Around 8 years ago I planted one peony and was told not to expect it to bloom for a couple of years. I waited 5 years and got leaves but no blooms. Two years ago I met a man selling peonies at the markets and I told him about never having mine bloom. He told me that my clay soil was too good for it and I had to throw some wood ash on it for it to bloom. I did as he said and it put out 2 massive blooms, but I forgot to do it last winter and got nothing. I have now bought some more peonies and put them all in one garden bed and put some wood ash around them. It is mid-winter here but there are shoots coming up already. Should I be putting wood ash on them in winter or should I wait until spring in future? Is there something else I should be doing to them?

The reason I suddenly got into peonies is because I discovered that kangaroos, possums, and wallabies don't eat them so I don't have to fence around them except for one young tree peony that the wallabies have a habit of sitting on and flattening.

Hi Lola, welcome to the forum. Do you grow tree or herbaceous peonies? Are they planted in shade or sun and what is your temperature in winter?

There is much information available on various internet sites which deal with ashes used in gardening. Wood ash has varying amounts of potassium and is also an alkaline such as lime. Acidic soils love the ashes. Too much on normal soils will raise the pH to high.

The peonies I have planted are all herbaceous except for one tree peony. They are planted on the SW side of the house (north is sunny here with south shady) and get full sun all day most of the year except in winter. The soil is clay but I don't know the ph. I have been putting a small amount of compost on that part of the garden for a couple of years. I have grown lupines in that garden before and they grew well. I know roses grow well here if that information helps with what the soil might contain. My winter temperatures drop to -5C/23F overnight.

There is a big probability that depth of planting is not right ( planted too deep ) or they are not getting enough sun. Peonies would not look healthy if ph is out of ordinary.
May be you were getting blooms that summer only because the winter was colder than usual. Another thing was it bare root or potted peony? Some of the potted peonies are so tiny it could take 5-6 years for them to bloom. One of my neighbors shared one of their peonies with me and after 4 years I still do not have a bloom because I did not take it seriously and just replanted it - I guess it was small and planted at the wrong depth and I did nothing for preparing the planting hole.
Do they have enough water after bloom time to create the eyes for next season? Could be an option as well.

They were all bare root. They all have shoots up at the moment so I think the depth is ok. It is colder where I am than at my brother's place and his bloom every year. I will buy a ph tester next time I am in town to test where I have planted them. I am not expecting them to bloom this year as they are too new but I will check the ph each year to see how long it takes for the wood ash to dissipate in the soil. I have heard there is a peony breeder somewhere just outside my village (I don't know her) and that she plants in raised rows. I wonder if I have a drainage problem? We have wet winters and very dry summers so I have been watering everything in summer to keep everything green but in winter the lawn is very squishy underfoot.

I would suggest planting your peonies with eyes almost on the surface and see how it goes. There could be foliage only thing ( no blooms ) if there is too much nitrogen in the soil. I never had this problem so may be someone else on the forum could enlighten you how to solve it. Are there a lot of manure in the soil?

There's not a lot of manure in the soil as the garden is around 30 feet from the sheep paddock and I have only put a bit of compost on it. There is wallaby manure all over the garden (like 4 per square foot)but that doesn't contain any nutrients. I will wait to see what the foliage is like on all the peonies and photograph it. The peony that bloomed a couple of years ago moved to the bed that the others are in and I made sure to plant it at the same depth that it was in the old spot so at least that one I know is the right depth. I will get back to this thread when I have photos and ph information. Thanks for your help.

Do your herbaceous peonies for back completely in your winter, Lola? Unless they're hit with something bad like a hail storm or fire, something that kills back all of the growth, peonies will just sit with no new growth in warmer climates and never really go dormant. They need that dormant period for best performance so if they don't get it naturally you'll need to help them along by cutting them back to the ground in your fall, once the days have started shortening and the worst of the summer heat is gone.

In an area that doesn't usually get below 0C they do need to be planted shallow, tops 2cm or less below the surface and no mulch. Your situation with wet winters is a concern, raised beds or some means of artificial drainage would help a lot, sitting in water when they're dormant will cause rot.

It's always a good idea to test your soil so you know what will grow best for you. That said, I've never tested mine but know from what grows well that mine is slightly on the acidic side. Peonies aren't incredibly picky, have seen them grown in gardens with rhododendrons and blueberries with no amendments, but you'll have less health problems with them if you have neutral to slightly alkaline soil

They die back to the ground each winter and they are reshooting now. The place I have moved them to has better drainage than where they were before so I will have to wait and see how they go. I didn't put them in very deep because I figured I could always put more soil on top whereas digging them up would be harmful. I am going to make a new enclosed rose garden this summer and I can create a raised bed in the middle of it to put my peonies in if I need to move them again.

This is just a quick update on my peonies. Three out of the four that I moved and put wood ash on have buds on them, including the oldest one that only bloomed the year I put wood ash on it last time. The one that has no buds is in its second season. I will post photos when they bloom.

That is good news, Lola! I'm sure we will all enjoy photos of your blooms as we head into Fall here in the US.

Hello Lola!
Did you ever get any blooms?

Three out of the four peonies have big fat buds on them but one is just healthy leaves. We have had terrible winds here for the last week and I have taken to parking the car in front of the bed the peonies are in so their heads don't snap off. The tree peony, Savage Splendor, has just started to unfurl and I stuck my nose in it because I couldn't recall if it was supposed to have a scent, and I got a huge surprise. It smells exactly like Froot Loops! It also looks like a lion at the moment but I'm sure it will change tomorrow.

So sorry about the wind! Good idea to block it with the car.
Now I want to get Savage Splendor if it smells like Fruit Loops!! How fun.

Glad you have buds on the others. Post pix when you can.

So glad you're getting blooms, Lola! Bring on the pictures!

Nice color of Savage Splendor, Lola! We are waiting for more pictures!

Lola, the color you have there on 'Salvage Splendor' is beautiful. That sounds like some pretty stiff winds you have there. I hope you have some more peony pictures to share with us. That would be delightful for these short, dark days of winter.

I'm still waiting for the others to bloom. There are jack-jumper ants all over the buds acting like they are nurturing them. I don't know if the buds have any sugars or something similar on them but it is only those ants that are caring for them. Jack-jumpers have a venomous bite that you can form an allergy to and they kill at least one person a year. Nobody dies from their first bite but once your body decides it is allergic to them it reacts with anaphylaxis. It could be your second bite or your 100th bite that gets you if you are going to have a reaction but you will never know which one. There is a course of desensitisation you can have down in the capital city of Hobart if you work around these ants but it is expensive and a huge hassle. Most people take their chances and keep their phones in their pockets. I have been bitten 7 times by jack-jumpers and once by an inchman ant. The inchman was the worst bite I have ever had.

Hi Lola,
Yes, peonies do secrete a sugary substance on their buds. I always wondered if they evolved this to attract insects to guard the buds. Here in Tennessee, I frequently have red wasps on my buds.

Those Jack- jumper ants sound terrible!! Do pets have an adverse reaction to their bites, too? 😳

I hope your peonies open soon and you get to enjoy them without being bitten by the ants 👍🏻