Peony seeds that have been collected can be planted right away, either outside in the garden or indoors in seedling trays or pots. Warmth-cold-warmth cycles are necessary for peony seedlings to develop their first genuine leaves.
In the natural world, seeds are spread on warm late summer to fall days and grow swiftly. By winter, they have developed tiny but useful roots. During the winter, they lay dormant before emerging as the soil warms in the spring. Peony seed trays or pots can be placed in a warm, sunny spot after being kept in a refrigerator drawer for about three months to simulate this natural cycle.
Harvested peony seeds can also be planted to create new peonies by placing them in a plastic sandwich bag with damp peat and vermiculite. Until roots start to form in the bag, keep the bag tight and set it in a dark area with a constant temperature of 70 to 75 F (21 to 24 C). After that, store the bag in the crisper of your refrigerator until spring when you may plant the plants outside.
Where are the peony’s seeds located?
Peony blooms always offer an elegant, age-old touch to flowers, whether they are herbaceous, Itoh, or tree types. Peonies are strong perennial or woody landscape plants, hardy in zones 3–8. Peonies have been raised for a variety of purposes throughout history. They are now mostly produced for their beautiful, but occasionally fleeting, blooms. Flower stalks are typically pruned after their blooms fade, and plants are shaped into smaller, rounded shapes.
Peonies produce intriguing clusters of wedge-shaped, gray to brown seed pods that are lightly fuzz-covered when they are young. The seed pods become dark brown and leathery as they grow older, and as they ripen, they break open to reveal lustrous dark purple to black seeds. They can spice up the garden and give you access to seeds for peony replanting. To learn how to collect peony seeds, keep reading.
Give the seed 2-3 light passes with the file while holding it between your thumb and forefinger.
It only takes a couple of light passes with the file; going too far will harm the embryo. You have gone too far if you file the seed all the way to the point of the white interior. Filing to get rid of the outer layer of sight is usually sufficient. Only a small portion of the seed needs to be filed. A large quantity of seeds can be scarified using a diluted sulfuric acid solution.
All that is required to allow air and moisture to reach the dormant embryo and begin germination is to fill in just below the shiny exterior coat.
Seeds can be planted directly after scarifying if it’s still early in the fall and the ground is suitable for planting.
If planting indoors, adhere to the warm/cold stratification instructions in the section on planting new seeds.
Other things to think about when buying peony seeds:
- Flowers that are single or semi-double typically produce more seeds than intricate double varieties.
- If you can’t plant straight away, store in a cool, dry place.
- It’s possible that the seeds you collect from a single tree peony specimen that’s not close to any other tree peonies won’t grow.
We have grown some of the lovely tree and herbaceous peonies from seed. Although we claim ownership of these Peony Heaven hybrids, we are really simply stealing the bees’ and the wind’s thunder!
Unnamed and brand-new Peony Heaven tree peony. 2011 marked the first year that bloomed.
We have raised herbaceous peony from seed for many years. Our open-pollinated seeds have produced some lovely new plants because we have a sizable collection of cultivars from numerous different species of herbaceous peony. View a few of our favorites from the test garden in the gallery below.
Is it possible to produce peony from seed pods?
If you didn’t deadhead in June, some of your types might have peony seed capsules. On the tips of peony stems, there are stiff, leathery growths that frequently raise questions in my mind.
The majority of people are relieved to learn that they are seed pods and may even be viable. Peonies can be grown from seed, yes. A mature peony plant can be grown from seed, however it takes a little longer than from a root division.
Blitz Tort, Delavan Rose, Flame, Mischief, Lemon Chiffon, Lois Kelsey, Nosegay, Picotee, Topeka Garnet, Villosa, and White Sands are a few of the well-known peony seed manufacturers. When I deadhead a particular variety, I will occasionally leave a few spent flowers to generate open pollinated seed in the late summer. Sometimes I leave a couple on cultivars that hardly ever or never produce pods in case “this is the year.”
Although it’s a little early to consider mature peony seeds in July, we are a few weeks ahead of Oregon’s usual temperature. We experienced an early spring, and this summer’s crops are all moving at full speed. Over two weeks ago, I discovered a few Paeonia mlokosewitschii plants with fractured seed pods.
Many of the peony seed pods in the field are already opening, as I noticed while scouting them. Yikes! The noegay seed has already been dispersed. This is far earlier than the typical seed ripening in mid- to late August. The majority of seed is still in its developing stage (green pods), however keep an eye out to spot the pods beginning to open, at which point you can harvest your seed.
I place mine in a dish of water, toss the sinkers (presumably hollow or underdeveloped) and the floaters (red on P. mlokosewitschii) and plant the viable ones. Every peony variety that sets seed will have somewhat different colored viable seed, with colors ranging from tan to dark brown, blue-black, and black. Some will germinate the upcoming spring, while others will the spring after. Label the seed parent accurately (and the pollen parent if you hybridized it). You might develop the next, best peony plant with a little perseverance.
With our peony seed photo session this summer, it was a family affair. I picked a handmade ceramic vase to put a few pods in, and my niece Soraya took the gorgeous pictures.
Although I was aware that my sister Janet had created the vase in high school ceramics class in 1973, the fact that our photo session coincided with her birthday was purely coincidental (I never even made the connection until I was typing this). I know Janet likes being a part of my farm even though she has only seen it from above.