Before you think about buying peony seedlings, you need to take into account their individual characteristics:
1. Peonies in the garden can grow in one area for several years, or even decades, so it is very important to initially choose a place for the seedlings so as not to disturb the bushes in the future.
2. The most popular and unpretentious species for growing in the Moscow region are medicinal, milk-flowering and hybrid peonies. Sometimes you can find tree-like varieties, but they require careful shelter for the winter. All over the world there are more than 40 types of beloved peonies.
3. Varieties of peonies differ in the height and size of the bush, the shape and diameter of flowers, flowering times and colors. That is why, for harmonious use in landscape design, before purchasing, it is necessary to determine the ideal varieties specifically for your site.
4. Since peonies are generally considered the dominant plants, it is important to select varieties that match in color so as not to get some kind of color dissonance.
5. Early varieties of peonies begin to bloom at the end of May and decorate the area with luxurious buds for about 2 weeks. Some later specimens can bloom for up to a month.
6. During the cold season, faded peonies become a nice backdrop for other flowering perennials, maintaining their shape from spring until frost.
7. Some types and varieties of peonies are distinguished by the spreading shape of the bush and may require the owners to build a special support. Especially during flowering.
8. Peonies love sufficient lighting and space - this is also worth considering before choosing a place in the garden.
9. After the peonies have bloomed, it is recommended to trim the buds, then next season the seedlings will delight you with abundant and high-quality flowering.
10. By autumn, peony foliage takes on red and purple hues, adding more interesting notes to the landscape.
Features of the use of peonies in landscape design of a garden or plot
For a thoughtful design of a flower bed with peonies, it is recommended to make maximum use of the decorative properties of this plant. Peonies are valued not only for their bright and lush flowers, but also for the shape of the bush, leaves and the color of the petioles (some are bright red). Therefore, the gardener first needs to select several varieties, focusing on color, height, strength of stems and flowering time.
How to choose varieties of peonies for decorating a garden or plot
When choosing varieties of peonies, first of all, pay attention to the shades, shape and size of the flowers. Also, peonies in the landscape must have fairly strong stems so that they can reliably hold even a large number of flowers.
Therefore, to decorate the garden we can recommend the following varieties:
- White Sands – white with yellow stamens;
- My Love – white and soft pink;
- Karl Rosenfield – fuchsia;
- Feather Top – also fuchsia, with lilac tones;
- Old Faithful - red;
- John Howard Wiegell and Kevin - soft pink.
It is also worth considering the timing of flowering. For example, among the early flowering varieties, the following are especially attractive:
- Dutch Dwarf – pink, Japanese shape;
- Tiny Tim - a miniature bush in the shape of a cap;
- Merry Mayshine - a bush with graceful narrow leaves;
- Fairy Princess – large buds, rich pink;
- Eaglet is a variety with an interesting decorative bush in the shape of a vase and small but very bright flowers.
Recently, Ito hybrids are often used in landscape design: these are peonies obtained from crossing tree and herbaceous varieties:
- Garden Treasure – light yellow, quite large;
- Bartzella – terry, yellow;
- Viking Full Moon – light yellow with an orange core;
- Julia Rose – pink, light yellow, cream shade, grows in a compact bush.
Important! Some varieties are used in landscape design due to the beauty of their leaves - they have red stems and petioles that contrast well against a green background. These are, for example: Akron, Karl Rosenfield, Bev, Midnight Sun.
Garden decoration with peonies
Peonies are very bright, often large flowers growing on lush, compact or spreading bushes. They serve as a full-fledged decoration of the garden, so they can be used both in independent plantings and in compositions.
Here are some photos of the design of the area with peonies in the garden:
- Planting in rows along a path is a great way to define a path and also to separate one area of the garden from another.
- A hedge of peonies is one of the classic techniques in landscape design. It looks especially good against the backdrop of a well-groomed lawn - bright flowers harmonize with the green tint.
- Single planting against a background of bushes of approximately the same height.
- Central flower bed on an open lawn.
- Planting peonies next to a bench, gazebo and other seating areas is often used for decoration in landscape design.
