Peonies fall care and preparation for winter. Preparing for winter - caring for peonies in the fall

In most garden plots you can find beautiful flowers - peonies. They are so popular due to their luxurious fragrant flowers. This is a real decoration of the garden in spring summer season. herbaceous care perennial plant It is simple, but special attention should be paid to preparing peonies for winter, since this flower is very afraid of frost. Let's find out how you can save peonies in winter.

Pruning and sheltering peonies for the winter

In order for peonies to successfully overwinter, it is necessary to conduct special preparation of flowers for wintering. It should be remembered that the successful wintering of peonies directly depends on the place of their planting: flowers planted in different parts garden, can survive the winter in different ways.

Wintering is best tolerated, planted near trees, shrubs or along fences. On an elevated, blown area in winter, snow does not linger well. Therefore, for peonies planted in such places, it is necessary to make additional shelter for the winter. To do this, each peony bush is mulched, covered from above, for example, with an inverted box, which is then covered with spruce branches.

Peonies planted in low places suffer from stagnation of cold damp air. Therefore, their tubers must be insulated with a thicker layer. various materials. It can be lutrasil, agril or ordinary burlap. On top of such insulation, spruce branches are placed, interconnected in the form of a hut.

Are peonies pruned for the winter?

Many gardeners are interested in when to cut peonies for the winter. Proper timing is very important for lush and abundant flowering next year. However, the pruning time depends on which region you live in: in cold areas, frosts can occur as early as the end of September, and in the south and in December it is still warm. Therefore, on average, peonies should be cut in October-November, with the onset of frost. By this time the peonies root system is already completely ready for winter, and the tubers have accumulated enough nutrients for a successful winter.

When pruning, it is necessary to cut off the entire aerial part of the plant, leaving the growth buds and the remains of the stems about 2-4 cm in height. Since the stems of peonies will rot by spring, it is better to burn or remove all their cut remains from the site so that possible infections and mold do not pass to healthy plants in the spring.

Winter care for peonies

After cutting, peonies must be mulched with humus or dry peat with a layer of at least 10 cm. northern regions this layer should be increased to 20 cm. Such a shelter helps peonies wake up earlier than others in the spring, not sheltered plants and bloom more abundantly. In addition, those nutrients that are contained in the mulch, entering the soil, become an excellent growth stimulator and fertilizer for peonies, especially old bushes.

It is not recommended to cover peonies with cut stems, fallen leaves, manure or straw. Such residues may contain fungal spores that cause various fungal diseases of pions. In addition, in such organic residues, hibernate various harmful insects. It is also undesirable to use sawdust, needles, tree bark and shavings for mulching peony bushes, because, by rotting, they make the soil too acidic.

In early spring, as soon as the earth dries out a little and it will be possible to approach the peony bushes, the shelters are removed from them, and the mulch is raked into the aisles, leaving a small layer to retain moisture and protect against early weeds.

As you can see, it is not at all difficult to cover peonies for the winter, but such care will pay off handsomely in the form of beautiful fragrant flowers in your garden.

It is believed that the peony does not need careful care, so many gardeners do not touch the perennial in the fall. Meanwhile, carrying out certain agrotechnical measures will be beneficial for the plant.

Every year I prepare a peony for winter: I cut it in correct timing stems, fertilize and organize shelter. These measures have a positive effect on the health of the perennial, and every summer it pleases me with lush inflorescences.

Inexperienced gardeners are often interested in specialized forums whether it is necessary to dig up peonies for the winter. Many flowers really need a comfortable wintering in a cellar, refrigerator or cool pantry, since being in freezing ground will lead to their inevitable death.

It is not necessary to dig up peonies in the fall, since the perennial winters well and tolerates very coldy under safe cover. They dig up a peony only for transplanting to another place or for the purpose of propagating a flower.

pruning

Most milestone preparing peonies for winter - pruning stems. Many gardeners neglect this procedure or do it too early, thereby harming the perennial. What is pruning for and how to do it correctly?

Should I prune peonies in the fall? It is necessary, moreover, these events are aimed not only at the aesthetics of your site, but also at facilitating work in the spring. Even if the leaves were not affected by any pests and fungi in the summer season, they must be removed without fail.

With the onset of cold weather, insects, including those not entirely useful for perennials, are looking for shelter for wintering. Unharvested foliage becomes an ideal haven for them, and in spring, pests actively lay their eggs and larvae in the ground and plant tissues.

Also, leaves softened in spring can become a place where pathogens begin to hide, which can subsequently harm young shoots.

Thus, autumn peony pruning becomes a mandatory sanitary measure. When is the best time to remove leaves and stems?

