Peonies: How to Plant, Grow, and Care for These Long-Lived Perennials

Taken in my garden, late spring 2007.

Michele Rose

Peonies are outrageously beautiful in spring bloom, with lush foliage all summer. Peony plants require little maintenance if planted properly and allowed to establish; they resent transplanting.

Peony flowers are perennials that return every spring to take your breath away. Plants may outlive you—some thrive for 100 years.

The fattest and most scrumptious of all flowers, a rare fusion of fluff and majesty, the peony is now coming into bloom.
—Henry Mitchell, American writer (1923–1993)

Hardy to Zone 3, growing well into Zones 7–8. Rules for success: full sun and well-drained soil. Peonies relish cold winters—they need chilling for bud formation.

Peonies make fine sentinels lining walkways and lovely low hedges. After bloom, bushy clumps of glossy green leaves last all summer, turning purplish or gold in fall—stately as any shrub.

In mixed borders, peonies pair with columbines, baptisias, veronicas, irises, and roses. Plant white peonies with yellow irises and forget-me-nots; set off pink peonies with blue Nepeta or violets.

Planting Peonies

• Grow in deep, fertile, humus-rich, moist, well-drained soil with neutral pH.
• Amend planting hole with organic material. If soil is heavy or very sandy, enrich with compost. Incorporate ~1 cup bonemeal. Tamp firmly.
• Choose location wisely—peonies resent disturbance. Shelter from strong winds. Plant away from trees/shrubs (competition for food/moisture). Space 3–4 feet apart for air circulation.
• Full sun is best; half-day sun works but reduces blooms.
• Usually sold as bare-root tubers with 3–5 eyes (divisions of 3–4 year old plants).
• Plant in fall: late September–October in most areas, later in the South. (If moving established plants, this is the time.)
• Settle before first hard frost. Spring-planted peonies lag ~1 year behind fall-planted.
• Dig a generous hole: ~2 feet deep and wide in well-drained soil in a sunny spot. Amend heavy/sandy soil with compost. Add ~1 cup bonemeal. Tamp firmly.
• Set root with eyes facing up on firmed soil, placing root just 2 inches below surface. (In southern states: choose early-blooming varieties, plant ~1 inch deep, provide some shade.)
• Backfill carefully—don't let soil settle and bury root deeper than 2 inches.
• Water thoroughly.

Tip: Don't plant too deep! In most areas, peony eyes (buds) should be no deeper than 1½–2 inches below soil line!

Care and Maintenance

Like children, young peonies take time to develop. They need a few years to establish, bloom, and grow.

Peonies thrive on benign neglect. Unlike most perennials, they don't need digging and dividing.

• Spare the fertilizer. Work soil well before planting with a little fertilizer—that's enough.
• If soil is poor, fertilize (bonemeal, compost, well-rotted manure) in early summer after bloom and deadheading. No more than every few years.
• Support stems—their weakness. Giant blossoms sometimes overwhelm stems. Use three-legged metal peony rings for grow-through support.
• Deadhead as blooms fade, cutting to a strong leaf so stems don't protrude. Cut foliage to ground in fall to prevent overwintering disease.
• Don't smother with mulch. In severe cold, first winter only: mulch VERY loosely with pine needles or shredded bark. Remove in spring.

Pests and Diseases

Peonies are generally very hardy. Issues: Verticillium wilt, ringspot virus, tip blight, stem rot, Botrytis blight, leaf blotch, Japanese beetle, nematodes.

Many gardeners wonder about ants on peony buds. They eat nectar in exchange for attacking bud-eating pests. Never spray ants—they help peonies bloom.

Peonies are also deer-resistant.

Recommended Varieties

Peonies bloom in spring; plan for successive display from mid-May to early June:

• 'Early Scout' — very early, red single flowers
• 'Firelight' — very early pale-pink single
• 'Karl Rosenfield' — midseason double, large crimson blossoms
• 'Norma Volz' — midseason large, white, fully double
• 'Elsa Sass' — late-season double, pure-white camellia-like flowers

Wit & Wisdom

Had I but four square feet of ground at my disposal, I would plant a peony in the corner and proceed to worship.
—Alice Harding, The Book of the Peony

Tip: Peonies make wonderful cut flowers, lasting over a week. For best results, cut long stems when buds are still fairly tight.