The peony has the fattest, most delicious petals and rich green foliage, making it outrageously attractive when it is in bloom. From spring to summer, savor stunning floral displays. Learn how to care for, grow, and plant peony.
About Peonies
Peonies are a perennial that will steal your breath away every year. The plants may even outlive you—some have been reported to survive for at least a century.
When Is Peony Season? When Do Peonies Bloom?
Depending on your location and the kind you are planting, peonies bloom from late spring to early summer.
You may extend the peony season across several weeks and take use of those magnificent blossoms for as long as possible thanks to the abundance of nurseries that provide early, midseason, and late blooming types.
Peonies may thrive as far south as Zones 7 and 8, and they are hardy to Zone 3. The key to success in the majority of the United States is to provide full light and well-drained soil. Peonies even enjoy the winter’s coldness because it helps their buds grow.
Types of Peony Flowers
You can pick from six different varieties of peony flowers: anemone, single, Japanese, semi-double, double, and bomb. The odors of different plants also differ; some, like “Festiva Maxima” and “Duchesse de Nemours,” have seductive rose-like aromas, while others have a lemony scent or none at all.
Where to Plant Peonies
When planted as a low hedge or along sidewalks, peonies make excellent sentinels. As majestic and dignified as any flowering shrub, the peony’s bushy cluster of attractive glossy green leaves lasts all summer before turning purplish-red or gold in the fall.
Peonies work nicely with irises and roses in mixed borders and blossom alongside columbines, baptisias, and veronicas. Plant pink peonies with blue Nepeta or violets, then surround white peonies with yellow irises and a froth of forget-me-nots.
Peonies are not overly picky, but you should pick your place carefully because they dislike disruption and do not transplant well.
Although they can survive in partial shade, peonies like full sun, and they flower at their best in an area that receives 6 to 8 hours of sunlight per day.
Because of its huge flowers, peonies can become top-heavy in severe winds. Therefore, provide shelter. (If necessary, stakes can be used to hold them up.) Planting too close to trees or bushes will cause peony to compete with them for nutrients, sunlight, and moisture.
Grow peony in rich, wet, humus-rich soil that is deep, fertile, and well-draining. pH in the soil should be neutral.
When to Plant Peonies
As long as they are planted correctly and become established, peony plants require minimal upkeep. However, keep in mind that they do not adapt well to transplanting, so you should consider this when choosing your planting location.
- Plant peony in the fall: in the majority of the United States, in late September or early October, and even later in the fall in Zones 7 and 8. Your planting zone can be found here.
- If you need to move an established plant, the fall is the ideal season because the plant will be dormant.
- About six weeks before the ground freezes, peonies should be planted.
- While planting peonies in the spring is absolutely a possibility, the results aren’t always favorable. They often trail behind plants planted in the fall by roughly a year, according to experts.
How to Plant Peonies
- Peonies are typically offered as divisions of a 3- or 4-year-old plant, bare-root tubers with 3 to 5 eyes (buds).
- Peonies should be placed 3 to 4 feet apart to allow for enough air circulation. The development of disease can be facilitated by stagnant, damp air.
- In a sunny area, dig a generously sized hole that is about 2 feet deep and 2 feet wide. The inclusion of organic matter in the planting hole will improve the soil. Add additional compost to the soil to improve it if it’s sandy or heavy. Add about a cup of bonemeal to the ground. Find out more about soil improvements and getting the soil ready for planting.
- The roots should be positioned in the hole just 2 inches below the soil’s surface, with the root’s eyes facing upward on top of a mound of soil. Avoid planting too deeply! Choose early-blooming species, put them approximately 1 inch deep, and provide some shade in southern states.
- Backfill the hole after that, being careful to prevent soil settlement and a 2-inch root burying. Gently tamp the ground.
- Plant a container-grown peony no deeper than it was when it was in the pot.
- When planting, give everything plenty of water.