Attention! Most varieties of peonies are light-loving. Therefore, they should be planted in open, bright spaces. However, weak shading is allowed - for example, from a bench or decorative bushes.
Design of a site with peonies
To decorate a site, flower growers strive to follow the classic rules of design, that is, correctly combine color shades, sizes and shapes of bushes. Since many peonies have attractive colors, they can be safely used in the landscape design of any flower bed and garden, for example:
- Classic round flower beds.
- A zigzag row of peonies is used in landscape design for zoning a garden.
- A unique hedge of different varieties of flowers.
- Flowers combined with perennial shrubs.
- Also, rocky flower beds are often used in landscape design, where these flowering shrubs also look appropriate.
Ito hybrids in the landscape
Ito hybrids are so different from herbaceous peonies that they are perceived as a different plant.
We admire not only the unusual colors: lemon, yellow, lavender, purple, plum, apricot, but also the carved foliage, round bushes leafy to the bottom, and unusual shades of leaves in the fall. The shape and color of flowers and leaves of itoh-hybrids, obtained by crossing a tree-like hybrid with a variety of milky peony, were inherited from the first parent, and winter hardiness - from the second, which belongs to herbaceous perennials, in which the above-ground part dies off in winter.
Itoh hybrid bushes are very attractive in the landscape. These peonies, especially compact varieties, can be planted at the front edge of mixborders, since their bare stems are not visible and the bushes do not fall apart. Due to the sequential opening of the buds, flowering lasts longer. Adult bushes bloom for up to three weeks. All itoh hybrids have fragrant flowers. In autumn, the foliage remains for a long time; frost changes its color to copper, red and purple. Almost not affected by rust.
What can you plant next to peonies?
You can plant both flowers and perennial green plants - herbaceous, coniferous and other crops - next to peonies in a flower bed, in a hedge or along paths. It is important to choose them so that they are harmoniously combined both in color and height.
What ornamental plants can be planted next to peonies?
Peonies go well with decorative perennials:
- With various types of hosta, against which the lush flowers will look especially beautiful.
- With various conifers (arborvita, dwarf spruce) - they look especially beautiful in rocky flowerbeds, rock gardens and on the coast of reservoirs.
- With herbaceous perennials that can be used in carpet plantings to decorate empty spaces in the garden.
Advice! When planting, it is important to take into account that shrubs or other large plants do not cast a strong shadow on the peonies - otherwise they will not bloom so luxuriantly.
Peonies harmonize very well with hosts, creating pleasant partial shade for them.
What flowers can be planted next to peonies?
These plants harmonize well with many flowers, for example:
- chrysanthemum;
- yellow daylily;
- delphinium;
- honeysuckle;
- astilbe;
- daisy;
- tulip;
- poppies
Advice! At the edge of the flowerbed you can plant annual flowers - for example, marigolds, cornflowers, coleus. They frame the flower row well, so they are often used in landscape design.
Is it possible to plant peonies next to trees?
It is not a good idea to plant peonies next to tall, lush and spreading trees, as they provide shade for a significant part of the day. This is, for example, apple tree, maple, pine and others. And even if a large tree does not shade the area (for example, a compact spruce), it will take away a significant part of the water and nutrients, which will have a bad effect on the development of the main crop.
Important! Fallen needles acidify the soil, and flowers generally prefer an alkaline environment.
Compatibility of peonies and thujas in landscape design
Thuja fits perfectly into almost any flower garden thanks to its beautiful greenery and graceful shape. Therefore, it is also used in planting with peonies, especially pink, bright yellow and red ones.
Compatibility of irises and peonies in landscape design
Irises are especially beautifully emphasized by white peonies. Both crops prefer bright sunlight, so they are suitable for placement in an open lawn.
The combination of light yellow and blue shades is one of the most harmonious
What not to plant next to peonies
It is not recommended to plant next to these flowers:
- Lush shrubs creating strong shade.
- Garden trees - they not only provide shade, but also take away moisture and nutrients.
- Any plants from the Buttercup family - they actively fill the area and compete with the main crop, sometimes inhibiting its development.
