When to Plant Peony Tubers
Autumn is the best time to plant peony tubers. You’ll want to wait until the overnight temperatures drop to about 40 or 50 degrees and you want to make sure the peony tubers are planted in the ground before the ground freezes too hard. Allow at least six weeks for this to happen.
Now, a hard ground frost is very different from a light frost. Even if it’s a cold night, your temperature may be warm the next day, and the ground will still be thawed. So, don’t worry if you think you don’t have enough time to put it in the ground: you probably still have a few weeks to go, as it takes a while for the ground to actually freeze.
How Deep to Plant Peony Tubers
When the peony tuber is ready, you need to make sure that the hole you dig is much larger and wider than the size of the tuber but not too deep, it should be a little deeper.
Bury the tuber no more than two inches above its crown.
One trick to getting the best peony blooms is that you never want to plant more than a couple of inches above the crown of your peony tuber, because if you did, you’d probably get really beautiful, lush leaves, but you won’t. To open too much. In fact, you may not find any flowers at all.
How Far Apart to Plant Peony Tubers
Make sure there is plenty of space between them because peonies like to have plenty of air around their stems. If you’re going to have more than one plant, plant them at least three to four feet apart, and make sure they’re not crowded with other plants.
Don’t Forget to Water Them In
Also, make sure that you water tuber in. If it’s not going to rain within the next few days after you plant them.
Step-by-Step Planting Instructions
Check the soil:
Often times I will plant peonies with just the soil on my farm, but sometimes I have patches of soil where I know the nutrients are somewhat depleted. If this is the case for you, you can test the soil. You can send your soil for testing and see if you need more nutrients in your soil. Sometimes I’ll add a little fertilizer.
Dig a hole:
Make sure the soil is really compacted. You don’t want to plant peonies in the ground where the soil is already compact because it takes time for the roots to establish. Good, well-drained soil that has been mowed everywhere will help those roots spread and establish before winter arrives.
Backfilling:
If the hole seems deep, backfill it a little. Place the tuber as a trial experiment. Make sure the hole is no more than two inches above the crown, and make sure you have plenty of room around the peony so it has plenty of room for those beautiful roots to spread out.
Plant:
Plant gently, because you don’t want to break eyes on the top of the peony tuber. Remember when you fill it: You’ll only bury it a couple of inches above the crown. This is really important. I cannot stress enough.
How to Care for Peonies
Peony tubers take some time to become established. So, in the first spring – when you expect beautiful flowers – you may only get green leaves, even if you have followed best planting practices. Or you may only get one flower, which is normal.
You may have to wait up to two years to see one or two bloom. Then, by year three, they really start to take off. Sometimes, you’ll get lucky, and they may start taking off sooner than that. But remember: do not be discouraged, because then, when they are established after a few years, they already disappear.
Peonies are one of the easiest plants to grow. They come back decades later. Some say that many of the varieties go back 100 years, and they give you these lovely, soft, delicate flowers that everyone is in awe of in the spring.
They are worth it and are very low maintenance. Once they’re in the ground, there’s hardly any maintenance: you just need to make sure they have enough water all season long (and Mother Nature usually takes care of that!)
I heard somewhere that a peony is a flower that thrives on neglect, and I think that’s because it doesn’t really need a lot of care or maintenance.
