Gardens
Peony Care | Tips to Grow Healthy Peonies
Fragrant and perfect for cutting, peonies are a popular summer bloom. Learn more about how to plant and maintain peonies with our peony care guide.
By Shelley Wigglesworth|Jun 03 2022|
Coffee By Design | Portland, Maine
Photo Credit : Katherine Keenan
Photo Credit : Dreamstime
PEONY CARE | TIPS TO GROW HEALTHY PLANTS
Where to Plant Peonies
The hardy peony plant prefers full sun; pH-neutral, well-draining soil; and a deep cold spell each year to help it regenerate in the spring. Depending on the variety you choose, they can flower from spring through early summer with plump, showy, feathery blooms in hues of pink, red, peach, and white. Unlike most perennials, peonies do not need to be dug up and divided as they grow and mature.When to Plant Peonies
The ideal time to plant peony tubers is in the late fall before the first hard frost. Peonies do not respond well to being transplanted, so we recommend planting tubers, rather than transplanting an established plant. [text_ad]How to Plant Peonies
1. Dig a flowerbed approximately two feet deep and two feet across in a sunny spot with pH-neutral, well-draining soil. 2. Enrich the bed’s soil by adding up to a cup of bone meal to it and mixing well. 3. Place peony tubers in the hole with the eyes facing up and loosely cover the roots, approximately 2 inches below the soil surface under the tubers. 4. Gently fill the hole with the enriched soil and then water thoroughly every other day for the next few weeks. 5. Mulch lightly with bark for the first year, but be sure to remove the mulch in the spring so the plant can emerge without difficulty. Don’t get discouraged if you do not have blooms for the first year or two. Peonies may take 3-5 years to be established enough to bloom. Once peonies are established, your patience will be rewarded for years to come with stunning flowers that will require very little care.
Photo Credit : Brenda Darroch
Peony Care Tips
If your newly growing peonies seem leggy or are starting to bend close to the ground, gently stake the plant stalk so it remains upright. It’s normal to discover ants crawling on peony flowers. These ants eat nectar and not the plant itself. They also eat pest insects. Simply shake off the ants if you decide to cut some of the flowers; otherwise leave them alone.Peony Fun Fact
Peony plants can live up to 100 years! Have any peony care tips to add to our guide? Let us know! This post was first published in 2014 and has been updated.SEE MORE: Rhododendron Care | Planting and Maintenance When to Prune Shrubs | Gardening Advice The Bridge of Flowers | From Ragweed to Roses
My peonies are putting on a SPECTACULAR show, following a long, cool spring, with a lot of rain.
Help! My peonies get powdery mildew EVERY year, post-bloom, and turn that ashy gray. What am I doing wrong?
Me, too! Did you ever get an answer? I have 6 bushes and at least half of them look like death by the end of September.
In 1964, my Mother in-law had to move to a smaller home. She asked my Husband to dig up her peonies to plant in our yard. Over the past 54 years they have grown from a patch of peonies to the whole side of my yard. They are the talk around town as people actually come to get small bouquets to have the fragrant smell in their homes. My Husband always used sifted wood ash from the wood stove to fertilize them. They are huge and such a beautiful shade of light and dark pink.
Dear Millie, That’s a wonderful story! How I wish I could see (and smell) your lovely peonies!
Do not plant your Peonies too deep! If the soil is too high around the emerging stalks, they will never bloom. Mine always preferred 6+ hours of morning sun, but shade in the afternoon.
when the plant “dies” for winter, do you cut the stems or just let them be? We got 2 wonderful bushes(?) and have not found ants on them but we just let them die out at fall time… same with the hydrangea tree we inherited…
I live in Virginia and we plant just below the surface because we do not normally get very hard freezes. Mine have been n the ground for over 40 yrs and our neighbors get blooms for Mothers Day (when they normally bloom) Due to allergies we can’t have them in the house so all our neighbor’s moms get a present.
My grandfather had a 10 foot by 25 foot garden in the middle of the backyard…filled with double peony bushes, of pinks to almost a cerise color. His garden was planted in 1916, when they moved into that house. I remember those peonies from the time I was little, and I have moved them from their yard to every home I have lived in….which is three! They are now in my daughter’s yard, as we live in a condominium and there are no garden nearby. Those plants are more than a hundred years old…and still as beautiful as I remember as a child. I do dry some each year for my condo…no fragrance..but still heartwarming.
Will peonies grow in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area? And if so, where can I get some?
Thank you!
Do all peonies have a scent? Mine do not , I mainly bought them for the beautiful scent I remember but sadly mine do not smell at all…