Propagating peonies by dividing the rhizome
The most common method involves dividing the underground shoots; it is used for mature bushes that are already at least five years old. The ideal time for division is late August to early September, when the temperature of the soil and air drops. At this time the buds on the rhizome, from which the future shoots will grow, have already formed, but the growth of the rootlets has not yet begun. If division is carried out in October or later, the peonies will most likely not take root.
We very carefully dig up the chosen bush, so as not to damage the roots. We clean them of soil (a jet of water can be used) and keep the plant for about 6 hours in a dry, shady place, until it dries completely.
After this, we trim the adventitious roots to 10-12 cm in length and divide them into fragments, trying to leave the same number of buds (3-5) on each. The rotten parts must be cleaned away and the cuts dusted with charcoal. We keep the resulting divisions in the shade for a couple of days and plant them in the ground. They can be buried in sand or moss for storage and transport.
Propagation by root cuttings
A fairly popular way of obtaining new peony bushes. A root cutting is a piece of root with 1-2 buds that was left over from division by the previous method and that it would be a shame to throw away.
For an hour and a half to two hours, we disinfect the rootlets in a solution of potassium permanganate (3-4 g of potassium permanganate per bucket of water), wait for them to dry, roll them in charcoal and leave them overnight. Before planting, we treat them with a store-bought rooting stimulator according to the instructions (Kornevin, Heteroauxin or any other). We plant the cuttings in fertile soil in a nursery bed – a separate bed for baby plants – at a distance of 20-25 cm from one another and 5 cm deep. The seedlings should be protected from the sun, not allowed to become overgrown with weeds, and in winter carefully covered against frost.
Propagation by trimming
It is used for heavily overgrown bushes older than 7 years and with a large number of shoots. Division is better carried out in early spring or early autumn.
Around the perimeter, we remove the soil around the peony to a depth of 10-20 cm. With a sharp spade, we carefully cut off horizontally a part of the bush about 5-7 cm below the visible buds. It easily breaks apart into fragments with rootlets and buds. We treat them with charcoal dust and plant them in a nursery bed, and after two years we transplant them to a permanent spot. The rhizome remaining on the bush we treat with ash, cover with soil and top with a 10 cm layer of sawdust, peat or other mulch.
Propagation by vertical layering
This is the simplest and oldest method of obtaining peonies. With it, the plants do not need to be dug up and divided, but are preserved entirely. True, it is not suitable for all varieties.
In spring, as soon as the soil thaws and warms up a little, we dig around a bush that is no younger than 5-8 years old. We dig around it in such a way that the buds, which have begun to grow, are exposed. On top we place a bottomless box 35-45 cm high. We bank soil up against its sides. We place good soil into the box, mixed with sand and compost in a 2:1:1 ratio. The thickness of the resulting layer should be 10 cm. Once a week we add a fresh mixture of soil, compost and humus (in equal parts), until the box is filled. We be sure to pinch off the buds that form on the bush. We water the shoots regularly: the soil in the box must not dry out.
In September, you can remove the enclosure, rake away the soil and cut off the stems with a bud and rootlets. We immediately plant them in a prepared bed and, before winter, cover them with mulch. After a couple of years we transplant them to a permanent spot. The disadvantage of the method is that the mother peony does not bloom during propagation. To avoid this, you can enclose not the whole bush but only part of it, and then the rest of the plant will continue to please the eye with its flowers.
Propagation by seeds
This method is used infrequently: at best only half of the seeds germinate, they take a long time to sprout (up to 5 years), and they begin to bloom only after 5-7 years. In addition, the plant will be completely unlike the parent bush and will lose its decorative qualities. Therefore, propagation by seeds is mainly done only by breeders, in order to obtain new, unusual varieties.
The seed material from the flowers that have been left should be collected in August-September, before the seed pod fully opens, and sown immediately into well-fertilized soil to a depth of 50 mm, while the seeds have not yet dried out. In the warm soil of early autumn, and then in the cold winter ground, the seeds undergo natural stratification – the process of activating the embryo. But if natural conditions do not allow this to be done, the procedure must be carried out artificially: keep them in sand on an electric heating pad and then in a cool place at a temperature of 5-10 degrees. The seeds are planted in May, to a depth of 5 cm.
