“What about peonies?” my friend Kristen asked me recently. She wanted to purchase some for her daughter’s new home. I love peonies, their look and fragrance.
I tried to grow them years ago, but failed, probably because of their need for rich, fertile soil. They didn’t grow even with six to eight hours of sun per day.
I read Carson City’s Greenhouse Garden Center & Gift Shop fact sheet on growing peonies at https://greenhousegardencenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Peonies.pdf.
Find a spot that meets the sun and soil requirements, including a 6.5 pH. Then, dig a hole 18 inches deep and wide. Loosen the soil and mix in organic matter. The experts at Greenhouse Garden Center recommend adding ¼ cup of a 5-10-5 fertilizer to half of the soil and putting it in the bottom of the hole.
This will keep the fertilizer a safe distance away from the crowns of the plants. Overfertilized plants will not bloom well. Backfill with the remaining soil until the crown of the peony is just two inches below the surface.
Tamp the soil down and water immediately after planting to further settle the soil around the roots. Keep the soil slightly moist throughout the summer to ensure prolific flowers the following year. Greenhouse Garden Center reports that the first year after planting may not yield much in the way of growth or flowers.
In fact, some growers don’t allow a plant to bloom its first year. If it does, be sure to cut the flower as soon as it fades and don’t allow it to go to seed. You should have twice as many flowers the second year and even more the third.
Always cut blooms immediately after flowering. Some varieties take a few years to bloom. Peonies bloom best from four to 10 years old and may live 20 years or more. Peonies might fail to bloom if plants are young or planted too deeply.
Or clumps may be old and need dividing. Competition with nearby trees and shrubs or growing in too much shade reduces flower numbers. Too much nitrogen encourages green leafy growth at the expense of blooms.
Buds may be killed by late freezes or weather may be too hot. Soil may be too dry. Unfortunately, ground squirrels like peony buds according to another friend, Cheryl.
She told me her peonies were just getting ready to bloom, when she discovered that ground squirrels had cut off all the buds. They didn’t even eat them, just chopped them off. What a waste.
JoAnne Skelly is Associate Professor & Extension Educator Emerita at University of Nevada Cooperative Extension. Email skellyj@unr.edu.