Question : I planted a few peonies from FINA. The tubers were hard to figure out because they didnt have a bottom or intersection where new shoots would appear so I just did my best .
I planted Coral Supreme and it has showed up great ,three stems. I realize this is a early bloomer.
The rest of the ITOA's dont seem to be doing anything. I am in Z6a.
Any advise would be great.

Give them a week or two! I think you mabye able to see something by next week after a week of warm weather waking them up. There is another member on this forum who lives in upstate NY. His name is Craig. I think you should only worry if your itohs are not awakened when his are up. According to his last post, one of his itoh is just starting to send up pips, Creme de L'Orange. HOpefully he sees your post and can let you know whether any of his other peonies are up yet.

Hi Jo Ann,
Resist the urge to dig around and check on them. I broke a bud off one last year. It is very hard to resist, though. Two of mine from Fina this past Fall were quite late coming up, so don't worry.

Be patient JoAnn. I bet they are there, you just can't see them yet. I could barely notice mine a couple days ago, just barely visible. As the weather warms up over the next couple weeks, you should see them. Keep us posted. We are all super excited for our peony season!

Mieko ,How did you know I was an impatient peeker.
I have resisted the itch to look.
Two more weeks huh ? I will still check every day ,just because I can. I won't be as anxious as before.

It's been three hours since my last post. I was fertilizing my lilies and saw a peonie peeking. What a relief.
Coral Fay

Jo Ann, I think gardeners in general enjoy checking up on things. This Spring after the majority of my peonies broke ground I made lists in my notebook of the peonies that hadn't come up. When they do, I note the date. I hope it will help me in future years.

I'm glad you posted that pic of Coral Fay because mine opened up and I thought it was a little dark. It looks just like yours though. Whew!

That Corel Fay is from the FINA catalogue.
This is my first year with ITOA's. I preferr them because I heard they dont flop.
Here is the list of what I planted.
Corel Supreme ( first up )



Do Tell


Fairey Petticoats






Fairey Princess, a low rock garden variety


RaspberryRhumba


Little Imp another rock garden variety ALL these pix are from FINA'S website

You will have a lovely garden in a few years! It takes peonies a few years to get going, but if they are happy they will provide stunning displays

Yahoooo, They are peeking up.
Gardening is an exciting pastime.

Oooh, I LOVE "Do Tell" JoAnn!

Something tells me that we've got one more peony addict

Love Do Tell but it's not done well for me here at all, have had it 5 years and it's never gotten over a few inches tall and never even a single bud much less bloom. Got Prairie Belle (think that's the right name!) last year because the flower seemed similar, hoping it'll be a more robust grower. Absolutely LOVE Coral Supreme, it and Coral Charm are the best coral growers for me. Coral Sunset is absolutely beautiful but hasn't increased very well here. And Raspberry Rumba is the most cheery flower! Tons of tiny blooms all over, one of my favorites! They're all my favorites when they're blooming, though!

Thanks for the encouragement everyone.
I tend to look at color and zone but not much more than that.
I wanted Imp. and Princess for corners where paths converge.





I am only 1/4 of the way to the payoff. Sprouting and budding are far apart. Keep you posted.

Hello all ...

I am a newbie to trying to grow peonies - well, my Mom had them when I was growing up and hers were always loaded with blooms. My MIL gave me one probably 12 years ago, and the thing is about 1/10th the size of what we planted, it has never had a bud or bloomed...... but, about 2 yrs ago I decided to try some additional peonies and last year I actually had two blooms! This year, I have lots of foliage, but I have only seen one bud - and something ate it so I won't get a bloom off of it either!

Can someone please offer me some suggestions as to why I have foliage and plants returning but I am not getting blooms? Most of the peonies are where they get morning sun until around lunch, and then are in the shade the rest of the day. I did this because my original one that has gotten so small is in full sun and I thought maybe it didn't like full sun in our southern heat. Any and all suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks !
Gen

Zone 8a is going to be a challenge, you're on the warm edge of growing peonies. I have a vested interest in seeing it done though--we're retiring to 8a and I'm taking my peonies and they ARE going to bloom! First off, how deep did you plant them? They need to be shallower than for us further north, probably an inch or so from the surface. They need moisture but don't want to be in a boggy area, boggy will rot the roots. Do you get buds that don't open or no buds at all? You're idea of moving them to afternoon shade is probably a good one, just check your planting depth.

Gen, I don't think they are getting enough sun. Do you have a spot where they can get sun until 2 or 3? Afternoon shade is fine but they need at least 8 hours of sun.

Are you fertilizing them with too much nitrogen ? Is it possible that some lawn fertilizer could be getting on them? If you think this has been going on, try to make sure that doesn't happen. Too much Nitrogen will produce great foliage, but no blooms.

And just like Liz mentioned, the most common cause of failure to bloom is the peony is planted too deep.

Thanks for the info. I do think that the original peony that I received from my MIL was planted way too deep - and I have since raised it, and it is doing better, but still pretty small and frail looking and no blooms. The newer ones that I planted are basically at the top of the ground, I have them BARELY covered with soil (not even an inch) and then covered with a small amount of mulch. I have one of the ones planted 2 years ago that is probably 2' across and probably 18" high - foliage looks great, but no sign of a bud. I believe it had ONE bloom last year. No lawn fertilizer getting on it........ so not sure what the issue is. It may be lack of sun, but I have them planted toward the front of my foundation bed - so they should get close to 7 hrs or sun possibly more before being shaded. I will have to try to check that on the weekend............because I am not there during the day. Unfortunately, I don't have much in between - either full sun, or the ability of the house to shade them in the afternoon. I will try to take some photos. But, peonies have bloomed in South Arkansas my whole life..... and so I know they do bloom here - I just can't seem to make mine happy. I did have one bud on a plant that is out in a bed that is basically in full sun, but I had planted it in a manner so that my butterfly bush would provide afternoon shade. Unfortunately, I almost lost my butterfly bush and it isn't really any taller now than the peony so it definitely gets 8 hrs + of sun. It appears as if something 'ate' the bud, but it could be that one of the cool nights that we have had damaged it. I am not sure how cool it has to get to damage them once they get up but we had a few temps in the mid 40s a little over a week ago. My Mom's peonies were loaded with blooms every spring, and she only lived about 20 miles from where I live now............ oh how I wish I could get to the point where mine would bloom like her's did. Oh, and I have very sandy soil, so it drains quickly..... so them being too wet should not be an issue, although they might not be getting some nutrient that they need because of the sandy soil leaching out nutrients quickly. Thanks for trying to help me resolve the problem - although I am sure it is too late for blooms this year, I would love to get to where I could have some in future years.

Thanks!
Genna

Great response, Gen. Here is something I learned on this Forum that I will suggest you try. Buy some bulb food, and feed your peonies with this at the end of May, and right after Labor Day. Try to water your peonies during the summer if you don't get at least an inch of rain, taking care to water underneath the foliage to prevent foliage disease such as powdery mildew. Don't cut down the foliage until it dies back. These steps will all help grow the roots and form flower buds for next Spring.

I've been using the BulbTone Karen recommended for a few years now and have had more 1st year blooms (or at least buds!) than I ever did before. I honestly believe it works. They have a high potash one as well, think it's FlowerTone, some of my friends swear by it for any flowering plant.