Peonies shine their brightest in the summer, but a little care in fall and spring is vital for growing a truly impressive plant. If you dream of a lush peony in the summer, covered with pastel flowers like giant scoops of ice cream, now is the time to get started!
Caring for Peonies in Fall
Even though peonies flower in the late spring and summer, the care you provide them in the fall sets the stage for good health during the growing season. Thanks to the cool soil temperatures, fall is also the ideal time to plant new peony plants.
Planting
Once you’ve brought your peony home, choose a planting location with 6–8 hours of direct sunlight, excellent air circulation, and well-draining soil. Peonies can tolerate most soil types but will suffer in heavy clay soils. If you’re planting a peony in a nursery pot, dig a hole deep enough that the soil line of the potted peony can sit level with the soil line of your garden. Bareroot peonies should be soaked in water for 2-3 hours and then planted with the eyes 1-2 inches below the soil line. Backfill with a combination of native soil and compost before watering thoroughly.
Maintenance
Newly-planted peonies should be kept moist up until the first frost. We recommend watering established peonies weekly, though often the rain will take care of that for you. No fertilization is necessary during the fall.
Preparing for Winter
Before winter, some gardeners will apply a cozy layer of mulch to protect their peonies from the hard freeze; this step is optional for Powell River since the plants are so hardy and our winters are pretty mild. Cut down herbaceous peonies so that only a few inches of stem remains above the crown—this helps prevent disease and fungal infection.
Caring for Peonies in Spring
In spring, peonies come out of dormancy and rapidly leaf out. Now is the time to prepare your peony for a spectacular display of blooms later in the season!
Planting
While the fall is the best time to plant peonies, you can also plant them in the springtime. If you plant in spring, you can follow the same planting steps outlined above, but be extra vigilant about watering your plant as the weather heats up! Peonies aren’t fond of transplanting at the best of times, and the extra heat can add more stress to an already challenging process for your plant. Monitoring the soil moisture levels and keeping it well-hydrated is critical for the plant to establish during its first growing season successfully.
Maintenance
Most peonies do just fine without regular fertilizer, but they perform best with two annual feedings. We recommend feeding your peonies first in early spring once the shoots exceed three inches.
Caring for Peonies in Summer
By summertime, about three months after the first feeding, fertilize your peony again. This second feeding will aid in strengthening the root system before the plant descends into dormancy. If needed, you may also choose to thin out the foliage early this season to promote lots of airflow through the plant and prevent mildew and other fungal infections.
At this point in the year, peonies are at the height of their bloom! Remember that those famous flowers take a ton of energy to produce, and many peony varieties will produce no flowers or very few for the first one to three years after planting. Peony gardening is a marathon, not a sprint—once they get going, your peony will bloom beautifully every summer for up to 100 years!
The sooner you plant, the sooner you’ll be able to enjoy these heavenly flowers! If you’re local to Powell River, BC, hurry down today to Mother Nature Garden Centre to browse our peonies for sale!