I purchased a bareroot Shimanishiki tree peony on ebay. It said it was a 3 year plant and arrived beautiful with lots of leaves. I planted it in a spot I thought would be good that's sunny, but later in the afternoon is shady. It seemed to be a little shocked, but doing ok, but I was worried bc we had heavy rains right after I planted it. I know they don't like to sit in wet soil. We've had some sunny days since though. Yesterday was very nice, but when I came home it was drooping Could it be dying? I added a little water since I hadn't watered it at all due to all the rain we've had. It was still drooping this morning. Today is supposed to be rainy and prob tomorrow so.

It would help if you post a picture. What temperature zone are you in?

Did you purchase and plant the TP recently? If it is not potted and is bareroot, this is the worst time to plant a tree peony when it is actively growing. I hope that it will survive the transplant shock for you. I don't know what you can do except to provide it with alot of shade and mulch it heavily to keep the soil as cool as possible. I think the rain and wet conditions following planting are actually helpful in this case. It may not do anything above the ground for this year but don't panic. As long as it is growing new roots below, it will start growing new stems, new shoots, and new foliage next spring.

Thanks for your responses! At this point as long as it doesn't die completely I'll be happy. I'm in zone 7. I can post a pic when I get home this evening. I started thinking about that today that I should have put it in a pot. I guess I just got excited and wasn't thinking

Here's the pic. It may look a tad better today or maybe it's wishful thinking.

Thanks for the photo. It really doesn't look that bad, considering it was shipped bare root and leafed out at the wrong time of year. Can you place a small table or a chair over it to protect it from the direct sun while it recovers? Also you will have to make sure that you don't overwater it and further damage the roots. When peony roots are exposed to air the fine filaments die within 15 minutes. So quite possibly your peony has lost its ability to take in water until it can grow some more water roots.

Do not despair. Peonies are fairly tough, and the blooms of a tree peony are spectacular! You are just going to have to baby it to get it to live until it goes dormant naturally in the Fall.

Yes I'll put a chair over it to block the sun and hold the water. They are calling for rain all week though. Not sure how effective the chair will be for that. Thanks again!

Maybe cut some leaves/parts of leaves to reduce water evaporation ?

littlebin said:Maybe cut some leaves/parts of leaves to reduce water evaporation ?

I thought about doing this. I was afraid of doing much of anything though bc I didn't know if I would cause more harm than good.

Mine came as potted plants.
In the afternoon they get full sun right now, and they also wilt.
They are fine the next morning.

I am planting them where they will get morning sun, and not the heat of afternoon sun.

I don't think where I planted is full sun. I can't remember exactly what time it gets shaded there. I'm kind of afraid to dig it up right now though since it's already stressed. If it makes it through this should I move it this fall or next fall? Thanks again!

Please leave it alone. It has already gone through enough shock. Let's just hope that it survives this shock an grow before thinking about ideal location. TP is not as forgiving as other types of peonies.

I agree with Karen. Let it get over this less than ideal situation.

Agree. I would only shade it a bit.

I'd add a bit more mulch. Shade from afternoon sun.

@naylorchic, how is the peony doing? Any changes? Hope it is recovering.

We had the first really warm day today, and it seems that one of mine newly planted peonies (September 2016) wilted a bit too.

@jasmin It's still not doing well If all the leaves do die on it is there still a chance the main plant will still live?

Yes, even if all leaves die, there is still a chance that the plant starts growing new ones from the dormant buds. It is also possible that the rootstock (i.e., herbaceous peony) will start growing. Let's wait and see what will happen.

I know how you feel. Earlier today I went to the garden and found my native orchids shredded. There were four shoots yesterday, and now, there is only one tiny shoot left. As of yesterday, I was thinking that I should protect the new shoots from raccoons and squirrels, but it was raining and I did't do anything. The worst of all, I think that my cat did it this time. I feel horrible and I am very sorry, but there is nothing that I can do now.

I'd contact the Ebay seller. Bareroot is one thing but sending a leafed out peony through the mail bareroot is different, seems they should've known better. At a minimum I'd put a review stating what happened.

@lizinelizabeth I sent the seller a msg to see what they say. The this was the pic in the auction and is another reason I was a little shocked when it arrived fully leaved.