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redsun9

Peonies Not Doing Much This Season

Planted 4 Lowe's poenies: 2 Queen Wilhelmikna and 2 Adolphe Rousseau. The plants were very dry when I planted the roots. That was last spring, likely in May. Nothing came up last year. This year, 3 out of 4 came up. They grow to about 4-5" this season, then stopped growing.

Is this normal? The bed is in raised planter, with 3/4 sun, facing east and south. I did not feed the plants, just some watering.

It is just frustrating to see this much growth for two seasons.... And one never even came up.

Comments (4)

  • josephines167 z5 ON Canada
    9 years ago

    It's Fall - you can do anything in the fall with peonies. Could you have planted them too deep? I would suggest digging them up now and replanting...and don't forget the water. :-). Good luck.

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    9 years ago

    Ps are extremely long lived perennials ...

    they have very big roots systems ...

    if you planted small immature root masses ... it can take 3 to 5 years to develop the root mass .. to produce those HUGE flowers ... i presume that bogboxhardwarestore was not prime high end root masses ...

    as with anything in the garden.. patience is the key ... P is not a plant for instant gratification ...

    compare what you planted.. with the pix at the link ...

    all i expect .... for the first full year.. is that things live ... and yours did ... congrats ...

    focus on your success ...

    ken

    Here is a link that might be useful: link

  • RedSun (Zone 6, NJ)
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    I followed the planting directions as printed. So I do not think they were too deep.

    But all the roots were very dry. I was going to return it to store, but decided to take a chance. I was going to dig them up before I saw the new growth came up this spring. Should have bought container ones or more fresh ones....

  • josephines167 z5 ON Canada
    9 years ago

    My first peony roots took three years before rewarding me with flowers. I was glad to see the leaves though as the plant got established. I have a 30-year old+ peony from my Mom that I treasure. It lived in a box for an entire growing season before it got planted. Next spring it rewarded me with one flower, after that I stopped counting. :-)

    Take heart, RedSun ... as Ken says, "patience". :-)
    You know, you COULD pick up a potted one to enjoy while you wait for the others. :-)