- Small flowers (pansies, petunias, marigolds), which, against the background of peonies, look bad in landscape design because they disappear from the general background.
What plants to combine peonies with?
There can be no clear answer to this question, since everything depends on your imagination. Of course, it will look strange if you plant one peony bush, for example, with a huge maple or oak. But for example, several varieties planted in the same place will advantageously frame the mighty trunk of a tall neighbor. Otherwise, peonies combine perfectly with deciduous shrubs, roses, and other beautifully flowering perennials: daylilies, astilbes and others. The main thing to remember is that the neighbors of peonies should also be light-loving and need less similar growing conditions.
How to design flower beds with peonies
To beautifully design a flowerbed, it is important to consider:
- combination of colors (contrast of red against green, blue with yellow, bright with darker);
- tiering - large ones in the center, smaller ones in the foreground;
- general shape - for example, a circle can be visually highlighted with the help of low flowers or perennials (hostas, blue fescue, wild oats).
Rules for designing flower beds with peonies
If you are combining different varieties, it is better to plant them at the same time so that they grow synchronously. In addition, they must approximately match in height and bloom at the same time, otherwise the desired effect will not be achieved. Color combinations can be different - for example, red and white, yellow and red, pink and white.
It is better to choose bushes of the same height or plant tall ones in the center and low ones at the edges
Mixed flower beds with peonies in landscape design
These plants can be combined with different flowers, taking into account the color scheme and their height. They are planted in mixborders, hedges along the road, in various compositions (rock gardens, on the coast, rocky flowerbeds).
Mixborders decorate a flower garden well, so they are often used in landscape design.
Examples of flower beds and flower beds with peonies
When creating a flower bed, you can take the proven diagrams shown below as a basis.
Proper placement will allow you to achieve alternate lush flowering
1-delphinium, 2-peonies, 3-any lilac flowers, such as catmint, 4-azorella three-forked
Another option is to make a round flowerbed of perennial flowering plants:
- silver iris;
- phlox;
- peonies (pink and lilac varieties are better suited here);
- chrysanthemum;
- asters.
Basic rules for composing bouquets with peonies
The variety of varieties of peonies allows you to create various compositions with them. To make the bouquet truly beautiful, you must adhere to the following recommendations:
- Peonies are used to make round or oval bouquets. This flower is also suitable for creating one-sided compositions;
- A peony bouquet can be made up of buds of different colors or kept in one tone. It is important to maintain harmony when choosing shades and shapes;
- The vase for the peony bouquet is simple. It should not distract attention from the flower arrangement. The basis for the bouquet is selected based on the size of the composition and the length of the flower stems;
- Individual peony flowers should not overlap each other. They are placed in the bouquet quite freely.
To ensure that a bouquet with peonies retains its freshness longer, you can use moss pads as a base, which are dried in a special way. The moss is placed in low vases, then holes are formed in it into which the flowers are placed.
A few ideas on how to plant peonies beautifully
And a few more ideas for using these bright shrubs in landscape design with photos for inspiration:
- Multi-tiered flower beds.
- Works along the house. In design they are used for zoning and forming visual boundaries of the entire flower garden.
- In single plantings. This technique in landscape design is used in cases where it is necessary to highlight the center of the garden or simply cover empty, ugly places.
- In the flowerbeds.
White peonies in the country
Experts advise taking these flowers very seriously and devoting enough time to them, because only by following the rules of agricultural technology and providing white peonies with proper care, you can achieve not only the correct bushiness of the plant, but also beautiful, long-lasting flowering.
