Love Peonies? Now is the time to plant peony roots for voluptuous, fragrant flowers. These easy care perennial plants come back year after year, emerging each spring. The stems fill out with gorgeous foliage and each stem produces a bud that will open into an amazing flower in mid - late spring. Plant peonies September through November in most areas.
Good Sun Pick a spot in the garden or yard that gets good sun and decent soil drainage and your peonies can literally last a lifetime. Full sun is great - most thrive in half a day or more of sun. Don't be afraid of a little shade or filtered sun: you'll see more vibrant colors in your peony flowers when they have a couple hours of afternoon shade. Too much shade and you will have a lovely bush with little or no flowers.
Soil - Peonies love clay type soils with good drainage. Some people love amending soil, some need too. We grow our peonies in a heavy, well drained clay soil - no amendments. We do have good, natural nutrients in our soil. If you find great success with growing other plants in amended soil in your yard or garden, the peonies will like that, too. Try an experiment and grow a peony in an unamended spot, just to see if it really needs extra soil/compost.
Not too Deep - Plant peonies with the fleshy roots going down into spaded soil and the eyes (buds) at the top, just an inch or two below the ground surface. Take care to not plant peonies too deeply. In warmer climates, such as in parts of California, the peony eyes are barely covered with soil, closer to the surface.
Water - Give your transplanted peonies a drink of water and keep slightly moist until the fall rains come. Once established, ground grown peonies are rather drought tolerant; but, appreciate a drink of water now and then. Do water them occasionally the first two summers. (If growing in containers, they will need frequent watering in dry weather).
Peonies do well in USDA zones 2-8 and many gardeners are having success with them in zones 9. They do best with a winter chill and thrive in warm summers.
Peony plants add texture, foliage and fragrance to your landscape and the flowers can’t be beat for cutting gardens. Plant peonies this fall to enjoy every spring.
You can order bare root peony plants online throughout the fall. Planting tips included.
