Growing Peonies Make My Garden
June 9, 2008 by Doug
Filed under Perennials
The tulips are pretty much over for this year except for one clump of late ones that somehow crept into the garden. They need pruning and the garden needs its first weeding so you can picture me out there this week doing these housekeeping jobs. The mulch is working nicely keeping most weeds down but given this is the first year of this garden being turned from grass to garden, I expect to see a few perennial weeds come back. The old armstrong weed system goes into play this week. I pulled a few this morning to get into the mood (I have to work up to this amount of work) and put half of them in the composter and half right back down onto the mulch to rot there. Mind you, I did hide the weeds behind some plants so you can’t see dead weeds in the garden but I figure there’s nothing wrong with letting the weeds do a little double duty of mulching the good plants while they rot down to enrich the garden.
The peonies are in mid-bloom now. The early species peonies are pretty much finished off while the yellow Japanese-type with its single blossom style is looking fantastic. I do like this plant and I think it’s going to have to be moved into another spot where I can see it better. Right now, it’s tucked into the back of the garden and I”m thinking mid-way would be better. That’s the advantage of perennial plants, they can be moved around until you’re happy with plant combinations and the look of your garden. And with peonies, remember they like to be moved in the fall. Not only that but they don’t like to be buried too deeply or they won’t be enthusiastic about blooming.
If you have a peony that isn’t blooming, then generally either the light levels have changed because a shrub or tree grew up to block the light (move the plant) or the plant is too deeply buried. The trick for being too deeply buried and low bloom production is to dig the peony root up in the fall and replant at the correct depth. I like to have the eyes (the red pointy parts) at or “just” below the soil line. Bury these points too deeply and you’re never going to see blooms on this plant even though you’re getting a ton of leaf growth. Some perennials stop blooming after a few years and want to be dug and divided, but a peony is generally good for 20 years on one spot before it needs attention.
Right about now, somebody is trying to figure out how to prop up those developing buds and dreading a storm about mid-bloom that will drive the heavy blooms to the ground. Here’s my trick. I take a coat hanger – undo it so I have a long length of wire. Make a loop at one end. Wrap the coat hanger wire around the peony at the top of the foliage and stick the straight end into the looped end and turn it back on itself so the length of wire is tight enough to hold the plant upright but not so tight as the peony looks strangled. If the shape of the peony is about the same as when you started, the wire is tight enough to stay up there itself and the buds are above the wire, you’re close to having it right. The wire will disappear into the foliage (unlike ugly string and posts) and will hold the plant upright. So even if you get a storm, it will only bend the blooms over and not let them hit the ground and be wrecked. The wire can stay on for the rest of the season. I forget I wired them and remember only when cleaning up in the fall.
Do this once or twice and you’ll quickly get a feel for how tight to pull the wire and even make a small collection of looped coat hangers to stake up your peony plants. Just when you think you’ve got it straight, you’re going to find the cut flower enthusiast in the house is sneaking those loverly flowers into flower arrangements where they’ll last for a very long time. This is something I can’t help you with although I’d recommend planting some other peonies to make you both happy.
And for the record, ants do not help or hinder peonies opening or closing or doing anything much at all for the plant. They’re up there enjoying a bit of sweet “juice” from the flower bud. It won’t hurt the bud, won’t hurt the plants and will make the ants happy. Given that ants are one of your primary weed seed consumers (ants and mice get over 90% of all weed seed produced) you want to keep them happy. And yes, you can get rid of ants in your paving stones by pouring hot water slowly into the nests. And you can get rid of ants on your lawn by mowing taller; you won’t see them that way.
If I was to summarize how to grow this plant, I’d do it this way. Great gardeners know that a single shovel of compost is all you need to keep this plant blooming from year to year. Beginning gardeners try all kinds of funky fertilizers. Plant it properly, stake it or not depending on your mood, and defend against cut flower fiends. Relax on this plant because if you’ve got it planted properly, toss a shovel of compost and stake it, the two of you are good for the next twenty years.
Or at least the peony is.
Because of shading I have a number of plants to dig up and move this fall
Thanks for the timely post .My peonies thank you in advance
I grew up in Indiana, where my passion for peonies developed. I remember that on Mother’s Day, we wore peonies pinned to our blouses to honor our mothers: red or pink for a living mother; white for one who was deceased. To this day, peonies remain one of my favorite flowers (maybe its #1). My sister maintains the family stock at her house in Indianapolis, some of which I transferred to her when I moved to the south central valley in California. Here it is much too hot and dry for the lucious peony plant, but I am preparing to move to higher ground, about 2200 feet, into the Sierra Nevada foothills in Placer County, CA. Will I be able to grow peonies, there? Shall I get after my sister to send me some roots this fall? I have a compost bin full of rich, rotten kitchen scraps that I could take along.
@Karen Ling -
Karen, I just wrote about peonies in the South over at my perennials site The short answer is you can but you should only pick the earliest bloomers. They require the least amount of dormancy. I name some of the varieties on the site.
Ok, probably a stupid question. I am a Newbie and love to play with the garden. I bought some Peony last year and was not able to plant the roots. I have time now and with the weather starting to turn nice again wanted to plant the roots. should I wait or should I go.
@GB -
Roots are probably dead if they’ve been in a closet. However, if not all soft, they wont’ grow unless you do plant them so..
Hi. I was wondering, after planting a peony root, about how long does it take to start seeing signs of life? Each root has several red tips and seemed healthy. Btw, they have been in the ground for 8 days and I live in Louisiana zone 8.
Thanks!!!
@christine -
More than 8 days. As long as the root was hard and firm, the red points are hard and firm, you’re fine. Don’t worry. Length of time depends on weather and plant
I was wondering… a squirrel broke one of my peony plants… if I cut it off and stick it in the ground, will it grow?
@Neva -
Sorry – no it will not.
Hi Doug, I am a first timer at gardening – I bought some peony roots from homedepot a few weeks ago, and put them in large pots (I don’t have any ground to put them in, so the pots are outside on a large porch.) Since the porch has a roof, I’ve been watering them on the non-rainy days. (I’m in New England, and we get rain about once or twice a week.) – The sun, this month – seems to be hitting the flowers from 1 – 5pm – and later (during summer) – they’ll have a few hours more each day… Will these plants ever sprout? Or am I doomed to continue watering seemingly naked dirt?
They’ve been planted for 2 weeks now and I really wish something green would show itself soon…
@roseyd -
Here’s a good place to ask questions about containers – and you might find what you’re looking for right there. Hint: your questions are all about planting depth and soil temperatures and I have no idea what you’re doing so hard to figure out what to say. But that link will take you to some other areas and there are mullple options on the left hand navbar when you get there
Doug – This morning (in Quebec city), I looked out my window to see almost all of my tall budded peonies lying flat. We had a lot of fairly gentle rain throughout the night.
Do you have a photograph of one of your peonies staked with a coathanger that I could see to understand how you stake them?
many thanks
Ps Should I get out there and stake them straight away today, or can I wait until the sun comes out again and the rain stops??
My beautiful peonies are starting to bloom. There are 5 or 6 buds on each stem. The middle one blooms while the others are still buds. Should I trim away the buds or pick the whole stock, buds and flower?
@Anne -
Depends on what you like the look of – it’s your call
Do you have an organic/natural recipe for deterring ants from getting on my peonies? Thanks, Doug!
@Brenda Chartrand -
Ants aren’t doing anything bad to your peonies – they’re just after the sap from the blooms. Leave them alone – they’re one of Mother Nature’s first line cleanup crew eating the fungus in your garden.