Common Name : Peonies

Latin Name : Paeonia

Description : For the old-time gardener, the powerful scent of peony blooms is an integral part of late June. A peony bush can last for most of a century. After blooms have faded and the thousands of fallen petals have dried up on the ground, the seed pods may be trimmed off and the peony will function as an attractive dark green shrub for the rest of the summer.

Although peonies do respond well to division, it is not necessary. Divide peonies in early September. Cut back the stalks to the ground, dig up the root clump, wash the dirt off the root with a hose, and carefully slice the root into partitions which each contain both roots and a new sprout, preferably three or four.

Peonies should be in full sun. Like all plants which grow from tubers, peonies love bone meal or the fertilizer form of phosphate. Mix such fertilizers in the soil underneath and around the peony before planting.

Do not plant peonies too deeply. They will not bloom if they are planted too deep. Take care to plant them no more deeply than they were before.

Peony flowers can be so large that they tip, especially after a rain. Either stake the blooms, or surround the plant with a wire peony cage. Consider single-blooming varieties if you don’t wish to stake the heavy double blooms for support every year.

If peony buds rot and don’t open, they are infected with peony blight, otherwise known as botrytis. The best way to prevent such disease is to cut the peony foliage back to ground level in the fall. This makes peonies one of the very few perennials which should be cut back before winter.

Ants which infest peonies do no harm. The are merely collecting the sugar droplets produced by the blooms.

We have had good luck with a hybrid variety called "Red Charm". But suggesting individual varieties is fruitless, as there are so many, most all of them good. Start with the generic white, pink and deep red colors and move on from there.