Peonies are perfect perennials, attractive from early spring when the reddish shoots appear until they die down in a blaze of autumn glory.
After the billowy mounds of pink, white to creamy yellow, crimson, or rose have graced the garden in season, the foliage remains green and decorative all summer long. Plant a good peony root, and you plant forever!
Is there a more solid garden investment?
Few plants can rival the peony for permanence, vigor, and freedom from pests. Once settled in a sunny location, with rich, well-drained but moisture-retentive soil.
The peony will produce, with a minimum of attention, blooms year after year, even producing a larger, more fabulous display of flowers each succeeding spring.
Peonies are of that sturdy perennial clan that blooms despite hardships but responds to a thoughtful gardener’s attentions by far out-performing less fortunate plants.
Plant Peonies and Forget!
Since the moving of peonies is done at the sacrifice of flowers, consider well the location before planting. Peonies need to remain undisturbed in one spot for years.
There are records of peonies that still bloom after having spent a hundred years or more in one spot! Because peonies may remain in one place for many years, it is of utmost importance to prepare the soil before planting.
When Do We Plant Peonies?
Peonies may be planted in September, October, and November (before the ground freezes). We prefer early October planting for southern Missouri. In the North, September is a good month to plant; and, of course, November for the deep South.
Select a sunny, well-drained location for your peonies, as they do not like to have wet feet. They will tolerate some shade but need at least a half clay of sunshine. The best blooms are found usually on plants growing in full sun.
Do not plant near large trees, especially black walnuts, or heavy shrubs where they will be robbed of necessary minerals. Plants may be spaced from two to four feet apart according to the effect desired.
If you wish to develop large clumps, place them four feet apart. Peonies prefer soil with a pH near 6.5.
Waiting For Peony Roots
While you are waiting for your peony roots to arrive, prepare the soil well for planting them. For each plant dig a hole about 18 inches deep and the same diameter.
If the soil that has been removed is heavy clay or if it is very sandy, discard it and replace it with good garden soil. If well-rotted manure is available, put about three inches of it in the bottom of the hole and pack.
Then cover with soil so that the manure does not come into direct contact with the roots. Water this hole to settle the soil so that when the roots are received and planted they will stay at the level you plant them.
Arriving of Roots
When the roots arrive, remove the moss, as it is only packing material. Now the time has come for the actual planting. The eyes need to be as near 2” inches below the normal surface as possible.
If you wish to be accurate, take a stick about 3 ft long and nail a 2” inches piece in the middle that will extend exactly in the middle of the hole. Take the root by the piece of stem usually left and hold it upright and the roots will be in a natural position.
Let the tip of the guide touch the crown at the bottom of the uppermost eye. Be sure you do not plant the root upside down. A normal division has the crown on top with the eyes pointing upward and the roots extending downward.
Then fill in around the root with the soil, working it in with your fingers until no voids are left below the plant or among the roots. Firm this soil well and fill it in until the roots are covered.
When you have filled the hole and firmed the soil to a point just covering the roots and eyes, pour in about a gallon or more of water and let it settle, then fill with loose soil, mounding it up a few inches for winter protection and to keep the roots from heaving.
This mound will normally sink to the proper level. If it does not, level it in the spring.
Side Buds For Most Varieties of Peonnies
Most varieties of peonies develop several small lateral or side buds near the base of the terminal bud. If large flowers are wanted, remove the side buds so that all the strength will go into the terminal bud.
Remove the side buds as soon as they are about the size of a pea. This is done easily by pulling them downwards and sideways with the fingers. Some people prefer leaving the side buds which develop later and prolong the blooming season.
When the foliage turns brown in the fall after the first heavy frost, cut the plants down as near to the ground as possible and burn all the old stems and leaves as a protection against disease.
Newly planted peonies need winter protection (except in the South), for the first winter after planting. After the ground has frozen in the fall, give them a covering of straw or marsh hay about three inches deep.
This covering will protect the roots against heaving from alternate thawing and freezing. Remove the covering early in the spring. Established plants need no protection.
Peonies for Five Weeks
The blooming period of peonies can be about five weeks when there is a planting of the hybrid, early, early-midseason, midseason, late midseason, and late peonies.
The hybrids, which are a new class of early-flowering peonies, are of surprising beauty giving entirely new shades. There is no other group of peonies that contains the beautiful bright reds and the pinks that the hybrid does.
Hybrid Peonies
Most hybrids are good growers and have been very free from disease. A large percentage of the named hybrids are singles and semi-doubles but some are very full doubles such as;
- ‘Angelo Cobb Freeborn,’
- ‘Avelyn’,
- ‘Red Charm’ and
- ‘Red Dandy.’
‘Avelyn, “Red Charm,’ and ‘Red Dandy’ are magnificent red-bomb type peonies.
We grow about 1500 peonies and if we were limited to one variety we would choose ‘Red Charm.’ Angelo Cobb Freeborn’ is an unusual coral-red bomb-type peony on tall stems.
- ‘Bright Knight’ is a very early flowering, single, scarlet, with a tint of orange and is very large with stiff stems.
- ‘Golden Glow’ is another very early single flowering orange-scarlet red.
