Grow these Garden Queens in your very own garden!

In addition to the flower, the foliage is very attractive — the young shoots in April are reddish in color gradually changing to a deep, lustrous green during the summer months. In Autumn the foliage on some varieties turns a dramatic crimson!

When to Plant

• Spring or Fall.

Where to Plant

• Peonies need only one thing for success — a rich well-drained soil! If your soil is poor it will be helpful to mix some form of humus or peat moss and sand into the hole when planting.

How to Plant

Remove poly wrapping before planting

• Loosen the soil to a depth of 12-15″ and 18-20″ across. Hollow out a sufficiently large hole for each clump. Plant with the “eye” up. The eye is the reddish bud at the top of the tuberous root. The eye should be about 1″ below the surface of the soil. Never more than 2″. If planted deeper than 2″ your peonies may never bloom.
• After planting, tamp the soil firmly around the root and water deeply.

Feeding

• As a rule peonies do not require much fertilizing so an application of your favorite fertilizer once a year in early spring is all that is required.
• During the first winter after planting, a mulch is desirable. After the first winter, however, no mulch will be needed.

Pruning/Cuttings

• Peonies last for years — with very little care — you and your grandchildren will enjoy cut flowers for days. Just cut as the buds swell half-way open — then plunge into deep water. At least 3 full sets of leaves should be left on the plant to manufacture food for storage in the roots.

Winterizing

• Your Peonies are winter hardy up to 26° below zero! They require no winterizing attention.