Pruning timing

In order not to harm the peony, it is worth pruning within a clearly limited time frame. Some gardeners completely prune the perennial at the end of its decorative period, and this is a colossal mistake.

In the foliage until mid-autumn, very important processes of photosynthesis take place, during which the roots accumulate specific substances in themselves.

These elements help the plant successfully restore its strength after lush flowering, prepare for the cold, overwinter and actively begin growth with the onset of heat.

In summer, only dried flower stalks should be cut, while the foliage should not be affected. Removing the entire above-ground part, which has already become unnecessary due to the loss of its decorative effect, will colossally harm the perennial and deprive it of important nutrition. If the plant does not die, then next year it will definitely be weakened.

In autumn, peony pruning is done only after frost has been established. The plant is already fully prepared for wintering, so removing the leaves will not harm it. Define right moment for pruning, it is possible according to the state of the foliage - it should lie completely on the ground.

If you do not have the opportunity to be on the site during the first frost, you can remove almost the entire above-ground part of the peony on the last day of the outgoing season, leaving 3-4 central stems with leaves, which will ensure the progress of photosynthesis processes and nutrition of the root system.

top dressing

Fertilizing for peony in the fall should be about 2 weeks before the predicted frost. Depending on the climatic zone, perennials are fertilized from the 20th of September to October 10th.

It is important to choose the optimal composition of preparations that will help the flower to successfully winter, and in the spring to quickly grow and grow. the right time present the gardener with their luxurious lush inflorescences.

For successful wintering, the peony root system requires phosphorus and potassium, but nitrogen is strictly contraindicated. The last element stimulates the growth of green mass, these processes are completely unnecessary and even dangerous at this stage.

A plant that has gone into growth is capable of dying, because it does not have time to prepare for winter.

Fertilizing in the fall has several goals:

• the root system is strengthened and the plant qualitatively survives the onset of cold weather;
• the foundation is laid for the development of strong and large buds that will produce powerful foliage and large buds.

Top dressing for peony can be applied both in dry form and with solutions of complex preparations. If autumn turned out to be without precipitation, then it is better to use liquid version, spilling under each bush about a liter of the drug diluted according to the instructions.

Heavy rains suggest application granular fertilizer: they are scattered over trunk circle perennials, coordinating the consumption with the recommendations of manufacturers.

Dry top dressing can be shallowly embedded in the soil by loosening it with a chopper, or left to lie on the surface: under the influence of rainwater, the granules will gradually dissolve, and the micro and macro elements contained in them will go to the address - to the peony root system.

Shelter

Pruning and top dressing are not all the activities that you need to carry out when preparing peonies for wintering. In regions where severe frosts are set in winter or the amount of snow is not enough to protect the perennial, the flower must be provided with shelter.

IN middle lane, where severe frosts are set, as a rule, after heavy snowfalls, the question is quite logically brewing whether it is necessary to cover peonies for the winter. If the perennial grows in an elevated or windswept area of ​​your site, then you will need to protect it.

If the peony grows near the northern fence or is surrounded by trees and shrubs, then creating a shelter will not be necessary.

• in Siberia, mulching with closing the place from blowing is mandatory;
• in the Urals, thorough protection of peonies from frost is also necessary;
• in the middle lane, peonies for the winter only mulch or only spud;
• in the Volga region, standard hilling is sufficient.

If the listed factors and the climatic conditions of your region tell you to create a shelter, proceed to manipulation with the onset of the first dry frosts and a steady drop in temperature to -5 0.

It is necessary to protect the perennial from the harmful effects of frost in several stages:

1. Since the growth buds of a peony are located at a depth of only 6 cm, the main measure to protect them from frost is hilling. After pruning, sprinkle the earth on the bushes to thereby increase the plant's resistance to frost.
2. From above it is necessary to pour a thick (15-18 cm) layer of mulch.
3. On top of the mulch layer, to protect against blowing, it is necessary to install a wooden or plastic box, an ordinary bucket or apply spruce branches.

Separately, you should consider the issue of mulching material. In no case should cut leaves of peony and other garden plants act in its role.

Decaying organics will attract insect pests and pathogenic flora, which will lead to dangerous diseases perennial. For the same reason, it is not recommended to use straw or manure for shelter.

Popular mulching materials such as needles, fresh sawdust, tree bark, contribute to soil acidification, which can adversely affect the health of the peony.

Of course, if you have no other means of organizing shelter, you can use them, but every year you should test the pH of the earth with litmus strips and leach it in time with the help of available preparations.

The ideal mulch that does not affect the pH of the soil is high-moor peat and packed sawdust.