How to Care for Peonies
Young peony take time to develop, just like children. In order to establish themselves, blossom, and flourish, they typically require a few years. They eventually leave home on their own, fully grown and adjusted… No, that’s just kids, I suppose.
Peonies benefit from gentle neglect. They don’t require digging and dividing every few years like the majority of perennials do.
- Don’t use any fertilizer. Before planting, till the soil thoroughly while adding compost and a small amount of fertilizer.
- Early summer, after the peonies have flowered and you have deadheaded the blooms, is the ideal time to apply fertilizer (such as bonemeal, compost, or well-rotted manure) to a soil that is deficient in nutrients. Keep fertilizing to a few years at most.
- assist the stems Peonies’ stems, which occasionally are not strong enough to hold their enormous blossoms, are the only part of their structure that may be considered weak. Think of structures that allow the plant to grow through the middle of the support, like three-legged metal peony rings or wire tomato cages.
- Peony blossoms should be deadheaded as soon as they start to fade, cutting to a sturdy leaf so that the stem doesn’t protrude through the foliage. To prevent any infections from overwintering, trim the foliage to the ground in the fall.
- Avoid covering peonies with mulch. For the first winter following planting, you can VERY LOOSELY mulch with pine needles or shredded bark when the winters are bitterly cold. In the spring, get rid of the mulch.
Peonies bloom between late spring and early summer, but you can plan your garden for a successive display of flowers from mid-May to late June by planting a selection of varieties. Here are a few options:
- ‘Early Scout’ has red solitary flowers that open incredibly early.
- “Firelight”: very early-blooming, single, pale-pink flowers
- ‘Karl Rosenfield’: midseason-blooming, double with large crimson blossoms
Is September a good time to plant peonies?
Peonies can be planted in the fall or the spring, although the fall is preferable for a few reasons.
Therefore, add a couple bare-root peonies to your purchase of bulbs to plant in fall.
In northern climes, fall planting of peony can take place in September and October (or even into November in a moderate fall), and in southern climates, it can take place in November and into December. Peonies planted in the fall usually take root more quickly than those planted in the spring, and they bloom sooner. Regarding development, growth, and flowering, spring-planted peonies appear to be about a year behind fall-planted peonies.
Pick a location with full sun for your peony planting. Peonies require good drainage, which can be achieved by amending the soil with compost or other organic matter. You shouldn’t need to bend the roots to fit them into the hole; just make sure there is enough room for the bare-root peonies. Place the roots in such a way that the highest eye, from which stems will sprout, is just a few inches below the soil’s surface. Plug the hole and water it thoroughly. Keep the area moist until the ground freezes, and remember to add several inches of mulch to help retain moisture and provide a more stable soil temperature throughout the winter. Leave a space of three feet between each peony root if you are planting many sets.
Peonies that are already in existence can also be divided in the fall, which will revitalize them and enhance future flowering. Dig up the roots, remove the foliage to the ground, and separate them into numerous clumps. then proceed with planting as directed above.
How are peony roots planted in the fall?
Because of its stunning spring and early summer flowers and appealing leaves all year long, peonies are well-liked perennials. For herbaceous peony (USDA Zones 38), which totally wither to the ground in the winter, follow these recommendations. Tree peonies, which resemble shrubs and have woody stems that are always visible (Zones 49), have slightly different needs.
Herbaceous peonies should be planted in the fall, when they are dormant. Peonies that are planted in the spring may not bloom for a number of years, and if they sprout new shoots before setting down strong roots, they may even perish. In the fall, mail-order and neighborhood nurseries sell bare-root divisions. A part of the rooted crown with multiple dark red growth buds known as eyes makes up a bare-root peony division. Every bud in the spring sprouts a stem. Look for a division with at least 3 to 5 eyes because the more eyes a division has, the fuller it will appear.
Fall is the best time to plant bare-root herbaceous peonies.