So, recommendations from experts on growing white peonies:
- Flowers should be planted in partial shade or even in a sunny position, as they require a minimum of 4-6 hours of direct sunlight per day;
- When planting in the ground, make sure that the root system is not too deep, as this is incorrect. If the roots of the plant go far into the ground, then flowering may be short-lived, painful, and this will also negatively affect the development of the plant as a whole;
- Be sure to provide white peonies with systematic and proper care. Beautiful and majestic plants prefer timely watering, loosening the soil and proper fertilizing, which have a beneficial effect on the internal biorhythms of the plant and its appearance, in particular, the flowering of the bush;
- When the flowers reach the age of 7-10 years, they need to be replanted, or simply renew the bush. The plant is dug up and carefully divided into several strong parts, leaving only 3-4 roots, no more than 15 cm long;
- Try to monitor not only the flowering and development of peonies, but also the quality of the flowers. It will improve, and, accordingly, improve the appearance of the bush, if faded and dried buds are removed in time;
- During the flowering period, pay close attention to the buds. Only one, largest and strongest bud should be left on the peduncle. In this case, it will have enough juice and vital energy to show a beautiful flower. The rest, buds of small size and strength, will only hinder its development, and will not show any special results.
This small list of tips from experienced gardeners will help you not only grow white peonies on your own plot, but also, over time, create an entire peony garden that will delight you with abundant flowering and pleasant aromas for many years.
Design tips
Each garden has its own characteristics, and truly beautiful flower arrangements can be created taking into account the advice of professional designers. Therefore, it is recommended to pay attention to some landscape tricks that will make peonies in the garden look truly impressive:
- The brightest, most luxurious flowers are used in single plantings in the center of the garden.
- When creating multi-tiered compositions, smaller plants are planted in the foreground, and the tallest plants are planted in the background.
- When selecting plants for a flower bed, color combinations are taken into account: for example, light yellow peonies look good against the background of yellow-green grass.
- Bright flowers look good against the lush green background of the lawn. If the bush is quite tall, it is better to form it on a trunk, that is, give it the shape of a tree by removing all the lower shoots.
- Along the edges of the path and in the hedge, it is advisable to use peonies of approximately the same height, as well as the same flowering period. It is optimal to plant them in the same year so that they grow synchronously.
How to grow peonies (video)
Preparing for landing
The planting scheme for peonies is very simple, and the work itself will not take much of your time and effort, but careful preparation should be carried out before planting peonaries, since the growth of the plant, its development, flowering and life expectancy depend on this.
So, first of all, we prepare holes for planting. This should be done a month and a half before planting, so that the soil inside settles well. The holes are dug at a distance of 80-100 cm from each other, 60-70 cm deep, 55-70 cm in diameter. The correct planting scheme will help not only the plants themselves in their development, but also the owner of the peony garden in caring for the flowers.
Now that the pits are ready, you need to add a special mixture to them - compost, peat and rotted manure with admixtures of 150 g of potassium sulfate, 350 g of bone meal and 170-200 g of superphosphate; if the soil is clayey, you can add 140-170 g of slaked lime ( crushed). This entire composition is mixed with the top layer of earth, removed in advance, and compacted. As a result, you should receive approximately half a pit of the nutrient mixture, which will serve as a reserve of the required amount of nutrients for the future.
Planting peonies
The best time for planting is considered to be from mid-August to the end of September. If you plant peonies at this time, the plant will have time to take root and develop a root system during the winter cold, and this is very important.
Next, the prepared planting material is planted in pre-dug holes according to the diagram, and the planting depth is adjusted. It is necessary to place the planting material in the soil so that the renewal buds go into the ground no more than 3-4 cm, provided they are grown on loam, and no more than 5-6 cm on sandstone.
When planting, you should not compact the soil around a new bush, so as not to break the young roots, and also, do not change the depth of the bush into the soil, which may affect its development and flowering in the future.
Compositional approaches
The composition in the arrangement of a flower bed plays an important role.
- Tall coniferous trees will help highlight the tenderness of pink and white-pink peonies. The flowers will look great against the backdrop of juniper thickets.
- Peonies are often the center of a flower arrangement. It is logical to surround them with low-growing flowers: primroses, daisies, bergenia. You can make several tiers.
- If the flowerbed is large, a good idea would be to plant three peony bushes in its corners, filling the space between them with a mantle or bergenia. In this case, vertical accents can be placed with the help of foxglove and delphinium.
Experienced flower growers do not advise planting small flowers directly between peony bushes, as this will make them difficult to care for.
