Abstract

This paper will discuss various aspects of the peony flower, primarily focusing on methods of propagation. Other topics to be covered will include my personal interest in the flower, a brief description and history, and future work needed. Various sources will be cited throughout the paper.

Personal Interest

Growing up on the central plains of North Dakota gave me many opportunities to come in to contact with different horticultural plants. There were always various flowers around our farm in the summertime. During my growing up years, I did not pay much attention to all these different plants. I remember the bright colors and different shapes of some of the flowers, but as far as names, I do not remember them quite as readily. However, there was one flower that was always in our flower bed right beside the house. It seemed to be kind of a bushy plant that had many stems and leaves. I remember that at least once every summer, this plant would flower. The flowers would open up from small round bulb-like parts of the plant, and expand into flowers that were as big as a softball. They were beautiful. These flowers adorned our kitchen table more than once. At the present time, I am taking a college course entitled Plant Propagation at North Dakota State University, taught by Dr. Chiwon W. Lee. This has been an interesting class, and as part of the class, we are required to write a term paper about the propagation of a certain plant. I chose the peony because of my past experiences with it, and a desire to learn more about its propagation. I will start first with a brief introduction of the peony.

Description and History

Peonies were very popular towards the end of the nineteenth century in Europe. They have not received much attention by modern authors, yet they are a very beautiful flower that is easy to grow and not affected by very many diseases. They do not work well for mass propagation, so this reduces there commercial value. However, they are easy to care for and are good for a small gardener. (Page 7-9)

Peonies are thought to be named after the Greek mythological figure, Paeon, and have been used as medicine for at least two millenniums. They seemed to be a cure all for many diseases, more specifically for things such as: gall stones, kidney pains, jaundice, and insanity. Peonies have been used in a tea as well to treat haemorrhoids and varicose veins. (Page 11-13)

Propagation Methods

According to Engstrom, peonies can by propagated by: seed, division, root cuttings, grafting, and layering.

Propagation by Seed

In nature, peony plants are able to produce their own seed. However, this is not true for all domestic cultivars. In order to propagate by seed, one must first obtain the seeds. In herbaceous peonies, seed propagation is not recommended because it takes five to six year for plants to mature, the possibility of a new and exciting plant is not very great. In tree peonies, however, seed propagation is practical. To do this successfully, gather the seeds when the pods have cracked open. The seeds should have a sticky feel to them. The seeds should be rinsed in a 10% bleach solution and after that, clean water to remove any harmful materials such as fungi and bacteri. One can plant the seeds right away in a garden, or one can also root the seeds indoors over the winter. If rooting the seeds indoors, they should be stored in a shady warm place. When roots on the seeds get to be about 2-4” long, put the seeds in the refrigerator for 3-4 months, maintaining the temperature at 45-48 degrees F. In the spring they can then be planted in the garden, with a mulch over them. One important thing to remember when propagating peonies by seed is that: “seedlings require at least one cycle of warm-cold-warm before putting out their first leaves (Engstrom 109).” Keep this in mind when performing this practice. (Engstrom 107-109)

Propagation by Division