Hi Liz,
Yes, I always use soil conditioner and Black Kow composted manure to amend the soil, and I add Epsom Salt and Bulb Food to the hole where I'm placing the plants.
For larger areas, I spread several inches of the soil conditioner, with the compost on top, that I dig in as I go along.
We just had all the beds mulched with pine straw. However, I keep the pine straw away from the base of the plants.
So far, the plants that I've placed in the ground seem to be doing fine. I've never planted peonies in August, so we'll see how they fare next spring.
