Although peonies (Paeonia spp.) can be cultivated in regions as warm as zones 8 and 9, they flourish best in mild climes down to USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 3. They frequently develop into deciduous shrubs that bloom well after planting and need several years to get established. Waiting until the plant dies back in the fall is great if you wish to transplant a peony. Though it might not bloom as much the first year, your peony should survive if you relocate it in the spring, right when new growth starts.
When can peony be dug up and replanted?
Peonies can be left in the garden unattended for a long time. But on occasion, it’s important to relocate established plants. To improve flowering, move peonies that are sheltered by tall trees or shrubs to a sunny location. The peony may need to be relocated in order to redesign a perennial bed or border. Plants that are large and robust can be dug up and divided for further growth.
The ideal month for transplanting established peonies is September. Cut the peony stems at or just above ground level to start. Next, thoroughly excavate each plant’s perimeter and its base. Keep as much of the root system as you can. Replant the peony right away in a sunny, well-drained area.
Large peony clumps must be divided in a number different ways. Shake the clump carefully to remove any loose soil from the root system after you’ve dug up the plant. Section off the cluster using a big knife. Each division needs to establish a strong root system and at least three to five buds (eyes). Smaller divisions will take longer to mature into beautiful plants.
The optimal conditions for peonies are full light and well-drained soil. Choose an area that receives at least six to eight hours of direct sun each day when choosing a planting site. Avoid standing in the shade next to big trees and plants. Compost, peat moss, or leaf mold used in significant quantities can typically improve poorly drained soils.
When planting a peony, make sure the hole is big enough to fit the plant’s root system comfortably. With the buds one to two inches below the soil’s surface, place the peony plant in the hole. (Peonies frequently don’t bloom successfully if the buds are deeper than two inches.) As you backfill the hole, compact the soil around the plant as you fill it with soil. then thoroughly rinse. Peonies should be spaced three to four feet apart.
Apply a four to six inch layer of mulch over the newly planted peonies in the late fall (mid-November to early December). Pine needles and weed-free straw are great mulching materials. Mulching keeps the soil from repeatedly freezing and thawing in the winter, which could lift the plants out of the ground. Early in the spring, before growth starts, remove the mulch.
Peonies that were transplanted might not bloom well the first spring. However, by the third or fourth year, the number of flowers should increase quickly.
Peonies can be divided and moved in the spring.
Whenever the plant is dormant, peonies can be divided or moved. In the early spring, if robust growth hasn’t yet taken hold, they can be separated. Even if leaves haven’t started to form on branches that have emerged above the soil, doing so won’t hurt the plant. Keep the fresh divisions of peony moist after transplanting them in the spring to help the plants establish themselves before the summer heat.
Can a peony be transplanted in April?
If you need to move your peonies to a better spot with more direct sunlight or are remodeling your garden, you can choose to transplant them in the spring. But hold off till the blooms begin to bloom. Depending on your location and environment, this typically occurs in April. Hold out until the fall if you can; it’s much nicer to transplant peonies then than in the spring.
For optimum success, adhere to the guidelines provided above under the subheading How to Transplant Your Peonies. Peonies often experience stress when transplanted, therefore you should give the plant an inch of water one or two days before to relocating it, not right away. If the plant is properly hydrated as opposed to soaked, it will survive.
A peony can I move?
I make it a point to treat herbaceous peonies with the deference that a garden dowager is due since, given the proper care, peonies may outlive me. As a result, I always use my best manners and the autumnal season when these women don’t mind a little handling when moving or dividing peonies.
A peony can need to be moved for a few valid reasons. First, mature peonies form a big clump that can be as large as 40 inches (1 m) and send out 12 or more main stems that have several side blossoms in addition to large core flowers. The cluster stays big all summer long, even after the blooms have faded and their stalks have been cut off. I’ve occasionally carefully removed a portion of the remaining foliage to shrink the clump, but doing so is risky and may lower the amount of energy produced. Second, peonies that have grown in place for many years occasionally produce less flowers. This may be due to an overgrown root system or an excessive amount of shade from growing trees and plants.
