Peony season has arrived, and peony roots are available in Mitre Ten and being shipped from Bulbs Direct and NZ Bulbs. If you haven’t now is a good time to make the most of the warm weather and get to planting. Check out some of our tips below to get the most out of your plants!
Planting
If your peony plants have not yet been planted, now is the time to get planting. Enrich your soil with compost and apply some Liquid Seaweed and Liquid Humic and really boost the health of your soil. If you’re in the south of New Zealand, bury your peony plants with the eyes about 3-4cm underground, whereas if you’re further north and have less frosts it can be best to bury your peony plants about 2-3cm underground. As peonies require frosts and cold winters, burying slightly shallower in the north can help them achieve their frost requirement.
Watering
Peonies perform best with good waterings, less often. Down in Canterbury we tend to give our peonies a good watering, twice a week. The amount and frequency you water can depend on your localities weather and soil type, but attempt to ensure you have free draining soil and never let it become water logged. If water logging occurs, reduce the amount you are watering and/or the frequency.
Feeding
Peonies are those non-fussy plants which will grow and flower without any fertiliser at all. Although, to get the very most out of your peony plants all they need is two good granule feeds with Green Fingers Bulb Granular, one around September and another around March, with fortnightly foliar feeds of Peony Foliar Fertiliser in between September and March. Doing this will help grow large healthy plants and enhance both flower and root production, which is great for those in the business of flower and peony root production.
Pests and disease
Fortunately, the natural pests and diseases of peonies did not manage to follow them to New Zealand. Due to this there are very few problems to watch out for, however one problematic disease that can occur is Botrytis. Botrytis is a fungus type of disease which thrives in warm and humid conditions and can harm young peony shoots, causes blackening of the leaves and can destroy peony flower buds, preventing them from ever opening. If you start to see this occurring, give your plants a good spray of Copper oxychloride, or another fungicide which prevents and eradicates Botrytis. Also always remove dead peony flowers and foliage as this can allow botrytis to overwinter. Thrips are another pest which can affect peonies, if they are seen a quick spray of insecticide will eradicate them.
Overwintering
After flowering has finished it is best to leave the foliage intact, similarly to daffodils and tulips. This is required as it is during the Autumn period that peony plants continue to absorb sunlight and not only use this energy for root production, but also store some of the energy for the following years growth. Plants without this stored energy will still grow the following year, just not with the same vigour. Once the leaves turn brown, it is time to prune them back to ground level. During the winter, if you’re in a frost prone area, it is best to just let them be. However, if you’re in an area that doesn’t experience frosts, a good trick is to fill a sealed bag with water and freeze it, then place the bag on the ground above your peony plant in the evening to simulate a frost. By the morning, the bag will have thawed and can be refrozen and used the following evening. A peony plant typically requires this about 10-15 times during the July-August months.
Sit back and enjoy
You've done the hard-work, now sit back and enjoy the experience that peonies and their flowers provide.
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