping below -5 ° C, it's time to remove the shelter from tree peonies... If the peonies were closed for the winter (I also close the new plantings), the earth must be removed from them as early as possible. Otherwise, additional roots will form on the trunks of the shoots, and you will need to increase general level flower beds. It is undesirable to do this, since the root collar will be below ground level, and flowering may not occur.
A week after the emergence of peony sprouts, I gently loosen the ground and mulch with humus or, along the way.
Top dressing of peonies in spring
During spring feeding, it is important to provide peonies not only with nitrogen, but also with potassium-phosphorus fertilizers, so that the stems and flower stalks are strong. This is the difference between feeding for peonies and feeding others, which only need nitrogen in the spring.
Top dressing with urea
In early March, while the snow has not yet completely melted, but only acquired a brown hue, I scatter urea granules on the flower beds with peonies. Melt water will drag the already dissolved fertilizers to the roots and saturate the plants with nutrition. Such spring feeding on the snow are very convenient in that there is no risk of burning the leaves with fertilizers.
Top dressing with ash
As soon as the snow melts, and the sprouts have not yet appeared, I scatter the ash in the place where the peonies were planted. Ash will strengthen the plants, make the color of the flowers more saturated. It is important to apply ash in a timely manner. If it is scattered along with the urea granules over the snow, this will contribute to the rapid melting of the snow and the appearance of shoots, which can be damaged by recurrent frosts.
Top dressing with herbal infusion
On the 20th of May, I carry out the first liquid feeding for peonies. To do this, I cook at the beginning of May, when watering I dilute 1: 8 with water. Before watering with green fertilizer, I soak the peonies with water so as not to burn the roots. If you need to water a large number of plantings with fertilizer, then for convenience I go for a trick, I feed it immediately after the rain, when the ground is wet.
Processing peonies in spring for diseases
Read more about caring for peonies in the articles:
What you need to feed peonies in the spring for lush bloom so that in the summer in the garden they will charm all visitors to the cottage? How to feed them properly during development? Experienced gardeners give their recommendations on how to do it productively and what formulations to use.
Peonies grow actively and bloom profusely in the same area. But for this, flowers need competent care. Starting from the 3rd year of flowering, they need not only timely watering and loosening, but also fertilization:
Important: when feeding, you should carefully observe the dosage of the drugs. If there is too much nitrogen, the green mass grows, and budding is delayed.
What fertilizers do peonies feed
Several very effective modern remedies are known.
Kemira - mineral fertilizer
The composition is used three times per season. In early spring and 7 days after flowering, Kemira-universal is used. First, each plant is watered, and then a handful of fertilizer is poured under it and buried in the ground. The composition immediately dissolves in water and penetrates into the roots of the flower.
The second feeding can be done with Kemira-Kombi, which does not have to be added dropwise. The packaging is simply poured onto the garden bed under the bushes and watered. It is a fast dissolving preparation that reaches plant roots almost immediately.
All components of Kemira are chelated, due to which they are absorbed by plants without additional processing soil microorganisms.
One more useful remedy containing many trace elements is called "Siliplant". It helps to increase the strength of plant tissues and its adaptation to external conditions.
Baikal EM-1 - organic fertilizer
Microbiological preparation based on EM technology. It contains live microorganisms that improve the composition and fertility of the soil. Baikal EM-1 is put into compost, which is used for mulching mature plants in autumn. Mulch layer 7-10 cm.
Any organic matter helps the development of flower shoots and numerous buds. As a fertilizer, mullein diluted in water in a ratio of 1:10 and bird droppings - 1:15 are often applied. With this composition, the plants are carefully watered at the root, without affecting the basal neck. It is advisable to make small holes around the bush and pour the drug into them. Such feeding is carried out once a season when budding is in progress.
Foliar dressing
Bushes, regardless of age, are fertilized once a month by the foliar method: the bushes are sprayed with a solution of a combined mineral composition. For example, you can use the drug Ideal, the rate of use of which is recorded in the annotation.
Important: so that the fertilizer lasts longer on the leaves, 1 tablespoon of detergent or laundry soap per 10 liters is placed in it. composition.
There is another option for foliar feeding. The first time it is carried out after the formation of the ground part of the plant: make a solution of urea 50 g per 10 liters. water. The second time - a month later: micronutrient tablets are put in the diluted carbamide, 1 piece per 10 liters. solution. The third treatment is carried out only with a composition of 2 tablets per 10 liters. water.