Peonies develop a big crown with several strong finger-like roots after ten years in one place. A huge peony should be gently and patiently removed from the ground because the roots are relatively fragile and easily broken. To break up the root ball, I use a sharp spade. Tightly-rooted areas are occasionally excavated with a trowel. A sharp blade and a very huge crown can be divided into pieces, each with some roots still attached. The minimum size required for sections to provide a gratifying show the following year is three to five red buds, but a broken piece with just one pink bud is also worthwhile planting. In a few years, it will reach its maximum size.
Select a new area with good drainage that receives full sun to part shade. I fill the hole with a lot of organic material (composted manure, leaves, pine needles, and shredded bark) because this plant might remain in its new place for many years before the hole needs to be redesigned. With the pink buds not more than two to four inches (5 to 10 cm) below soil level, place the roots and crown shallowly in the hole. The plant may fail to blossom if the buds are buried too deeply. Give the plant plenty of water, then drape four inches (10 cm) of leaves over it. Push the leaves away the next spring to reveal the plant crowns.
Some gardeners prefer to leave the pink buds exposed throughout the winter, while others have strong beliefs about how deeply the buds should be buried. Because of my concern that snow melting during midwinter thaws will freeze as ice directly on the buds, I set the crown with a thin layer of soil on top. However, I have had peonies with exposed buds survive the winter and blossom well the following spring. Maybe it’s just a matter of how much risking peony petals your nerves can handle.
Do peonies prefer shade or the sun?
- Keep plants neat by deadheading and prune as needed (herbaceous only).
- When peonies become congested and produce fewer blooms, divide the plants.
- When the blossoms feel like soft marshmallows, cut the stems for bouquets. Water should contain Miracle-Gro for Fresh Cut Flowers.
When the peonies blossom, you can finally start to feel the arrival of summer. Around Memorial Day, when spring bulb flowers are starting to fade and summer blooms are beginning to emerge, these stunning perennials bloom profusely. Peonies are resistant to deer and rabbits, which is useful for gardeners who frequently experience issues with animals eating their plants. Peonies are frequently seen blooming despite years of neglect if you drive through old cemeteries or abandoned farmsteads. That is because to how simple peony are to grow!
How to Choose Peonies
Peonies come in four different varieties. They are forest peonies, tree peonies, herbaceous peonies, and intersectional peonies, in the order of blooming time. Herbaceous peonies, which thrive in zones 3–7, and tree peonies, which flourish in zones 3–9, are the two most popular varieties. Herbaceous plants often reach heights of two to three feet and spreads of two to four feet. With some types reaching heights of 7 feet, tree peony are more closely related to tiny shrubs. The type of peony you plant will depend on where you live and the style you’re going for because all peonies require similar maintenance. The focus of this paper will be on tree and herbaceous peony.
When to Plant Peonies
Fall is the ideal season to plant peonies. This is often when peonies purchased from a catalog will be delivered. It’s okay to plant peonies when you see them flowering and for sale in containers in the spring.
Where to Plant Peonies
Peonies require at least 6 to 8 hours of sunlight every day, though in zones 8 and 9, some shade from the sweltering afternoon sun is beneficial. Additionally, picking a location with sufficient air circulation is crucial to avoiding fungal illnesses.
How to Plant Peonies
In somewhat damp, well-drained soil, peonies thrive. Dig a hole, take the plant from the pot, and plant container-grown herbaceous peonies (the kind you buy in pots) so that the top of the root ball is level with the earth (any deeper and the peonies will not bloom). Fill up the area surrounding the plant by combining the discarded soil with an equal amount of Miracle-Gro Garden Soil for Flowers.
Before planting bare root herbaceous peonies, give them a brief dip in a basin of water to rehydrate them. Create a planting hole that is big enough to fit the roots, mix the soil as previously mentioned, and place a mound of the blended soil in the middle of the planting hole. Place the roots atop the mound and let them fan out and descend. Using the remaining blended soil, fill in the remaining portion of the hole, making sure that the “No more than 1 to 2 inches of soil should be present around the plant’s eyes (or growth buds) in order for it to bloom.
