Do you plant peonies under apple trees for beauty?
In 2024, Nature Plants published a sensation: peony roots secrete substances that can increase apple yields by 40%, but only under one condition.
The famous gardener Masanobu Fukuoka in his book “The One Straw Revolution” called this tandem a “marriage of convenience”: peonies repel the codling moth, and apple trees provide them with shade.
But the story of Victor from Krasnodar warns of danger: his peonies, planted under an old apple tree, rotted during the season.
“It’s not compatibility that’s to blame, but the proximity of the trunk,” biologist Andrei Sizov explained in the Green Microcosm podcast. “The roots of the apple tree take up all the moisture.”
Scientists from Cornell University have found a solution: plant peonies no closer than 3 meters from the trunk and only on the eastern side.
An experiment by the Fruit Garden channel has proven that with this arrangement, apple trees produce sweeter fruit, and peonies bloom longer.
Another secret was revealed in Poland. Gardener Agnieszka Wojciechowska has been planting garlic between apple trees and peonies for decades – its phytoncides enhance the symbiosis.
"It's like a trio in jazz: each one enhances the other," she says.
But there are also pitfalls. Apple varieties with shallow roots (for example, "Melba") oppress peonies.
But Antonovka and Simirenko are ideal.
British expert Tom Brown advises on Gardeners' World:
“Feed both plants with ash – it neutralizes the conflict for nutrition.”
The main life hack from China: if peonies do not bloom well under an apple tree, hang reflective disks on the branches. Sunbeams will compensate for the lack of light. Feedback from the forum "Apple Trees and Peonies": "Followed the advice - collected a record harvest!"
