I am in zone 7a, and I only plant the eyes about 1 inch deep.

The biggest problem with clay soil is the lack of good drainage. Do not leave a "well" around your peony like you would with a rose. I mound a little volcano over the top of my Fall planted roots and wash it away in the Spring. You do not want water to collect over your newly planted peony roots over the winter, especially in our mild zone where we have long stretches above freezing during winter.

Thank you so much for your advice both of you! Branching out into peonies is a little nerve wracking since you might not know for years if you've messed up!

Peonies are generally an easy to grow perennial. But you want to avoid the common mistakes of planting too deep or planting in a less than ideal spot so that you get blooms within a few years and develop a strong, healthy plant that will give you lots of blooms each year.

Have you ever lost track of one only for it to pop up unexpectedly a year later?

Hiyamakki said:Have you ever lost track of one only for it to pop up unexpectedly a year later?

I have a peony that got mowed two years running. I was surprised that it came back up given how rudely it had been treated, but I suspect that the plant is able to survive as a root fairly reliably just as long as it gets through the flowering season.

The peony in question did stay small longer than it should have as a result of this. It survived, but it did not thrive.

I also had a pair of yearling peonies die back to the ground this year. One couldn't stand that sun and got to the end of July before giving up it's foliage. The other just browned off in the middle of July - it might have gotten stepped by a deer on or something like that. It did leave a short 2" stem up that retained color until the middle of August. Anyhow, I will just leave them alone and hope that they reappear next spring. Experience suggests that they can and probably will rebound, though the one that sunburned really worries me since I don't understand why it would suddenly become intolerant of the sun.

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I am wondering if you might have critters air pruning the roots? I just discovered that is happening to some of my plants. The wilty, red leaves of my hydrangea are due voles tunneling and probably building a nest under it...I think that is what is happening to a blueberry too. Then there are the moles tunneling under fresh plantings and the leaves get crispy.

Yesterday I planted the peony I'd potted up in the spring. It was in a 3 gallon nursery container and I was surprised to find it already root bound! Growing peonies is hard! I'll have to contain my impatience for 2 to 3 years and wait for blooms!

I ordered a Garden Treasure from Veseys in Canada (for my mother in Toronto). I think they said you may get 1 or 2 blooms the first year. Must be large roots!

Next year I'm eschewing places like Brecks and getting the hugest roots possible.

What place have you had the most luck with blooms the first spring?

Sandsock said:I am wondering if you might have critters air pruning the roots? I just discovered that is happening to some of my plants. The wilty, red leaves of my hydrangea are due voles tunneling and probably building a nest under it...I think that is what is happening to a blueberry too. Then there are the moles tunneling under fresh plantings and the leaves get crispy.

I've found what I believe was a rodent pathway cut into a peony root before. I don't think that they ate the peony, but they did use it as structure.



The area over my thumb was a curved track or pathway that served as the floor of the entrance to their little den.

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Top....Did it seem the peony or the blooms? They killed the apricot and that hydrangea is still struggling even with me jumping and poking to smash the tunnels.

Hiyamakki...Being new to this peony stuff, I have learned that this year is NOT normal, but most "first year bloom" peony growers are sold-out or closed for ordering. Adelman's still has some and is taking orders, the smoke has effected them, probably by a week. They are on Garden Time TV on you tube and you can see their roots and learn quite a bit.

Of course, I found some at a (horribly run) Walmart left over from March that might bloom, but what you are getting is a mystery......still full price...."couldn't possibly mark them down, they still look alive."

Sandsock said:Top....Did it seem the peony or the blooms? They killed the apricot and that hydrangea is still struggling even with me jumping and poking to smash the tunnels.

The peony was old and well established, but it had sort of a dead center. I don't know if that was due to rodent activity or just the normal growth pattern (I suspect the latter as it isn't uncommon for old peonies to have thin centers).

The clump that I took was sort of growing as an island or satellite though it became evident that it was attached to a larger root system. We didn't dig the entire root up - I just took a piece and left the rest of a fair huge peony alone.

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