Peonies from Heaven

Planting and Caring for Peonies

This fluffy, showy flower is a pleasing addition to any garden. A hardy perennial, the peony is fairly simple to cultivate. The flowers are rewarding, and the leaves provide background and interest in the garden for the entire growing season, before dying back in the fall.

Choosing Your Peonies

Basically, two varieties are available. The herbaceous peony (paeonia officinalis), grows to a height of 2 - 4 feet, and the tree peony (paeonia suffruticosa) grows to 4 - 6 feet. Check plant labels carefully before selecting their spot in your landscape.

Peonies come in many colors, including white, yellow, cream, pink, purple, rose, and deep red. Hybrids offer color combinations and interesting fringing gradations.

Planting

The simplest thing is to purchase a young plant from a local nursery. (Online suppliers offer excellent prices, so long as the plants arrive healthy.) Plant your peonies in the fall, before the first frost.

Select a well-drained garden area with full or partial sun. Prepare the ground before planting. Using a garden spade, loosen the dirt to a depth of at least a foot. Add organic matter (such as coarse sphagnum peat moss) and superphosphate, if needed (for alkalinity).

Peonies should be planted 3' - 4' apart, with the eyes (tuber buds) 2" - 3" above the soil. Peonies will not bloom, if the eyes are not exposed to sunlight.

Cultivating

In the spring, as you begin to see new growth, you can begin to fertilize. If you want your peony plants to produce larger blossoms, then you can remove many of the emerging buds. Leave only the buds at the end of each stem. For more flowers and a longer-lasting season of flowering, you can leave all the buds intact.

The first year, transplanted peonies may flower little, or none at all. However, subsequent years will produce very satisfying displays.

Peonies can be subject to fungal diseases, so it is best not to mulch much. Manure compost can also contribute to this problem.

Removing wilted and discolored leaves will prevent other blight and leaf spot.

Dividing