Peonies

Beloved Peonies Are So Very Easy to Grow

Enormous blooms and enormous fragrance are produced so easily by garden peonies. By taking just a bit of time and care to plant your peonies, they become virtually care free. A peony plant at an entrance to your home or a garden path will greet you with a beautiful fragrance. Or create a lush, blooming, scented hedge.

Autumn is the best time to plant peonies. September or October in the North and perhaps a bit later in zones 7 and 8. Give your peonies about six weeks to settle before the ground freezes. Planting is the spring is fine if necessary, but you will essentially lose the year for growth and blooming. They will not bloom the spring that they are planted since they need winter chilling to form buds. But when planted in fall they do have a chance of blooming their first spring. Spring planted peonies may take two or three years to bloom.

Carefully select a sunny spot for herbaceous peonies, they rather resent being moved and will likely refuse to bloom for a few year if you must uproot them. Dig plenty of compost deep into the soil. Peonies do love a rich and nutritious well drained soil. If provided with ideal conditions when you plant them, peonies will require almost no care and still reward you with copious amounts of highly fragrant blooms.

Planting depth of your peony is very important. Herbaceous peonies should be positioned so the the bud “eyes” are only 1/2 to 2 inches below the soil surface depending on your growing climate. In warmer regions plant closer to the surface, in the coldest regions only 2 inches below the soil surface. If you plant the peony too deep it may refuse to bloom. If you purchase potted peonies from your local garden center, they have already determined the best depth for your region. Plant at the same depth as it is growing in the container. And do give the peony a bit of space between plants to prevent fungus or mildew.

Once properly planted your peony will need very little from you. After blooming fertilize with a balanced acid fertilizer. Mulching is largely unnecessary other than a light summer mulch to retain moisture, but don’t apply it too close to the plant. Periodic division will only halt blooming for at least year. If you do want to move or propagate your peony try to do this in the fall. Growth and blooming could be lost for as much as three seasons. Deer and rabbits largely leave peony plants and blooms alone. Occasionally peonies may be bothered by fungal disease if they do not receive good air circulation. After a hard frost when the foliage dies back just cut it back to the ground.

If you are interested in fussing a bit with your peonies, specific pruning techniques can increase the size of your blooms. Prune off side buds and leave the terminal flower bud. One enormous bloom will be produced on each branch. If you leave all the buds to develop, smaller blooms will be produced but for a longer period. The terminal buds will open first, followed by the side shoot buds. Many peonies produce such large blooms without assistance that you may need plant supports to hold the blooms up.

Ants come with peonies in spring, not to help the buds open but because they love the sweet nectar produced by developing buds. So if your peony buds won’t open or are not produced, it has nothing to do with ants. Likely they have been planted too deep or they are simply still too young to bloom. Maturity to bloom can take one to three years.

Take your time and find a peony you really love. There are single blooms, semi double, double or even bomb blooms! A variety of scent types are available from spicy, to lemony or even no scent and a complete range of pinks, fuscia and whites. Combine early, mid season and late blooming varieties to enjoy peony blooms from Mid May straight through June. And when all the blooms are gone you will be left with a neat little shrub of lusciously rich green foliage.