I also noticed that plants with a good root and decent size eyes that were planted early like in September or early October were more likely to bloom the following spring than those that were planted later. Maybe the new peonies plants have a headstart in growing feeder roots.

There are a lot of different factors that first year, also the space chosen (how much sun) and proper planting depth. It will be interesting to see what happens.

Awesome Flickr photos!

Welcome, Amanda! Just wait until members start posting bloom pics this spring! Since we're in such diverse zones you'll see blooms from early May (maybe even sooner this year from LG and Annette) until mid/late July from those of us in colder zones. Pretty cool to have a 3 month bloom season!