| Common Name | Peony |
| Genus | Paeonia |
| Species | Paeonia lactiflora |
| Family | Paeoniaceae |
| Life Cycle | Herbaceous Perennial |
| Format | Bare Roots |
| Care |
These plants will ship to you in the fall. You may see swollen 'eyes' on the roots, but they are in a dormant state and should not begin their active growth cycle until spring. If you can't plant immediately upon arrival, store them in a cooler to keep them viable. Plant as soon as possible into a prepared bed. Don't worry if you see cold temperatures or snow in the forecast before your bare roots arrive. As long as the ground is thawed and workable, you can plant your peonies. |
| Netting / Staking | Not necessary when grown as a cut flower as flower heads will be cut before they are fully open. If grown in a garden, support is necessary as fully open flowers catch rain and can get quite heavy, often ending up laying on the ground or with bent stems. Stem strength depends on variety - older heritage varieties often need support compared to newer varieties. Single flowering peonies rarely ever need support compared to the doubles. |
| Hardiness | Zones 3-8: Peonies need a cold winter and may struggle in warmer zones. Even zone 8 is borderline as they require about 6 weeks of close to freezing temperatures to flower well. There are some varieties that do better in warmer climates. Typically the earlier flowering varieties are better in the south. Additionally, make sure you plant very shallowly in warmer areas so the roots are more readily exposed to the cooler temperatures in the winter. |
| Spacing | 3 feet between plants is recommended. |
| Soil Preference | Loose, fertile, well-draining soil. Neutral to slightly alkaline pH. Peonies benefit from soil that has been lightly amended with compost and granular fertilizer. You can mulch your peony field, but leave a few inches of mulch-free space around your plants to give them some breathing room. If you use landscape fabric to block weeds, cut an 'X' in the landscape fabric over your plants instead of burning a large hole for the stems to grow through. This helps to keep weeds from growing in the hole around the peony plant. It is absolutely essential to control weeds in the peony field, at least around the plants. Large weeds will compete with peonies for nutrients, water and sunlight and their performance will suffer because of it. |
| Light | Full sun is essential for proper growth and flowering. |
| Pinching | Do not pinch |
| When to Plant | Peonies grow best if planted in the fall, but will still grow well if planted in early spring while they are dormant and the temperatures remain cool as they establish new roots. |
| Days to Bloom | Peonies flower in the spring, and will sometimes (rarely) flower the first year after planting. It is best to not harvest flowers for the first 1-2 years after planting, and to help the plants mature faster, any buds seen growing on 1-2 year old plants should be cut off before they mature and flower. Plants should be mature enough to cut from after three years. |
| Harvesting | Harvest buds when in "marshmallow" stage - the point at which they are showing color and are soft when gently squeezed yet have not opened up - for the longest storage life. Only cut the stem length that is required - try to leave as much foliage on the plant as possible. For the largest possible flower size, try disbudding your peonies. This process involves removing any side buds on a stem when they are still very small (the size of a pea) and can be twisted off. This allows the plant to focus all of its energy into the main bud. |
| Post Harvest Care | If harvested at marshmallow stage, they can be dry stored in a cooler (at 35F) for two to three weeks. Remove the foliage, wrap in paper or plastic and store horizontally. Be sure that there is no moisture trapped in the plastic or it may cause the development of botrytis during the storage period. Approximately 12 hours before they are needed, re-cut the ends and place in a bucket with deep water to allow the stems to rehydrate fully. If they are to be used shortly after harvest, place stems in cool water and store upright in a cooler for up to a week. |
| Diseases / Insects | Botrytis and bacterial leaf spot are both fairly common diseases found in peonies. They are characterized by brown or black spots on the leaves, blackened stems and dead shriveled buds. These diseases are usually prevalent during prolonged cool wet conditions and where there is a lack of air movement. Prevent the spread of these diseases by increasing airflow around the plants, avoiding getting the foliage wet during irrigation, and removing any infected matter during the growing season but especially in the fall to try and reduce spore load. |
| Bailey's Notes |
Although peonies will survive in hardiness zones 3-8 they prefer and perform better in colder zones. They may struggle in zone 8 from the lack an extended cold winter. Ask us about the varieties that tend to do better in the warmer climates. When planting the bare roots, position them with the eyes facing upwards, and cover with no more than 1-2" of soil. Planting too deeply will encourage foliage to grow with few flowers. For the first 2 years after planting, it is suggested that you do not harvest the flowers. Taking the flowers themselves is not the real issue, more so that you would also be taking some foliage along with them, and every leaf is important to the plant at this stage as they are photosynthesizing and helping the roots store nutrients for next years growth. It is for this reason that we suggest when harvesting flowers, only cut the stems as long as you need them and leave as much foliage on the plant as possible. Post flowering, remove spent blooms so that the plant doesn't expend valuable energy on unnecessary seed production. At the end of the season, around the time of the first frost, cut the plants back to the ground and dispose of the dead material to prevent any fungal or bacterial issues the following spring. |
| Resources |