Description and characteristics of peony varieties Festival Maxima, planting subtleties
Peonies are some of the most beautiful flowers that bloom in early summer. They decorate not only the garden, but are also suitable for cutting and making bouquets. There are a large number of different hybrids of these flowers, one of them is a peony of the Festival Maxima variety.
Description and features
The history of this variety began in Europe, or rather, in France, in 1851, when breeders managed to breed a snow-white hybrid of peonies. Since then, the Festiva Maxima variety began to spread throughout Europe and beyond, where climatic conditions made it possible to grow these flowers.
Peonies are perennial herbaceous plants. The bushes grow to a height of almost 1 m. Inflorescences are terry, white. There are red stripes along the edges of the petals.
The inflorescence itself is very large, reaching about 20 cm in diameter. A large number of flowers bloom on the bush. The flowering period occurs in June and lasts 10-14 days.
Landing
Planting peonies is no different from planting other flower crops. You just need to choose the right place and soil mixture for planting a plant.
Seat selection
The peony of the Festival Maxima variety prefers to grow in open sunny areas. In partial shade and shade, culture does not develop well. Inflorescences bloom small in size, not very lush. It is also worth choosing places that will be protected from strong winds.
Soil requirements
Healthy and bushy peonies can only grow in fertile soil. It is not recommended to plant plants where groundwater is nearby. Because of this, peonies may die. The main thing is that there is good drainage. It is not recommended to plant plants on heavy loamy soils. It is better to choose a light, fertile soil with good aeration.
Selection and preparation of seedlings
To grow lush bushes, you need to carefully choose your planting material. Planting material is sold mainly by delenki. They should be taken from a young bush and have 3-5 buds. The planting material should not be dry and show signs of damage.
It is not necessary to prepare delenki for planting. Unless it is immersed in a growth activator for several hours.
Timing
Peonies are planted in early spring after the soil has completely warmed up, or in the fall before the onset of cold weather.
Landing scheme
Planting process:
- Make a 20-30 cm depression in the soil.
- Put the cut in the hole and dig in with soil.
- It is not recommended to deeply deepen the root collar.
- Tamp the soil near the base of the stem.
Sprinkle abundantly with warm water at the end of planting.
Care
If you take proper care of the bushes, then they can not be transplanted for more than 5 years.
Watering
Peonies do not tolerate excessive soil moisture, so if it rains for a long time and it is cloudy, the bushes can not be watered at all until the soil is dry.
It is necessary to irrigate the flowers if it is hot outside. Then you will have to moisten the soil every day. It is allowed to use water heated in the sun.
If poured with cold water, fungal diseases can appear.
Loosening and weeding
It is often necessary to weed the soil before the peonies grow in early spring. When they begin to bloom, you only need to pull out the weeds and gently weed the soil once a week before watering.
Top dressing
The plants are fed with fertilizers for flowering plants throughout the growing season before flowering.
Mulching
Peonies are very bushy and it is almost impossible to get close to them to pull out the weeds, so as not to accidentally break the flowers themselves. Therefore, immediately after planting, you need to mulch the soil. In addition, the advantage of mulch is the constantly moist soil.
Peat, sawdust, straw, agrofibre are used as mulch. The layer of mulch should not be less than 15 cm. Before laying it, the soil is loosened and weeds are removed.
How to fence off correctly
To do this, you can tie the stems to the support.
Support
Bushes can break due to the height of the stems. To prevent this from happening, the peonies need to be tied to a support. Strong metal trellises are installed next to the bushes and the stems are tied to them.
Preparing for winter
Although the Festival Maxima variety normally survives winters, when living in cold regions, it is better to cover the plants before the onset of cold weather. The stems are cut almost to the root. Then they are covered with a thick layer of spruce branches or agrofibre.
Why you shouldn't let it bloom in the early years
It is undesirable to allow peonies to bloom in the first year after planting. All the forces will go to the formation of inflorescences, while the root system needs nutrients to form strong and healthy.
How to cut flowers correctly
Cut open buds with a sharp pruner or garden shears at an angle of 45 degrees. It is better to sprinkle the cut sites with wood ash to prevent the development of infections. Cut peonies are placed in ice water.