To strengthen the roots, Heteroauxin is used, 2 tablets per bucket of water. To actively grow shoots, peonies are fed with sodium humate, 5 g per piece, scattering it into small furrows near the flower.
Most of the preparations are sprayed onto the bush with a spray bottle, but in order for the soap substances to "stick" better, you can process the flowers with a brush.
What experienced gardeners say
“I am not a specialist in peonies, so they didn’t want to bloom at all. Small buds were constantly formed, which never became with flowers. Now it became clear to me what to do: plants need not only drainage and a little burial, but also good fertilizer... For two seasons I have already been feeding the peonies with Jerusalem artichoke: I cut the stems and put them on the bush. In the spring I do this all the time. I want to take a photo of my old bush, which has been producing 2-3 flowers a year for many years. And now it is full of buds. Also, young specimens of the Sarah Bernhardt and Dresden Peak varieties develop lush flowers. I don’t believe in chance, it’s all about fertilization ”(Larisa, Moscow).
Peonies Sarah Bernhardt “I read that peonies really like ash. I bought my first flower, a peony of the Felix Kruss variety, from the hands of one experienced florist... He explained to me what level to deepen and how to feed the plant with organic matter. My flower is already 3 years old, it wintered well, in the summer I cut the buds, the next season there were 5 large flowers, and now there are 11 of them. I fertilized them, as recommended, with a mullein. Peonies are unpretentious flowers and respond well to proper care ”(Annette, Tver).
Folk dressing recipes
Yeast
Mineral supplements can be replaced with yeast infusion, which contains a large amount of nutrients. Due to it, they improve the quality of the soil and provide the bushes with the necessary components. Yeast feeding of peonies may be the first. Fertilizer is done as follows: in 10 liters. water is diluted with 100 g of yeast and sugar to activate the composition. One tablespoon of wood ash is also placed there. The drug is infused for 2-3 hours, and then the peonies are watered.
Bread
Black bread, especially "Borodinsky" is also rich in nutrients. It is cut into small pieces, dried a little, and then dipped in water. In 10 liters. water, place the bread so that the liquid completely covers it. From above, everything is pressed down with a bowl and put the load as a press. The product ferments for 7 days. Peonies are fed only with diluted infusion of bread, in a 1: 1 ratio.
Ammonia
A popular remedy among the people that must be dosed correctly, otherwise the green mass will grow, taking food from flowers and fruits. The substance is used only diluted: 25 ml. 10 liters. water. Even in the case poor growth peonies use emergency watering: 1 tablespoon of water has the same amount of 25% ammonia.
For the manufacture of fertilizers are also used eggshell, banana peel, potato peelings, yeast, nettle, whey, onion peel.
There is another easy way to make organic fertilizer: dissolve 0.5 l. chicken droppings in 10 liters. water and insist 2 weeks. The prepared product is additionally diluted with water in a ratio of 1: 3, and for a stronger effect, a handful of ash is put there.
There are enough mineral and organic means for feeding peonies, and which one to choose depends on the place where the flowers grow, the climate and the opinion of the grower himself. Ornamental plants will thank the owners of the plots for proper nutrition juicy bright flowers.
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During the growing season (spring), it is important to pay attention to your peonies and they will delight you with unusually lush flowers. About how to feed peonies and in what time frame this article will tell.
In one place, peonies can long time grow superbly and bloom luxuriantly. To do this, you need to carefully look after the peony bushes. In the third year of plant development, when the peonies are going to bloom, in addition to regular watering and loosening, they must be additionally fed.
Three times a season, we spend foliar feeding peonies, which will allow the peony to please you with friendly and long flowering throughout the season. Spraying is carried out with any complex mineral fertilizer(eg Ideal) over the leaves.
For efficiency, add a little laundry soap or washing powder to the fertilizer solution (1 tablespoon per 10 liters of solution), so it is better for the nutrient solution to stay on the surface of the leaves,
Foliar dressing is desirable in the evening or in cloudy weather.
- Bread dressing. Experienced summer residents consider this feeding the most effective. She prepares like this: In a bucket with warm water soak rye bread (about half a loaf), add a glass of sugar, Leave it to swell for three hours. Water the peony bushes with this solution.
