Peony Dinner plate
Pale pink flowers make the garden design more harmonious. Peonies with lush buds of the indicated shade are especially beautiful. Contemplating them, you feel how your heart is filled with tenderness. If you like these creations of nature, put the Dinner Plate variety in your flower garden. Surely he will become your favorite.
History of origin
Dinner plate was introduced to the USA in 1968. The place of his appearance was the floriculture company Klehm Charles & Son (Charles Clem and son). This nursery dates back to 1862, when it was founded by John Adam Clem, who emigrated ten years earlier to Illinois from Germany. The ornamental plant variety, about which our story will go, in 1973 won the Grand Champion award at the American Peony Society Best in Show. The name of the perennial in translation from English means "soup plate".
Description of appearance and features
Dinner Plate is a member of the lactic-flowered peony group. This is a herbaceous variety of the king of flowers, which differs from its other relatives simply by the huge size of the inflorescences. Each bud of the American hybrid is more than 20 cm in diameter. The flower shape of this ornamental plant is rosy. In addition, the inflorescences of the culture are densely double and very lush. But the most important highlight of the variety is the color of its buds. The soft pink shade of the petals with jagged edges is unobtrusive and pleasing to the eye. In addition to everything else, the voluminous flowers of the overseas handsome man spread a wonderful fragrance around them. It is interesting that the magnificent buds, even in the phase of complete dissolution, cannot be damaged by the rains in any way - this is how the perennial inflorescences are resistant to precipitation. Dinner plate is a mid-late flowering plant. Expressive inflorescences are formed on the crop in the middle of the season and delight their owner for a long time with incredible and at the same time touching beauty. An interesting fact: the flowers are devoid of both pistils and stamens. The flowering of the decorative perennial is long and abundant.
The miracle of American selection does not have an impressive height, barely reaching a meter. However, the peony forms a vigorous shrub with strong shoots. Dark green leaves of medium size, narrowed to the tips like a boat, contrast with pink flowers. They cover the stems of the shrub from top to bottom. During flowering, the perennial Dinner plate should be tied up, otherwise the bush will fall apart, lose its shape, and it may well suffer from strong winds. The crown width of Dinner plate is about 40 cm. The culture is characterized by high winter hardiness. It is not affected by temperature extremes. This is a durable plant that can exist in one place for 20 or even 30 years. The bush shows varietal qualities a couple of years after transplantation.
Growing and care
Dinner Plate loves sunlight, so they need to provide the plant to the fullest. The peony tolerates light partial shade well, and in the shade either gives small, unsightly inflorescences, or completely loses the ability to form buds.
The soil for the cultivation of crops is chosen nutritious, with a high degree of air permeability and a neutral reaction. You will achieve the best development of the shrub if you plant it in loamy soil. The plant is planted in a hole 40-60 cm deep and with the same width. The soil mixture is formed from ordinary garden soil, adding humus and sand to it. Dense soils are not suitable for the plant. When you fill the planting hole with the seedling with the prepared soil, make sure that the buds are approximately at the level of the substrate.
This decorative perennial does not need any special care. Like its brethren, Dinner Plate needs regular moderate, and in hot weather - abundant watering; in loosening the soil, mulching the trunk circle, weeding and fertilizing. Fertilizers for a peony can be applied already in the first year of its life. Liquid organic concentrates are especially good in spring and mineral complexes in summer. In the fall, the plant needs pruning.It is produced after the onset of the first frost: the shrub is simply cut off, leaving a small stump. The area around is covered with mulch - sawdust or peat.
Use cases
The most successful way to place the charming American Dinner plate on a personal plot is a single landing. It will look great against the backdrop of a bright green lawn. Between the bushes, a distance of at least a meter should be observed, since our hero loves space.
However, this does not mean at all that Dinner Plate cannot be included in group landings. You can use a technique common among landscape designers - planting three peonies in the corners of a garden or front garden. At the same time, along the perimeter of the site, it is appropriate to put a border of decorative flowering biennials. A magnificent sight - bushes with large pink buds in the foreground of the flower garden. The variety is often used for cutting, as its buds retain their fresh appearance for a long time. In bouquets, they are combined with other milk-flowered peonies.
