Hi all,

I'm a new member but I always lurk around the forum for useful advices as well as pictures of beautiful roots!

Today I created my account to seek advices on what is the better course of action between:
1. Buy 2-3 eyes roots and plant them during the Fall 2023.
2. Buy 3-5 eyes roots and plant them during the Spring 2024.

(The catalogue I'm viewing for Fall 2023 planting only offer 2-3 eyes roots for Joker/Lemon Chiffon during the fall, but in the spring 2024 catalogue, they have 3-5 eyes option).

Between the 2 options, which will be more beneficial in terms of helping the plant to mature faster?

I'm inclined on waiting for Spring 2024 to purchase the 3-5 eyes roots, as it will take the 2-3 eyes the whole 2024 season to double and catch up. While at the end of 2024, with the 3-5 eyes root, I will have 6-8 eyes.

Delivery for the spring 2024 is between Feb 5-april 14, since my zone is 2-3ish with snow on the ground way into May, I may even pot them up then burry the pots in the snow for and extra cold circle. So:

3. Can I do that or the root need to be nursed in the pot for a few weeks first prior going into the snow? I'm afraid they will start to sprout if I have the pot inside for too long.

I personally would be gambling on 2-3 eyes in the fall if they arrive in October here in Toronto as they would be probably similar in size in the fall 2024, but this assumption would be based on many "ifs" for you. Is the price the same? When is delivery in the fall and by whom? Some of the imported wholesale roots are often late and in your zone it means either planting in pots or preparing the hole early, so the whole idea of planting 1 year early and let them be established before winter may not be valid.

Price difference is negligible. I bought from De Vroomen. They are quite on time with their shipping.

Last time, I received the roots in early October. Their 6-8 eyes Sarah Bernhardt are good, out of 40 plants, most plants had flowers during the 2nd year, some have up to 5-6 blooms. But the 3-5 eyes Sorbet I bought from them, after 2 years, still barely budge (I got 6 blooms out of the 15 roots I plant. 1 bloom in 2022, 5 blooms in 2023). Now we are looking at 2-3 eyes .... *sight*

When I am buying peony roots….I look at the weight of the roots too.
A skimpy root with 3 to 5 eyes may be inferior to a heavy root which has only 2 or 3 .

CarolineScott said: When I am buying peony roots….I look at the weight of the roots too.
A skimpy root with 3 to 5 eyes may be inferior to a heavy root which has only 2 or 3 .

But that doesn't take into account the difference in roots development between cultivars. Some cvs grow huge roots in the same time it takes others to hardly grow at all.

Yes varieties do differ in many ways.

So another thing to consider is that the Fall roots will be freshly dug while the Spring roots will have been in storage since they were dug up in July or August! My vote is for the Fall planted roots.

Mieko2 said: So another thing to consider is that the Fall roots will be freshly dug while the Spring roots will have been in storage since they were dug up in July or August! My vote is for the Fall planted roots.

totally - Fall plants are fresher ++

Wow, zone 3a, that is a level of cold most of us in the US don't experience. How early does your soil freeze? And how hot do you summers get?
The reason it's suggested that planting in fall is best is because planting them as the soil is cooling but before it's frozen will typically prompt the roots to start growing little feeder roots before they do dormant in winter, sets the plant up well for spring. Will you get the roots early enough in fall to have several weeks of decent temps before temps stay below freezing?
My garden was in zone 4b Colorado until 3 years ago, currently learning how to grow peonies again in zone 8a Alabama. I was not able to grow peonies effectively when planted in spring even in 4b because our springs were inconsistent, no time for feeder roots to grow in spring before the warming temps caused foliage to grow and the summers were too hot and dry, the poor storage roots were worked too hard keeping the plant alive. Most spring planted peonies didn't make it through the first summer. Shading in the afternoons helped but those roots still lagged well behind fall planted ones that were planted early enough to establish a bit before going dormant for the winter. If your summers are relatively cool without threats of drought you might have an easier time with them surviving spring planting, they might not suffer as much as spring planted roots in hotter areas, especially if you're ready with temporary shade in case they start to look stressed. If your summers are hot though, especially hot and dry, I'd stick to fall planting the smaller sized roots.

I am in zone 3a and I was very nervous when planted peony divisions in the fall the first time. They made it and showed up next spring. Our soil usually freezes in late September. Unfortunately the springs became very long (at least the last 2 springs) so the soil where my peony grew thawed only in mid May, very late. # of my newly planted roots hardly made it and now the plants are still tiny. We'll see if they show up next spring because I am afraid there is too little time to grow feeding roots and save energy in the storage roots. Zone 3a does not mean long winters, the conditions can be much more friendly for peonies in other 3a zone areas.