A jewel of the Iberian flora — the wild peony that blooms in deep rose-purple on the slopes and scrublands of the Peninsula.
About the variety. This variety is a perennial peony endemic to the Iberian Peninsula, with simple rose-purple flowers and a habit that can reach 40 cm. A melliferous plant with edible flowers, it enhances any naturalistic garden.
Itinerário técnico
Como cultivar rosa albardeira?
Um guia de cultivo passo a passo, da sementeira à colheita.
pH ideal 6.0 to 7.5Temperatura ideal 15 to 25 °CCompasso 50 cm in the row, 70 cm between rows
Sementeira
Peony seed has double dormancy and does not behave like an annual flower: it needs a warm period followed by a cold one, so germination takes six to eighteen months and the root often appears in one year and the first leaf only in the next. Sow in autumn with fresh seed, two centimetres deep, in a deep pot left outdoors, and do not give up on that pot for two winters. Do not thin it and do not move the root once it is established. Plant into its final place as soon as the seedling has two true leaves, and count on several years before the first flowering.
Solo
It adapts to ordinary free draining soils at a pH between 6.0 and 7.5. It likes deep, cool soil with organic matter, neutral or limy, and suffers in poor dry ground. If the soil is heavy, work in coarse sand or compost to improve drainage, because standing water in winter rots the roots.
Clima
It is a wild Iberian peony, perennial and hardy: frost does not end its cycle, it simply pulls the plant back and it comes up again the following spring. It wants cool part shade through the Iberian summer and will not take dry heat in full sun. It lives many years in the same place and hates being moved. The same calendar applies in Italy: conditions in the centre and south are close to those of southern Portugal and Spain, and those of the north to central France. Plant by preference on a north facing slope or under deciduous trees, which give shade in summer and sun in spring, when it flowers. Only prolonged drought makes it lose its leaves early: in the first years a deep watering in July and August helps it establish.
Fertilização
It needs very little. Ordinary soil with some mature compost is enough, and excess nitrogen is counter productive because it gives plenty of leaf and few flowers. To push flowering, apply a potassium rich feed when the first buds appear.
Rega
Water regularly during establishment and moderately after that, letting the surface dry between waterings. Water at the base in the morning, because wet flowers rot and damp foliage brings powdery mildew.
Controlo de Infestantes
Hoe shallowly and never with a deep hoe: the fleshy root sits near the surface and any cut opens the door to rot. In the first years the plant is small and loses the contest with weeds: keep a clean circle of fifty centimetres around it and mulch it with leaves or bark. A thin layer of sieved compost between the rows greatly reduces later work.
Controlo de Pragas
Aphids gather on flower buds and soft tips and are the commonest pest: apply potassium soap and encourage ladybirds and hoverflies, which do most of the work. Slugs and snails destroy seedlings: protect with an ash barrier in the first weeks. Thrips and red spider mite appear in dry heat. Avoid spraying during flowering, so you do not harm pollinators.
Doenças
Powdery mildew covers the leaves with white bloom at the end of summer and is nearly unavoidable on crowded plants: space well and apply potassium bicarbonate at the first signs. Botrytis rots the flowers in damp weather and damping off kills seedlings in waterlogged sowings. Remove faded flowers and diseased leaves regularly.
Colheita
Do not cut it for the vase in the first years: every leaf counts towards the plant establishing. Once it starts flowering, cut few stems and always leave enough foliage. Let it set seed at the end of the season if you want to increase it, and sow that seed fresh the same autumn, because dried peony seed loses viability quickly. The reference colour is purple pink.
