The peony is outrageously beautiful in bloom from spring to summer—with lush foliage all summer long. Here’s how to grow peonies and get the best peony flowers in your garden.
Peonies are perennials that come back every year to take your breath away. The plants may live longer than you do—some have been known to thrive for 100 years.
Many nurseries offer early, midseason, and late blooming varieties, making it possible for you to stretch out the peony season over many weeks. There are 6 flower types to choose from: anemone, single, Japanese, semi-double, double, and bomb. Fragrances vary as well—some plants such as ‘Festiva Maxima’ and ‘Duchesse de Nemours’ have intoxicating rose-like scents while others are lemony or have no scent at all.
They’re hardy to Zone 3 and grow well as far south as Zones 7 and 8. In most of the country, the rules for success are simply full sun and well-drained soil. Peonies even relish cold winters, because they need chilling for bud formation.
Peonies make fine sentinels lining walkways and a lovely low hedge. After its stunning bloom, the peony’s bushy clump of handsome glossy green leaves lasts all summer, and then turns purplish-red or gold in the fall, as stately and dignified as any shrub.
In mixed borders, peonies bloom with columbines, baptisias, and veronicas, and combine well with irises and roses. Plant white peonies with yellow irises and a froth of forget-me-nots; set off pink peonies with blue Nepeta or violets.
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Age of Peony roots
I am 74 yrs old and live in Mpls., MN. I have about 13 plants throughout my yard and all were given to me by my grandfather.
Before plastic flowers for Memorial Day people stopped at his house and purchased Peony bouquets for grave decorations. Then when my parents bought their house he divided a variety of Peony plants and gave them some of each color to plant in their yard. My parents did the same for me. My mother would have been 114 yrs old this year, but all of her Peony plants as well as mine came from her father and all are considerably older than 100 years old and all have been in the Mpls area the entire time and they’re still beautiful!
peony
What is the name of the peony pictured in the "growing Peony" section. Interested in the pink group picture :)
peonies
Hi Diana, This is a peony from a reader’s garden so we’re not positive, however, it looks similar to a “marietta sisson peony” if that helps!
peony
Thank you. They are so beautiful :)
Will Peonies Survive Full Sun in Atlanta
So many Flowers claim to be Full Sun but where I live the sun is so harsh that it's rare for them to truly be full sun and often the leaves will burn out. I found so many full sun plants are only full sun up north. Are Peonies full sun in the South or do they need shade from afternoon sunlight to thrive?
Peonies in the South
Peonies don’t generally thrive in the South, but there are heat-tolerant varieties to try. Consult your local garden center or cooperative extension. Peonies do need 6 hours of direct sun every day, but some afternoon shade would be advised. It’s really the high heat that causes peonies to wilt and fail in the South. Give them lots of moisture.
Buds but no blooms!
I've been watching my three peony buds for at least a month, and there doesn't seem to be any progress toward blooming. They seemed to get bigger for a while, but for the last two weeks they look exactly the same. There are lots of ants on there, which I've learned to leave alone, but I'm wondering how long it takes for the flowers to open!! Can I do anything to help them along? Water more? Not water?
My red peonies have many buds but they won't open up.
Red peonies won't open. What is wrong. lots of buds.
Peonies
We just purchased our home this last winter, so it is very interesting to see all the plants coming up from the previous owner. The peonies however do not have that wonderful fragrance that I have been longing for. One plant has a little scent. But the other 2 ...nothing. Curious?
Peony Flowers after blooming
I didn't get dead blooms trimmed back after an injury to my arm this spring. The flower heads grew some kind of seed head. do these make need tubers to plant? I trimmed some off today but afraid to throw away if they produce new plants. My plants came from my mother who died seven years ago. Any advice?
peony seed pods
The leathery pods contain peony seeds. Wait until the green pods have dried out and turned a dark brown, occurring at the end of the summer. When the pods have cracked open slightly, the seeds are ready to be planted. Plant each seed 1 to 2 inches deep in the soil, and then cover with mulch and dead leaves. The seeds will germinate underground in the fall, popping out above the soil the following spring.