If you live in the area all year round, then it is recommended to scatter the snow cleared from the tracks on top of peonies and other perennials. The larger the covering layer, the better the plants will tolerate frost. In addition, melting snow will qualitatively nourish the earth and give the flowers strength for full growth and development.

In early spring, during the period of active snowmelt, the shelter must be dismantled. Most of the mulch should be raked away from the peony so that it does not lead to overheating of the root system and growth buds.

A small layer must be left - it will serve to retain moisture and protect the ground from the dispersion of weed seeds.

A rare dacha does without luxurious peonies, the summer care of which is most often limited to watering. But preparing peonies for winter involves their mandatory pruning, fertilizing and warming.

During the summer, the flowers are watered, but they need the most moisture during the flowering period. Further, the number and volume of waterings are gradually reduced, slowly bringing them to zero. Here the moment of gradualness is important. And in the fall, most of the time, there is only enough rain. A dry autumn will sooner prepare the plants for a dormant period.

In the fall, new bushes are planted on the site, if necessary, those that are already growing on it are transplanted, adult plants are separated, simultaneously breeding and rejuvenating peonies. But to prepare them for winter means to cut off the deciduous mass, to bring in the last autumn top dressing, insulate in anticipation of cold weather. Everything must be done correctly and in a timely manner.

peonies pruning

In autumn, it is imperative to cut off all the stems with leaves, as they will inevitably wither, then rot. Pests can settle in them for the winter, the rotting leaves themselves usually become a breeding ground for pathogenic microorganisms. If even in the summer some infection (often fungal) nested on them, but did not cause a visible disease, then next season it will inevitably hit the plant and spread to others. For the good of your entire site, pruning should not be postponed until spring.

Terms of pruning plants for the winter

In summer, as a rule, only fading flowers are cut, and the leaves continue to perform their decorative function on the site. The roots grow until the very cold weather, accumulate strength for subsequent flowering, and the process of photosynthesis that occurs in the leaves actively helps them. Therefore, it is necessary to cut off the green mass when this process is inhibited in a natural way. The ideal time is after the first frost, when the leaves fall to the ground.

If for some reason you need to cut the peony earlier, you should leave a few leaves on each stem so that the plant can further absorb useful material without stopping photosynthesis completely. Depending on the beginning of winter, pruning is carried out approximately from mid-September to mid-October.

pion pruning pattern

Grassy peonies are cut with a sharp disinfected pruner almost at the very ground, leaving only a couple of centimeters from the branches. It is better to destroy all cut greens by taking them away from the site. It is not suitable for compost due to possible contamination.

If you leave high stumps of the stems, they will dry out, but they can become a breeding ground for pathogenic bacteria, so they are usually cut so low that subsequent hilling will completely hide the bush from the eyes.

Care and feeding after pruning

After pruning, the ground around the bush is freed from all leaves, branches, grass, loosened special tools not too deep, so as not to damage the roots. This best time for the last feeding of the plant. You can use any ready-made complex fertilizers containing potassium and phosphorus. Some flower growers prefer to make bone meal with wood ash. The main thing is that you do not need to use nitrogen-containing fertilizers, so as not to inadvertently provoke the growth of new shoots, which will inevitably freeze.

Fertilizers can be scattered around the bush, loosening will mix them with the ground, and subsequent rains will carry them to the root. If the autumn is dry, then it is better to breed them according to the instructions and pour approximately 1 liter under each bush.

Video "Preparing peonies for winter"

In this video, a specialist will tell you how to properly prepare peonies for winter period.

Shelter of peonies for the winter

When deciding how to cover peonies for the winter, it is necessary to proceed from assumptions about the degree of severity and snowiness of winter. Cold frosty winds, combined with a snowless winter, can destroy plants, and the snow that has fallen in time will serve the best cover. The only pity is that we cannot accurately predict this, so it is necessary to organize a shelter suitable for all cases.

The tree-like perennial peony, oddly enough, endures the winter cold quite easily. Care for him does not involve total pruning, he is cut only for the purpose of shaping or rejuvenation. Buds for next year's flowers are laid on skeletal branches, so they are only shortened to the desired length. But usually all pruning of a tree peony is carried out in the spring.

Of the autumn activities, the following are mandatory: cleaning the bush and the surrounding area from fallen leaves, grass, branches, loosening the earth and applying potassium-phosphorus top dressing. An adult peony will survive the winter well, one has only to spud its trunk. But a young, still low plant must definitely be spudded high, mulched at least 20 cm, and completely covered with a box or bucket from above.

