I have Blonde Vision and have babied it for the last 3 years; didn't do a good enough job last spring because the buds shriveled and never opened. I normally put a large clay pot over it when we're expecting really cold spring weather but I think it was left in place for too long last spring because I was out of town quite a bit. Mine has been incredibly slow to increase but that's true of quite a few of them here!
I have another peony, Cytherea, that was doing very poorly until Karen asked about moisture levels and I started watching it more closely. Noticed that even though it was midway down a slope, rocks in the area trapped snow right over it and it got fairly boggy in early spring. When I dug it out to move the entire root was darker than normal and almost woody looking and so brittle that it broke into 3 pieces just getting it out and it wasn't that big of a root to begin with. Planted 2 of them and gave the 3rd to another forum friend--all 3 survived and have bloomed since. All that to say don't give up on the root--they can look pretty bad if left in a spot that isn't the best but will normally recover and do well once in an optimum location. Just get that big pot ready to cover it next spring when the weather gets bad! The blooms will be worth it!
