Characteristics and description of Kansas peony, planting and care rules

The popularity of peony varieties called Kansas is gaining momentum. Its beauty is close to that of a rose: a bush with dense double inflorescences will become the true king of the flowerbed, its visual center. In addition to its spectacular exterior, peony is unpretentious, which allows it to be grown in open ground, on a balcony or window. Without requiring any special expenses, the flower will delight its owners with chic, spherical buds.

Description and features

The Kansas variety is classified as an herbaceous peony. The plant is low, up to 1 meter, decorated with lush balls of flowers about 20 centimeters in diameter. It blooms in May, continuing to produce buds until the end of June. Grows on almost any soil and does not require annual replanting. By the way, in one place a bush, under favorable conditions, can exist for a couple of decades.

It is believed that on fertilized soil, a peony will bloom without problems for 3-4 years. The plant is hardened and tolerates frost on the ground down to minus 30 degrees. Branches with flowers are stored for a long time when cut; they will stand on the table in a vase with water for up to 7 days.

Landing

There are several simple rules for planting a peony. They are easy to follow and easy to remember:

1. Choose sunny, well-lit places for your future flower garden. Kansas tolerates shade less well than excess light. Therefore, it is not recommended to place bushes near other plants or buildings that shade peonies. Compliance with the same requirement will ensure sufficient circulation of fresh air.
2. The peony has no special complaints about the soil, but clayey soil is preferable. Additionally, the presence of nutrients is necessary; they will ensure the normal development of the bush. If there is no ready-made soil mixture with the required characteristics, prepare it yourself. To do this, add a small amount of clay to sandy soils. With clayey ones they do the opposite, adding sand to them.

The optimal time for peony planting is autumn. It is better to carefully approach the planting site so that in the future the plant does not have to be hastily transferred to another site.

Selecting a location

The future place of “residence” of the plant will affect its growth, flowering, and normal existence.Planting a peony in the shade, among tall trees blocking the sun, is undesirable, since it will negate the gardener’s attempts to get buds to set.

Selection and preparation of planting material

Since plant division is used more often than other methods for propagation, the selection of planting stock begins in the fall, using 3-4-year-old bushes. The requirements for the resulting seedlings are as follows: root length – up to 15 centimeters, at least 3 buds. First, the peony donor bush is dug up. The tuber part is carefully separated from the earthen clod, transferred to a cool, dark place, and covered. After about 2-3 hours, pruning is performed, removing damaged or diseased areas, and dividing the peony bush into seedlings.

Another popular method of propagating peonies is cuttings. To do this, choose a healthy and strong shoot from the bush. It is carefully cut into cuttings, leaving 2 internodes on each. Next, the seedlings are briefly soaked in a growth stimulant (Heteroauxin), rooted in the soil and covered with film.

How to prepare the soil

The planting hole dug at the planting site must be filled with a special mixture. It includes:

• aged humus (a couple of buckets);
• bone meal (300 grams), can be replaced with superphosphate;
• ash or potassium sulfate, magnesium (300 grams).

Fertile soil is added to this composition. If the soil is heavy, it is diluted with peat (sand). In sandy soils it is necessary to pour about a bucket of clay, this will balance their structure. The hole is filled about a third with the finished conglomerate, the remaining part is left for soil fertilized with minerals.

Deadlines

The optimal planting time is autumn, from the end of August to the first days of October.In exceptional cases, bushes are planted in early spring, at the end of winter in a large pot or 3-liter glass jar. The plant remains in this form until warmer weather arrives. As soon as the air warms up to a temperature of 10 degrees, the “preserved” peonies are planted in the ground.

Planting scheme

When planting plants, maintain a 1-meter step between adjacent bushes. Planting too often will cause the flowers to interfere with each other’s harmonious development. In addition, they will not have enough moisture or nutrients in the soil.

Care

Caring for the Kansas variety consists of timely watering, fertilizing with mineral complexes, preventing diseases or pests, and mulching.

Watering

Flowers are moderately moisture-loving: for them, overwatering can lead to worse consequences than drought. Typically, up to 3 buckets of water are spent on each plant. The procedure is repeated once every 10 days. In the spring, when sap flow begins, peonies especially need regular watering.

Loosening and weeding

After the peonies finish flowering, standard procedures are carried out - loosening the soil, weeding from weeds. Sometimes this procedure is combined with fertilizing. Loosening is also useful after rain to ensure soil permeability and the plant receiving nutrients.

Top dressing

During the growing season, Kansas is fed twice: the first time with organic matter (at the beginning or end of the season), the second time with minerals, before the formation of inflorescences. The growth of young shoots takes a lot of effort, so fertilizer is required. This could be ammonium nitrate (about 15 grams per bucket of water).

The best time for the procedure is evening.When feeding “mature” plants with deep roots, it is recommended to carefully drill several wells up to half a meter deep around the bush, into which water-soluble fertilizers will be poured.

Diseases and pests

Peonies are susceptible to pest attacks, as well as garden diseases. Each danger has its own methods of dealing with it, sometimes harsh ones. To protect against insects, plants are treated with fungicides.

Gray rot

The source of gray rot on peonies is a fungus that attacks the roots, stems, and leaves. Depending on the degree of damage, chemical treatment, removal of damaged parts followed by burning, and deep loosening in the fall are used.

Rust

A sign of the disease are brown, reddish spots. If you do not intervene, the spores will spread to neighboring areas, affecting other plants. Spraying with Bordeaux mixture is used as a preventative measure. Affected leaves are separated, collected in heaps and burned.

Transfer

Replanting is not a mandatory procedure for young plants. This is necessary if the place to place the flower bed is poorly chosen when dividing an overgrown bush. They replant peonies in the fall, carefully removing the plant along with the earthen lump. You can rinse under running water, being careful not to damage the roots. Then the bush is left in the air to wilt, after which they begin pruning or dividing.

Mulching

Filling the root zone with a layer of dry branches or compost (mulch) allows you to preserve nutrients in the soil. The main thing is that fungal spores do not develop on this fertile soil.

Trimming

Autumn is the best time to prune peony. At this time, the stems are cut short.If a different, earlier season is chosen for the procedure, then they try to leave strong shoots with 3-4 leaves in the aboveground part.

What to do when they bloom

When the peonies have bloomed, dry leaves and buds are removed, the soil is loosened, and fertilizing is also applied.

Reproduction

Reproduction is carried out by cuttings, layering, dividing the bush, and seeds.

Beauty and benefits

Peony Kansas is a full-fledged, beautiful plant with characteristic lush flowering. With reasonable care (and the plant does not require much), bushes with bright buds will decorate the balcony and become a highlight in the design of a flower bed or garden plot.