How do I tell if my peony is dead?
Last summer I planted 4 peonies - one red, one orange, one light pink and one dark pink. All 4 grew but the light pink and dark pink peonies were the only ones that bloomed. They each grew one flower. It is June now and my red and orange peonies appear to be growing nice green stalks and leaves, however nothing had come out of the ground of where I had my light pink and dark pink peonies. Have they died? Should I plant new ones?
Peonies killer by lawn service
We hired a new lawn service this year and when they were spraying the lawn to kill weeds they also sprayed my peonies they were up about six or 8 inches and then they all wilted and died Will they come back up next year?
Our peony leaves are turning
Our peony leaves are turning white slowly. The buds are fine and the plant appears to be healthy. It seems to start on part of the plant and slowly cover all of the leaves. How do we treat this.
peony leaves turning white
what do I put on them (4 of them) The weather was not kind to them this year did not have any blooms but the plants are large.
Peonies
I remember one time I cut my peonies to the ground after the bloom was gone. They came up again the same year, and bloomed again!! Is this normal? I live in Northern Ohio.
Peony
Can I put the peony in the ground in the container it came in
ordered peony bare root in Spring :(
May I keep them stored in cool dark place and wait until Fall to plant? I live in Ct.
Storing Peony Roots
It would be better to plant the tubers now, if possible. It’s not a bad thing to plant peonies in the spring; they just tend to take longer to establish themselves than those planted in the fall.
peony
I planted my peony last fall and have not seen any signs of life. I hope it didn't die. Does it take awhile for it to come up? I love these flowers.
peony
I plant my late spring last year, and do not have any signs to, hope it was cold spring and they will show up soon
late peonies?
Did you plant with the “eyes”up? Did you plant close to the surface of the soil? You do not say where you are but peonies are “up,” although not yet in bloom in most places. Did you plant in sand? Not a good idea.
Then again if your area suffered a hard freeze in April your tubers may have suffered a set back. Does any of this sound familiar?
Revitalizing peonies
Moved into my condo four years ago, where I have three established peonies (afternoon sun) that have not bloomed at all in my tenure here. I’d planned to move them, but a neighbor just mentioned that they’d been prolific bloomers in past years. How can I help them?
1 bloom
this is 3rd year since I planted my peony. I did have 1 bloom every year. How can I
get it to have more bloom?
non-blooming peonies
Blooms fail for several reasons: a hard freeze in spring, excessive share, competition from the roots of other plants/trees, low fertility of the soil, drought stress during bud development in the previous year, poor drainage or wet conditions. Botrytis blight of the flower occurs during cool, rainy spring weather; buds blacken and die (doesn’t sound like your situation). Planting too deeply and overcrowding can also hamper bloom. And then there’s pH; peonies like a slightly acidic to neutral soil, however, they do not do well in extremely acid soil. Here’s some help with that: https://www.almanac.com/blog/gardening/garden-journal/soil-testing-bette...
We hope this helps!
Peonies planted last year
Last spring I planted a bare root peony, did not know I should have planted in the fall, it barely grew, now this year it is a good height but not very full and no flowers... will it take a while for it to actually produce?
how long for a bloom?
Peonies rarely flower in the first year. Or, often, the second. It is often not until the third year that flowers appear—assuming all of the other factors (above: sun, pH, zone, etc.) are suitable.
I planted one variety that
I planted one variety that took 3 years to grow, but the rest of my bare roots were 2 years to flower. Hopefully it will come into it and you will see beautiful blooms soon!!
Can peonies spread beyond original planting’s?
I have a lovely, established hedge of five peonies bushes that are at least 30 years old. Last year, I spotted a “volunteer” peony about 40 feet east of the original planting’s, and this year there is a second one. How common is that?
volunteer peony?
We have no explanation for this; it is kind of amazing. Perhaps someone at The American Peony Society can answer this one: http://www.americanpeonysociety.org/
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