Planting techniques of Paeonia lactiflora

Paeonia lactiflora, also known as white peony root, Hangshao root, Bo Shao root, Chuan Shao root, etc., is a perennial herb of Ranunculaceae family. Its flowers are large and beautiful. Its roots can be used as medicine to stabilize liver yang, astringe yin and nourish blood, and collect sweat. Its cultivation techniques are as follows:

Soil preparation and basal fertilizer application

Choose thick soil layer, low groundwater level, good drainage, loose fertile sandy loam field planting. 3000-4000 kg of high-quality organic fertilizer and 50-60 kg of ternary compound fertilizer are evenly applied per mu as base fertilizer, deeply ploughed by 60 cm, and raked and leveled.

selective reproduction

The propagation of peony has the methods of root-division propagation and seed propagation, and the root-division propagation method is often used in production. In autumn, combine with harvesting and planing peony, select peony plants with uniform root thickness, thick terminal buds and no diseases and insect pests, cut off large roots with a diameter of more than 0.5 cm for medicine, and leave root clusters with bud heads (also called peony heads) for seed use. The bud head used for seed is divided into pieces according to the size and natural growth shape (also called peony bud), each piece is suitable for 2- 3 thick buds and about 2 cm thick. Each mu of peony root buds can be planted in 3-5 mu of fields. Peony buds should be cut with planting, such as planting not finished, can be stored in a 20 cm deep wet sand pit.

planting watering

Generally planted in late August to September, early rather than late, no later than late October, otherwise the peony bud has developed new roots, which will affect the yield and quality of peony. For neat emergence and convenient management, the buds should be classified according to size for hole planting. The planting row spacing is 50cm × 30cm, the hole depth is 1 - 2cm, and the diameter is 20cm; the hole is first watered with sufficient water, and after the water seeps down, the decomposed manure with a thickness of 4cm is spread at the bottom of the hole, and the soil is covered with a thickness of 4cm. After compaction, the tip of the peony bud is placed upward in the middle of the hole, and 1-2 peony buds are placed in each hole. After planting, each hole is cultivated 10-15 cm high. Before wintering, we should irrigate enough antifreeze water.

intertilled weeding

After the soil thaws in early spring of the following year, the cultivated soil is removed in time, and the soil is loosened to preserve moisture, so as to facilitate seedling emergence. Within 2 years after seedling emergence, weeding should be done 3-4 times a year; after that, weeding should be done 4- 6 times a year before plant germination to ridge closure. In summer drought, intertillage should be carried out to preserve moisture; in winter, intertillage should be combined with comprehensive garden cleaning to reduce pests and diseases.

fertilizer and water management

Peony is a fertile crop. In addition to applying sufficient base fertilizer, from the second year after planting, it is necessary to apply topdressing three times a year; the first time is in March, after intertillage and weeding, 1500--2000 kg of human and livestock manure water per mu; the second and third times are respectively in May and July, and each time 1500 kg of human and livestock manure water, 25-30 kg of cake fertilizer, or 40--60 kg of ternary compound fertilizer are applied per mu. Peony love dry afraid of waterlogging, generally do not need watering, only in severe drought when a irrigation through water. Rainy season must clear the ditch drainage, otherwise flooding 6 hours later will lead to rotten roots and whole plant death.

cut flowers and bud

Medicinal peony blossoms in the third year after planting. After flowering, except for the seed plants, in the morning from the end of April to the beginning of May, the flower buds will be gently cut from the base of the flower stem for flower arrangement or cut flowers, so as to concentrate nutrients to supply root growth needs.

pest control

Peony pests and diseases are gray mold, rust, soft rot, grubs, small cutworm and so on. Gray mold can be controlled by metalaxyl, bordeaux mixture, etc.; rust can be controlled by triadimefon, diazolone, diritol, etc.; soft rot can be controlled by agricultural streptomycin, mancozeb, garinone, etc.; white grubs, small cutworms, etc. can be controlled by root irrigation or ridge spreading with pesticides such as methyl isomeriphos, phoxim, furadan, etc.

harvesting and processing

Generally planted in the fourth year of August-September, the selection of sunny days to harvest the old roots of peony. When harvesting, the plant stems and leaves are cut off first, then the whole root is dug out, the soil is removed, and the main root and lateral root are cut off for processing.