Hope they're both beauties next spring, Jasmin! It would've been a shame if they'd been left to die.

Thank you all. The rescued peonies will probably not bloom next year, but I can wait till spring 2017 You can never know. They are transplanted in September, so the big one might even bloom. Let`s wait and see.

LizinElizabeth said:Hope they're both beauties next spring, Jasmin! It would've been a shame if they'd been left to die.

Peonies die?

Before I became an obsessed gardener, I left three old fashioned peonies in a bed where they eventually were overgrown by a large Yew. Every spring they struggled, putting out a few leaves and an occasional flower, only to become more complely covered by the Yew as the years passed. This went on for about 20 years.

Once I became a gardener, I moved the peonies to a well prepared bed in part sun. They have enlarged enormously and bloomed profusely, as if they were making up for all those years under the Yew. So I am unconvinced that peonies can die.

Can they?

I think the only thing that can kill a peony is root rot. Alot of the hybrids are rather susceptible to this but the lactifloras are pretty tough. There are some peonies that you cannot kill even having it dug up. These are the ones that have adventitious roots and these roots have eyes that resprout even after the parent plant is gone. Ellen Cowley peony is like that. I have two plants originated from my original plant and they are both blooming size already.