1. Select a location with well-drained soil that is far from competing tree and shrub roots. Give each plant a three-foot-diameter area to grow in. Because peony stems are prone to breaking when heavy with buds and blooms, avoid windy regions or provide a windbreak. In most places, a setting with direct sunlight is ideal. If your springs are often warm and dry, pick a location with afternoon shade.
2. Make the soil ready. Peonies bloom most profusely when allowed to grow undisturbed in the same spot for many years, therefore it’s crucial to put them in well-prepared, enriched soil. Make a planting hole that is 18 inches deep and 2 feet wide. Compost or well-rotted manure should be incorporated into the hole’s bottom with multiple shovels. Add dirt, additional compost, and a cup of bonemeal to the hole halfway. Also incorporate roughly a cup of ground limestone if your soil is acidic. pH levels of 6 to 7 are ideal for peonies.
3. Place the peonies. Setting the division too deep prevents blossoming; only 1.5 to 2 inches of soil should cover the eyes. Position the eyes so they will be just.5 to 1 inch below the soil surface if you garden in an area with a mild winter. This will expose the roots to as much winter cold as feasible. After setting the peony in the hole, firmly yet carefully pack soil over the roots. Verify that there are no air gaps that can permit the plant to root too deeply.
4. Use a hose to water the plant with a soft stream. After that, surround it with a light mulch, like chopped leaves or evergreen branches, to help control soil temperature and moisture and lessen weed competition. In order for the plant to fully cool, mulch should be removed in the winter. The first year the peony may not bloom, but by the third year it should be in peak condition.
Is it too late to grow peonies in November?
Late February to early March is when tree peony often bloom. Around April 1st, herbaceous peonies begin to bloom.
Growers have had success with all varieties of peony, including tree, herbaceous, and intersectional varieties. Itoh hybrids are another name for intersection peonies.
All plants have been harmed by the exceptional heat wave in 2012 and the drought in 2011.
One gardener claimed that many of the well-established plants in her gardens did not survive the hardship of the summers of 2011 and 2012. These include certain tree peonies, contemporary rose hybrids, and hydrangeas. Tree peonies that had flourished in the ground for 6-7 years perished as a result of drought-related stress. Despite the drought, this extremely knowledgeable gardener stated that her “Snow Lotus” tree peony has performed exceptionally well. In fact, she claimed that it is the only tree peony that she would without a doubt advise gardeners in her region to grow. She has a specimen that is almost ten years old, 4.5′ tall, and produced 26 flowers the previous year.
In Texas, amid years of drought, the rockii tree peony ‘Snow Lotus’ has proven to be a particularly dependable grower.
It makes sense that ‘Snow Lotus,’ a domesticated variation of the wild species Paeonia rockii, can withstand dryness and stress better than other varieties of tree peonies that have undergone cross-pollination under more hospitable conditions. P. rockii’s natural habitat is in northwest China, particularly in the desert Gansu Province, where there is only an average of 12 inches of rain per year. This amount of precipitation is less than half of what Dallas, Texas, received during the 2011 drought.
This image was captured in May in the countryside near Lanzhou, in the Gansu province of northwest China. The P. rockii species of tree peony is native to this area.
The rockii or Gansu Chinese tree peonies are therefore suggested for growers in hot, arid regions of the country who are interested in growing tree peony.
Herbaceous peonies are extensively grown in this region and present no unique difficulties.
Site selection: It is recommended to plant peonies in warmer regions so that they can get some shade from the intense summer sun. We advise early sun and afternoon shade for all planting zones. If this is not feasible, place peonies close to a sizable shrub so they can receive some shade from the intense sun.
At least two deep waterings per week are recommended in the spring and summer, with any additional drinks needed in between. Particularly for newly planted peonies, this is crucial.
Additional advice: At the beginning of November, remove any lingering tree peony leaves. Cut the foliage of herbaceous peonies to the ground now as well. Make sure the “eyes” or buds are essentially at the surface when planting herbaceous peonies, with only a thin coating of soil or mulch covering them.