I am with you on that. My established peonies are still under a couple of inches of shredded cypress bark mulch. Hopefully, that will hold them back at least until the middle of March. My fernies always break thru early. Last year, I had one leafing out about an inch high then was hit with a zero temp for one night. Didn't hurt it though and it bloomed along with the others. Those are tough little buggers since they are native to some pretty harsh environments.