- Yeast feeding. 100 g dissolve yeast in a bucket of warm water. We leave for 20 minutes. Water the peony with this solution.
- Chicken droppings. Take 1 part chicken dung and 25 parts water. Leave in a warm place to infuse for two weeks. We dilute the resulting solution with more water in a ratio of 1: 3, add a handful of wood ash.
Following our advice and timely fertilizing your flowers, you will grow strong and healthy peonies, which will delight you with a chic and abundant flowering. But remember that in addition to feeding, you need sufficient watering and loosening the soil around the peony bushes.
Peonies are loved by our gardeners and grow in almost every front garden. However, for some, these are huge bushes, completely covered with flowers, for others, they are also solid, and there are just one or two buds on them. And the reason, as a rule, is in the care of the plants.
In the first years of life, peony flowers may be smaller than intended and may not even correspond to varietal color. The properties of the variety are fully manifested only from the fifth year of flowering.
Alexey Volodikhin, an agronomist from Saratov, will tell you how to properly care for peonies so that they annually please with abundant flowering. Your attention - 5 secrets of lush flowering of peonies.
1. Competent watering of peonies
In a rainy and cool summer, you do not need to water the peonies. However, if it's hot, you will have to do it and - according to the rules.
In the heat, peonies need to be watered every 7-10 days. Watering is especially important in late May - early July, when the bushes grow rapidly and flowers form. Another important stage- mid-July - August, when the buds of renewal are laid.
Many people pour water directly under the bush, where there are practically no roots. There, near the base of the shoots, there are thickened rhizomes that store nutrients, they cannot absorb moisture from the soil. Young roots, capable of watering the bush, are located on the periphery.
In young peonies, the suction zone is therefore about 20-25 cm from the center of the bush, and in old ones - 40 cm. This is where water should be poured. And so that it does not spread, dig a groove about 10 cm deep around the perimeter and water directly into it - 3-4 buckets under the bush.
It is best to water the peonies in the evening so that the water is completely absorbed into the soil and does not evaporate.
2. Loosening the soil around the bushes
This work should be done after every watering or rain if you want the roots to breathe and grow well.
It is necessary to loosen the soil around the bushes carefully - at the stems to a depth of no more than 5-7 cm, and at 20-25 cm from them it is already deeper, by 10-15 cm.
3. Timely feeding of peonies
If the planting pits for the peonies were pre-filled with fertilizers, it is not necessary to additionally feed the peonies in the first two years. Starting from the third year, peonies need 4 feeding per season:
- The first top dressing is applied as soon as red shoots appear from the soil. 1 tbsp ammonium nitrate is dissolved in 10 liters of water and the plants are watered at the rate - a bucket for each bush. After that, the soil is mulched with humus, which will gradually give the plant nutrients.
- The second time the peonies are fed when they have buds. Mix dry 1/2 tbsp. ammonium nitrate, 1/2 tablespoon superphosphate and 1/3 tbsp. potassium salt, scatter it all under the bush and embed it in the soil.
- The third top dressing in composition repeats the previous one and is introduced already during the flowering of the peony.
- The fourth time, peonies are fertilized after they have completely bloomed. Apply 1/2 tbsp under the bush. superphosphate and 1/3 tbsp. potassium salt.
Fertilizers can only be applied after rain or watering. Follow the rate of feeding - excess nitrogen stimulates the growth of shoots and leaves to the detriment of bud setting.
4. Removing buds
In order for peonies to bloom profusely, the buds must be removed. It is especially important to do this in the first and second years after planting, since mass flowering does not allow the root system to fully develop.
If you want large top flowers, remove the side buds when they are about the size of a pea. And, on the contrary, you do not need to do this if it is not single cut flowers that are more important to you, but their total number on the bush and its long flowering.
It is very important to remove flowers as soon as the wilting begins, without waiting for the petals to fall off. Otherwise, hitting the leaves, they can provoke a disease with gray rot, especially in rainy weather.
5. Rejuvenating peony bushes
Peonies may well grow in one place for 50 or even 100 years! However, the older the bush gets, the weaker it blooms. Therefore, once every 8-10 years, peonies need to be dug up and divided so that there are 3-4 buds on each cut. Moreover, this can be done only in August!
As you can see, it is not very difficult to make peonies bloom especially magnificently in your garden and are pleasing to the eye. We have revealed to you the secrets of the abundant flowering of these spectacular perennials.