Features of preparation for winter in the regions

Buds of future branches herbaceous peonies located no deeper than 6 cm below ground level. You need to decide how much to insulate the plant for the winter, depending on the region. So, in the southern regions, peonies do not insulate at all. For the Volga region, a good layer of mulch 10–15 cm high is sufficient. Summer residents of the middle lane and the Moscow region are afraid strong winds and lack of snow, so they prefer to cover the plants with spruce branches or lutrasil, in addition to the usual mulch.

In the Urals and Siberia, it is imperative to put a high layer of mulch - 20–25 cm thick, arrange a box or box on top that will provide a layer of air, they are also covered with a special non-woven fabric. And in the spring, this shelter is gradually dismantled as the air temperature rises.

Common Mistakes When Preparing for Winter

Peonies are very undemanding plants, they do not require constant attention, in the summer they only need to be watered. Most often, even fertilizers are applied exclusively in spring and autumn. Most manipulations are carried out with them in the fall in preparation for winter. It is important not to make mistakes here, as they can have serious consequences.

The biggest mistake is not autumn pruning bushes. The result can be not only a greatly weakened peony, but also plants nearby that have fallen ill with all sorts of infectious (most often fungal) diseases.

After pruning, you can’t cover the roots with the same leaves - the result will be the same, pests and pathogenic microorganisms will happily overwinter and get stronger, but peonies, on the contrary, will weaken and get sick.

A common mistake is to prune too early - this will also weaken the plant. And sheltering not in accordance with the expected winter can completely lead the plant to death.

One of the most common garden flowers are peonies. They are very popular with flower growers. The plant is considered unpretentious, but still there are some nuances in its cultivation that all breeders of this beautiful shrub must know. Special attention it is necessary to pay attention to the issue of sheltering peonies for the winter, because the bright flowering of these luxurious flowers depends on this.

Types of shrubs

Preparatory measures for the winter period are the key to the active flowering of the plant. But in order for it to please the owner in the fall, it is necessary to make some efforts to prepare the bushes for the cold. There is no need to dig them out for the winter, but other important agrotechnical measures must be carried out.

All perennial peonies are divided into:

• herbaceous- ordinary garden peonies, which so often become favorites in garden plots;
• treelike- are distinguished by their impressive size of the bush and stems, which become woody over time.

Both species are subject to annual autumn preparation. In addition, the plant is not winter-hardy, so it needs shelter for the winter.

Features of the preparation of herbaceous species

Peonies need to be thoroughly prepared for the cold weather. Experienced gardeners It is recommended to simply adhere to some care measures. What must be done:

• fertilizing shrubs during the growing season;
• shrub transplantation if necessary;
• autumn pruning;
• mandatory mulching;
• warming bushes for the winter.

This work must be done in autumn time. The only thing you can skip is the transplant. If there is no such need, it is not necessary to do this, however, successful wintering also depends on the place where the bush grows.

Perennial planted between fruit or ornamental bushes, will endure the winter better than a peony growing in the open. The second option will need to provide additional shelter. You should decide which is easier - to transplant or shelter, and act on this basis.

Mulch should be laid in a fairly high layer, about 20 cm. On top of it, the plant must be covered carton box or a plastic bucket, which will gradually cover the first snow abundantly. As far as possible, the snow cover should be increased throughout the winter: this way the plant will be warmer.

Preparation of tree varieties

Tree peonies grow in huge bushes. Their peculiarity is that in autumn the leaves fall from the stems. But, like herbaceous species, they require serious preparation for the winter.

Bush formation

Tree species are subject to pruning in only two cases. Anti-aging pruning is carried out 1 time in 10-15 years as needed. In the process, all old shoots are removed to activate the growth of new ones. The first sign is that the bush ceases to bloom profusely, the flowers themselves become smaller with each season, sometimes flowering completely stops. Surprisingly, if the shrub rejuvenation procedure is carried out correctly, its life expectancy can be 60-80 years.

Rules for caring for Elatior begonia at home

Formative pruning is necessary to give the bush a special decorative form. In height, the plant can reach 2.5 m, so all branches must be cut by 0.9 cm. This will give the bush a more attractive appearance. In the spring, young shoots will begin to actively develop, which will add splendor to the bush and bring abundant luxurious flowering. In addition, it makes it much easier to shelter for the winter.

After the procedure, the cut site must be disinfected. They can be covered with garden pitch or wood ash. If this is not done immediately, the plant can get sick for a long time.

The next important step in preparing the plant for the winter period is top dressing. Fertilization for tree peonies carried out in the same way as for herbaceous.

bush cover

This is a necessary event for plants in almost all regions with cold winter. And even such huge bushes really need it. In order not to lose such a beautiful thing in the cold ornamental plant, it is necessary to properly organize its shelter.