- `Chocolate Soldier’ is a very early flowering, rich black red, sometimes blooming full double and sometimes blooming with a Japanese form.
- `Tecumseh’ is an early-flowering hybrid of really different colors best described as a bright cherry red, an excellent peony in the garden.
Three Very Early Peonies
- ‘Helen’—single-flowering, pink.
- ‘Silver Shell’ — large glistening white single with two rows of petals.
- ‘John Howard Wigell’—deep rose-pink; good strong stems.
Early Mid-Season Peonies
- ‘Aerie’—double white of cupped shape.
- ‘Big Ben’—medium-dark red bomb type.
- ‘Cherry Hill’—large, fragrant, of deep garnet.
- `Jane Rutherford’—beautiful pure white; enormous.
- ‘Felix Crousse’—the old dependable, attractive red that is such a good cut flower.
- ‘Edulis Superba’—the very fine bright pink; fragrant.
- `Fanny Crosby’—an early yellow peony that will fade white with age.
- ‘Hargrove Hudson’ —soft, even, light pink, very large.
- ‘Kansas’—very bright red; tall stiff stems. This variety is an excellent cut flower.
- ‘Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt’— very fragrant fine pink.
- ‘Richard Carvel’—very large, brilliant crimson, free bloomer.
The Mid-Season Peonies
- ‘Gene Wild’ — medium to light pink, occasionally marked crimson. Good stems; buds open well.
- ‘Florence Ellis’ —clear medium pink of beautiful tone. Wide petals of perfect shape; very large.
- ‘Highlight’—new dark red of pleasing color and substance.
- `Longfellow’—bright crimson, intensified by golden-yellow stamens near the center.
- `Mammoth Rose’—gigantic rose type with large long petals of deep rose-pink cupped about shorter center petals.
- ‘Minnie Shaylor’—the semi-double white is a charming flower with several rows of crape-like petals of clear, light pink fading to white. Stamens are prominent.
Late Mid-Season Varieties
- ‘Armistice’—large rose-pink; tall strong stems. One of the best.
- ‘Better Times’—deep rose-pink of rose form; tall, straight, strong stems. Very showy.
- `Elsa Sass’—lovely white, veiled pink. The stems are stiff holding the beautiful large blooms erect under all conditions.
- `Gilbert H. Wild’ —large two-toned rose-pink with petals slightly recurved and having the appearance of grained wood with lighter edging giving the effect of a two-toned flower.
- `Minuet’—blooms are very large of full rose type. The coloring is a most pleasing light pink.
- ‘Nancy Nicholls’—beautiful white with a pink suffusion at the center.
The Last Peonies of Spring
- `Ann Cousins’—full double white with red fragrance.
- `Alma Hansen’—flesh color peony fading to white with age. The very large flowers are full rose type, with strong stems.
- `ABC Nicholls’—fragrant white with a hint of pink and a decided orange color at the base of petals.
- `Blanche King’—very late flowering deep dark pink. The flower is fragrant, very large and a true rose type. A glowing deep pink that holds its color in the garden.
- `Evening Star’—tall. huge white with a faint edging of red on the center petals. Stands up well on strong stems; does not wilt under the hot sun.
- ‘Hansina Brand’—lovely glistening, fresh pink with a salmon reflex. A constant winner in peony exhibitions.
- ‘Myrtle Gentry’—one of the most fragrant peonies in commerce today. Rosy white, suffused with tints of flesh and salmon; fades white. Strong stems.
- `Nick Shaylor’ — outstanding beauty and one much sought after. Blush or light pink with occasional red markings.
Peonies in the South
One of the questions most often asked of us is, “Can peonies be grown in the South?”
Yes, peonies will thrive in all but Florida, Hawaii, and the Gulf Coast area where the climate is too warm for them. For your location, try this old and time-tested rule,
“If the climate is mild enough for the successful growth of the `Marechal Niel’ rose, it is too warm for the successful growing of peonies.”
For the South, we suggest only the early to early midseason double-flowering peonies, the Japanese, and the single-flowering ones. The officinalis hybrids are also good ones for the southern regions.
For several years, with extra care, peonies have been grown successfully in;
- Las Cruces and Tularosa,
- New Mexico;
- El Paso,
- Texas; and
- Van Nuys, California.
First, they need well-prepared soil in which to grow.
Second, buy good plants to start with.
Third, make sure that in adding fertilizer or in working on the bed, extra dirt does not get piled on top of the root or that it does not sink below the planting level.
In the South, do not add mulch in the winter as the roots need cool weather. One grower in El Paso gently digs down and removes all the dirt from the eyes of the peony so that the plant will get the benefit of all the cold weather.
Some of these growers in the South have also gone against the recommendation of planting in full sun by planting under peach or pecan trees. One woman uses a porch umbrella to provide some shade for her peony plants.
Festiva Maxima
These southern growers find that ‘Festiva Maxima,’ the old reliable white, which was introduced in 1851.
Mons Jules Elie
`Mons Jules Elie,’ the very large, light rose-pink bomb, which has often been described as the “king” of peonies, and ‘White Delight,’ a fragrant, full white, are excellent double peonies for this region.
44659 by Gene Wild And Allen Wild, Jr.