Peony Care
General Information
Soil Preparation
Planting Peonies
Peony Care
Post Bloom Care
Ants
Dividing Peonies
Diseases
Harvest/Storage
- Peony plants may live longer than you do – some have been known to thrive for 100 years. Peony plants require little maintenance as long as they are planted properly and establish themselves.
- Peonies are 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 relish cold winters, because they need chilling for bud formation.
Soil Preparation
- Grow peonies in deep, fertile, humus-rich soil that drains well. Soil pH should be neutral.
- The soil will benefit from the addition of organic material in the planting hole. If the soil is heavy or very sandy, enrich it with compost. Incorporate about 1 cup of bone meal into the soil.
Planting Peonies
- Dig a generous-sized hole, about 2 feet deep and 2 feet across in well-drained soil in a sunny spot.
- Set the root so the eyes face upward on top of the firmed soil. Don’t plant too deep! The peony’s eyes (buds) should be no deeper than 2 inches below the soil line. Backfill the hole, taking care the soil doesn’t settle and bury the root deeper than 2 inches. Water thoroughly.
Peony Care
- Like children, young peonies take time to develop. They usually need a few years to establish themselves, bloom and grow.
- The old saying goes: The first year they sleep; the second year they creep; the third year they leap.
- Peonies thrive on benign neglect – they don’t need to be dug and divided.
- You can fertilize in the spring. We use Bone Meal with an NPK of 6-10-10 or 6-12-12.
- Help the stems. If peonies have any structural weakness, it is their stems, which are sometimes not strong enough to support gigantic blossoms. Consider three-legged metal peony rings. We tie ours up with twine…much more economical.
Post Bloom Care
- Deadhead peony blossoms as soon as they begin to fade, cutting to a strong leaf so that the stem doesn’t stick out of the foilage. Cut the foilage to the ground in the fall to avoid overwintering disease.
- Don’t smother peonies with mulch. Where cold temperatures are severe, for the first winter after planting you can mulch VERY loosely with pine needles or shredded bark. Remove mulch in the spring.
Ants
- Many gardeners wonder why so many ants crawl on the peony buds. They are eating nectar in exchange for attacking bug-eating pests. Never spray ants; they are helping you nurture peonies to bloom.
Dividing Peonies
- Once the root ball is dug, wash it carefully and then let it rest in a shaded spot for a couple of hours. This allows the roots to become flexible and will be easier to divide.
- The root can be an imposing mass at first, but carefully cut off all parts that seem dead. Then look for the new pink or white buds (eyes) and cut down the center of the crown allowing each bud section to have a corresponding root system.
- Peony divisions of 3 to 5 eyes seem to recuperate well, any smaller and it can take five years or more to bloom.
Diseases
- Peonies are generally pretty hardy. They are susceptible to Verticillium wilt, ringspot virus, tip blight, stem rot, Botrytis blight, leaf blotch, Japanese beetle and nematodes.
- Powdery mildew is one of the more common issues. This fungal disease does not kill the plant, but will weaken if left untreated.
- Fungicides van help when applied early on; heavier infections may need to be treated with horticultural or Neem oil.
- You can use a homemade solution mixing together a tablespoon each of baking soda, canola oil and Dawn dish soap with a gallon of water. Spray on peonies every 10 to 14 days throughout the summer months. Do not spray during hot and sunny days.
Harvest/Storage
- Peonies make wonderful cut flowers. To enjoy the blooms later in the summer, the guideline is to cut when the flowers are in the “soft” bud stage. Hold the stem between two fingers under the bud and press with thumb on top. If the center of the bud feels about like a fresh marshmallow, it is a soft bud. For the many petaled, full double flowers, parts of the petal will be unfurled.