Deeper planting is required for tree peony. Unless they are grafted, peonies should be planted in the same soil combination as above, 2 to 4 inches deep at the crown (where the roots meet the stem). Check the label to see if the plant has been grafted, and then plant it such that the “The plant’s graft union, where the grafted top and rootstock are united, is located 4 to 6 inches below the soil line.
How to Stake Peonies
Peony stems are prone to toppling over after it rains, and the blossoms can become big and heavy. For herbaceous peonies, the best approach is to cover each plant in a peony cage in the spring, before the leaves begin to sprout (picture metal supports with rings for the flowers to grow up through). This is far more effective than attempting to hold each flower stalk separately, and it also looks nicer than wrapping the entire plant in string and cinching it in like a belt.
One stake can be used to stake tree peonies. Place the stake next to the stem in the ground, and then use a piece of twine to loosely secure the plant to the stake.
How to Water Peonies
When planting, give everything plenty of water. When the spring foliage begins to emerge and the flower buds start to show, give the plants another drink. Although peonies do not have a thirst, they will benefit from watering during dry spells for a year following the first planting.
How to Feed Peonies
Your peony will benefit from a powerful combination of care that includes excellent soil and the ideal plant food. Give peonies the nutrition they require by feeding them Miracle-Gro Shake ‘n Feed Rose & Bloom Plant Food in addition to the soil improvements indicated above for stunning color and more flowers than unfed plants. Peonies should be fed twice a year: the first time, right after they emerge in the spring (when the new shoots are 2 to 3 inches tall but before the flower buds are pea-sized), and the second time, in the middle of the growing season (about three months after the first feeding), to help them develop sturdy roots before the arrival of winter. Make sure you adhere to label instructions.
How to Help Prevent Problems with Peonies
Although mostly fuss-free, peonies occasionally experience fungal issues. Browning and failure to open flower buds are symptoms of botrytis. Brown patches on leaves are a symptom of some fungus illnesses. Infected blooms and leaves should be simply pruned off and disposed of (do not compost) in order to control these problems. Additionally, keep the plants neat, remove old foliage at the end of the season, and deadhead spent blooms. Peony blooms occasionally draw ants, but they won’t hurt the plants, so you can ignore them. (Contrary to popular belief, peonies do not require ants to blossom.)
How to Prune Peonies
Cut back each flower stalk on herbaceous peonies once all of the blooms have faded to just above a leaf, low enough so that the stem doesn’t protrude above the rest of the leaves. Unruly tree peony can be trimmed either in the spring or the fall (right before plants go dormant). However, any stems you trim back in the fall will not blossom the following spring (as you will be cutting off the flower buds). After blossoming in the spring, you can prune. Anytime you choose to prune, be careful not to take more than one-third of the plant with you.
How to Divide Peonies
It is ideal to leave tree peony alone (undivided) so they can flourish for many generations in the garden. If the clumps have become too large or the flowering has slowed, herbaceous peonies can be divided. Herbaceous peonies can be divided by digging up the entire clump and rinsing it off to reveal the plant’s numerous roots and eyes (or buds). Leave as least one large root and three to four eyes per clump after cutting the plant apart with clean, sharp pruners. Replant, adhering to the bare root peony planting directions above. The plants might or might not flower the first year after dividing, so keep that in mind.
How to Cut Peonies for Bouquets
Timing is crucial. Buds should feel roughly as firm as a soft marshmallow when squeezed, which is known as the “soft marshmallow stage.” Examining the bud’s coloration is another method for determining when to cut. The majority of the bud’s exterior should remain green, but you should be able to make out approximately half an inch of the flower’s vibrant petals. Although cutting the flowers at this point lessens the possibility of bringing ants inside with them, it is still advisable to inspect the flowers before bringing them inside. Plants should open up when stems are placed in a vase of water. For longer-lasting blooms, change the water every few days and apply Miracle-Gro for Fresh Cut Flowers (vs. water only).
Ready to begin peony cultivation? To learn more about a product, to buy it online, or to locate a retailer near you, click on any of the product links above.