Flower lovers have long been growing grassy and tree peonies. But Ito-peonies or Itoh hybrids (itoh hybrid) - this is really something new. They combined all the best qualities of both grassy and tree varieties. Variety Cora Louise belongs to this amazing group and occupies an honorable place in it. Peony has many advantages, but he needs to be especially careful.
Peony Itoh Cora Louise
Ito peony hybrids appeared in Japan thanks to the efforts of the Japanese scientist - botanist Toichi Ito. The first representatives of the group had a yellow color of inflorescences, but in the course of further experiments, varieties with a huge spectrum of shades were able to be bred.
Cora Louise - Unusual Beauty Hybrid Peony
As a result of crossing herbaceous and tree-like peonies, it was possible to obtain almost universal plants that adopted all the best from their ancestors. They tend to die off the grassy part in the winter and the formation of buds, as well as grassy varieties. From tree-shaped peonies, they adopted appearance - the shape of a bush, leaves and flowers.
Description of the variety Cora Louise
Peony Cora Louise is a powerful spreading plant 40-50 cm high. The leaves are dark green, carved, and the shoots are grassy, but very durable. By combining the qualities of the two species, the shoots are able to withstand the weight of flowers and not bend, which allows them to grow without additional support.
The originality of the color of the inflorescences is a distinctive feature of the peony Cora Louise. Large semi-double inflorescences have white-pink petals and a dark purple center, on which dark yellow stamens are densely located. The aroma is not pronounced - it is thin and slightly sweet.
Beautiful Flower - Peony Cora Louise
Advantages and disadvantages
Given that the peony of the ito hybrid Cora Louise took the best qualities from the ancestors, he has many advantages:
- unusual color of flowers;
- simplicity in leaving;
- resistance to climate change;
- undemanding to the frequency of top dressing;
- the splendor and compactness of the bush.
The disadvantages are very difficult to find. The only feature that can cause embarrassment is cropping. Shoots before the onset of cold weather should not be cut to the root, but shortened to a certain length.
Use in landscape design
Variety Cora Louise has already managed to take pride of place in the list of favorite cultures of landscape designers. It is used in multi-tiered flower beds, planted in the foreground of ornamental shrubs and conifers, and group plantings look especially impressive.
Planting and growing
Peony Bark Louise is propagated by root cuttings or parts of an adult bush. Landing is best done in the fall, in the middle or end of September.
Attention! The bush of this hybrid peony is quite sprawling, so it needs a lot of space.
The landing area should be selected sunny, but light partial shade is acceptable. With a close occurrence of groundwater during planting, a drainage layer will be necessary.
Training
The stage preceding planting is the preparation of seedlings and soil. It is necessary not only for good survival, but also for the full development and growth of the plant in the future.
The roots must be prepared before planting
The procedure consists of two stages:
- Dig the soil on the site a year before planting with the addition of rotted manure. For 3-4 weeks make a complex mineral fertilizer.
- The roots are washed, dried and inspected. Too long and dry roots are removed, and the places of cuts are sprinkled with ash or activated carbon.
When all the preparatory work is completed, you can proceed to the landing itself.
Landing
Pits for planting are prepared in advance. A month before the procedure, mark the area, taking into account the fact that the size of the recess should be 40x50 cm, and the distance between plants - 80-90 cm.
The landing process is step by step:
- A drainage layer is poured at the bottom of the pit.
- Cone fill the recess with nutrient soil.
- Place the root system.
- Gently watered along the inner perimeter of the pit.
- Close up landing.
- Re-abundantly watered, compact the soil and mulch.
Land is slightly compacted after landing
Attention! As can be seen from the description of the process, it is identical to that used for planting other types of peonies. This can be attributed to the additional benefits of Ito hybrids.
Seed planting
The variety Cora Louis belongs to hybrids, and seed propagation does not apply to it. This is not only a long and laborious process, but also meaningless. Instances grown from seeds do not inherit the qualities of the mother plant.
Outdoor Care
Unpretentiousness is one of the advantages that favors the peony of Cora Luis. Caring for him is very simple.
Care Features:
- The flower needs moderate watering as the soil dries up, but during flowering it is necessary to moisten the soil often and abundantly.
- If the site was filled with fertilizers before planting, no additional fertilizing is needed. Otherwise, they are applied 3 times using complex mineral fertilizer.
- It is better to mulch the area and periodically update the mulch layer. If this action is ignored, it is necessary to loosen the soil regularly.
- The flower's resistance to diseases allows you not to use preventive spraying, but to resort to them only in case of infection.
Important! Loosening the soil around the plantings should be done with special care - the small root processes of Ito-pions are located close to the surface.
It is better to mulch the area with the plant
Blooming Peony Cora Louise
Depending on the climate, buds begin to appear in late May or early June. In this active period, it is necessary to pay a little more attention to the peony - to feed and often water. Gradually, the intensity of care is reduced for the transition of the flower to the stage of winter dormancy.
How to care for a peony after flowering:
- After withering all the inflorescences they are removed. If you need to transplant or propagate a peony, this is the most suitable time. It is best to carry out the procedure in mid-September.
- A feature of hybrid Ito-pions is non-standard pruning. The stems are not cut completely, but only the grassy part of the shoots is cut. The lignified parts must be left, since it is on them that kidneys will form next year.
- After pruning, the plant is sheltered. In warmer regions, a layer of compost or dry manure will suffice. In the northern regions, it is better to additionally cover plantings with spruce branches.
Important! Shelter is necessary to protect the roots and shoots not only from severe frosts, but also from sudden changes in temperature. Therefore, it is better not to neglect this technique.
Flowers that wilted should be removed
Diseases and pests, methods of dealing with them
Peony Cora Louise is very rarely affected by diseases, and with proper care does not suffer from pests. If, however, infection has occurred, treatment must be carried out immediately. In severe cases, chemical control agents are used, and if the problem is at an early stage, they are popular.
Cora Louise is a vivid representative of a completely new group of Ito-pions. In addition to the stunning appearance of flowers, shoots and leaves, it has such remarkable quality as unpretentiousness. The benefits of culture regularly make gardeners a desire to grow this novelty in the world of peonies.
